Troubleshooting the Socket Mobile 2D scanner

Use this guide to troubleshoot common issues with the Socket Mobile S720 2D scanner. Complete Step 1: General troubleshooting for the Socket Mobile 2D scanner before you select the specific issue.

Step 1: General troubleshooting for the Socket Mobile 2D scanner

Complete the following general troubleshooting for all Socket Mobile 2D scanner issues:

• Make sure that the Shopify POS app is up to date. Version 8.16 or later is required.
• Make sure that your device is up to date:
  • To update your iOS device, go to your devices settings, and then tap General > Software Update. If there's an update available, then you can tap Update now.
  • To update your Android device, go to your devices settings, and then tap Software update. If there's an update available, then follow on-screen instructions to install it.
• Turn Bluetooth off and then on again.
• Restart your device.
• (For iOS devices) In your Settings, find Shopify POS in your list of installed apps, and confirm the following settings are active:
  • In the Allow Shopify POS to access section, the Bluetooth setting is activated.
  • The Allow Cross-Website Tracking setting is activated.
• Make sure that your scanner is within 33 feet or less of the device it's connected to.
• Verify that your scanner is charged with the following table that describes which scanner lights correspond with which battery capacity:

Scanner charging light	Battery capacity
Solid green	100%-26%
Solid yellow	25%-10%
Solid red	Under 10%
Blinking red	Critically low
Blinking yellow	Battery is charging

Step 2: Select the Socket Mobile 2D scanner issue

If the general troubleshooting steps don't resolve your issue, then select the Socket Mobile 2D scanner issue and follow all troubleshooting steps.

Troubleshoot pairing issues

Note

Make sure that the Socket Mobile 2D scanner has enough power. If your scanner is new, then it requires an initial charge of up to 8 hours.

If Shopify POS discovers your Socket Mobile 2D scanner, but the scanner doesn't connect, then troubleshoot with the following steps:

• Turn Bluetooth off and then on again.
• Reboot your device.
• Turn off your device's auto-lock feature.
• Confirm that you've scanned the correct barcode for setting up the scanner. The 1D barcode sets the scanner to iOS mode to work with your iPad. If you didn't hear the 3 beeps when you scanned the barcode, or if you accidentally scanned the 2D barcode, then the scanner isn't in iOS mode. Unpair the scanner, and then pair it again.

If your scanner still doesn't connect, then reset the Bluetooth settings on your device.

Reset your Bluetooth settings

iOS

Steps:

1. From your iOS device, go to Settings > Bluetooth.
2. Tap the ( i ) icon next to the hardware that you're troubleshooting, and then tap Forget This Device.
3. Deactivate your Bluetooth settings.
4. Turn off the iOS device for 2-3 minutes.
5. Restart your iOS device, and then connect your hardware.

Android

1. From your Android device, go to Settings > Bluetooth.
2. Find the device you want to forget, and then tap the gear icon next to it.
3. Tap Forget or Unpair.
4. Turn off your Android device for 2-3 minutes, and then turn it back on.
5. Turn Bluetooth on, and then connect your hardware.

Troubleshoot pairing attempt getting stuck on the "Connecting scanner" screen in Shopify POS

If your Socket Mobile 2D scanner is connected in your device's blutooth settings, but is stuck on the "Connecting scanner" screen in Shopify POS, then troubleshoot with the following steps.

Steps:

1. Cancel the pairing process.
2. Remove the scanner from your device's Bluetooth settings.
3. Turn your Bluetooth settings off and then on again.
4. Try pairing the scanner.

If you're still experiencing issues, then try resetting your scanner. and then pairing again.

Troubleshoot barcode scanning issues

If you have issues scanning barcodes into the cart with your Socket Mobile 2D scanner, then troubleshoot with the following steps:

• Force close the POS app and then re-open it.

• Toggle Bluetooth off and then on in your device's settings.

• Make sure that you scan barcodes into the Shopify POS cart. If you tap into the search bar and then scan, then the Shopify POS app searches for the product and doesn't add the product to the cart.

• Confirm that you scan a supported barcode type.

• Test whether the scanner recognizes any barcodes by scanning the barcode of a nearby item that isn't one of your store's products. If your scanner is paired correctly, then an Unrecognized barcode error displays in Shopify POS. If the error displays, then continue onto the next steps. If the error doesn't display, then unpair the scanner from your device, and then pair them again.

• Confirm that the scanner displays as paired in the Connectivity screen by tapping the connectivity symbol in the navigation. If the scanner doesn't appear as connected, then go to your device's Bluetooth settings and forget the scanner. Then pair the scanner with your device again.

• Scan the barcode with your device's camera. If your device doesn't scan the barcode, then there might be an issue with the barcode label or the barcode number and you can troubleshoot with the following steps:

  • Check the product's visibility in your Shopify admin. The product must be set as active and available on the Point of Sales channel.
  • Make sure that the number on the barcode label matches the product's barcode number in your Shopify admin. If there's extra zeros or special characters at the beginning or end of the number, then delete them and try again.
  • Make sure that the barcode number in the Shopify admin product page is in the Barcode field and not in the Sku field.

Troubleshoot the barcode scanning speed

If your Socket Mobile 2D scanner isn't scanning as quickly as you want it to, then troubleshoot with the following steps:

• Make sure that your scanner is within its designated range (33 feet). The distance between the scanner and your device can affect the scanning speed.
• Restart your device.

Troubleshoot the scanner not automatically scanning barcodes

If your Socket Mobile 2D scanner isn't scanning barcodes automatically, then your scanner might not be in "Auto scan" mode. Follow the steps to configure your scanner into "Auto scan" mode.

Steps:

1. Unpair your scanner from your device.
2. Scan the "Auto scan" barcode:

If the scan is successful, then the scanner beeps 3 times. If the scanner doesn't beep 3 times, then disconnect from your device's Bluetooth and try scanning the "Auto scan" barcode again.

Troubleshoot the scanner powering off or not holding a charge

The Socket Mobile scanner powers off and disconnects after 2 hours of no activity by default. Turn off your device's Bluetooth, then scan the "scanner is always on" barcode to configure your scanner, so it doesn't turn off automatically:

After scanning the barcode, turn Bluetooth back on and make sure your scanner appears as connected.

If your Socket Mobile 2D scanner still powers off, doesn't power on, or doesn't hold the charge, then troubleshoot with the following steps:

• Factory reset your scanner.
• Reset your batteries. Remove the battery cover from the back of the data reader, take the batteries out, and then set them aside for 10 minutes. Re-insert the batteries, replace the battery door, and charge until the battery indicator light turns green. Charging might take up to six hours.
• Confirm your scanner is being charged with a suitable AC Power adapter. Charging your reader using an incorrect source (such as a computer USB port) won't provide enough current to charge the reader. This might result in the reader registering as having more charge than it does and shutting down.

If troubleshooting doesn't resolve the issue, then you might need to replace the batteries. The scanner includes two pre-installed AA NiMH rechargeable batteries. These batteries recharge using the provided USB power cable, or through a scanner cradle. The batteries aren't removed for the charging process.

Troubleshoot the dock not charging the scanner

If your charging dock isn't charging your Socket Mobile scanner, then troubleshoot with the following steps:

• Confirm the charging cable is plugged in securely:

• Confirm the charging pins are fully inserted into the scanner's charging ports and make contact with the scanner's charging pins:

• Confirm the screw on the battery door is tight and the battery door is closed:

• Confirm there's a green LED on the charging dock. If there isn’t, then the charging cable might not be fully inserted into the charging port on the dock.

If there's no green light on the charging dock, then remove the cable from the dock and insert it directly into the charging port on the side of the scanner.

If the scanner starts to charge, then the charging dock is most likely defective. If the scanner doesn't start to charge, then the charging cable is most likely defective.

If the scanner still doesn't charge, then plug the power adapter into a different power outlet. If the scanner charges when plugged into a new outlet, then the first power outlet might not be producing power.

Troubleshoot the scanner getting hot when charging

If your Socket Mobile 2D scanner gets too hot when charging, then unplug the scanner. Charging might make your scanner warm, but if it feels hot to the touch, then you need to immediately disconnect it from its power source and then contact the Socket Mobile Support Team

Troubleshoot the scanner turning off when scan button is pressed

If your Socket Mobile 2D scanner randomly turns off when you press the scan button then try the following troubleshooting steps.

Note

Best practice is to follow these steps at the end of a business day, so you can charge the scanner fully overnight.

Steps:

1. Remove the battery door from the scanner and take out the batteries.
2. Leave the batteries outside the scanner for 15-20 minutes.
3. Re-insert the batteries and charge the scanner until the battery light turns green.
4. Charge the scanner fully.

If the issue continues, then replace the scanner's batteries.

Replace the Socket Mobile 2D scanner batteries

You might need to replace the scanner's batteries if the scanner doesn't hold a charge or if the scanner turns off when the scan button is pressed. You can purchase new batteries from Socket Mobile.

Note

Make sure you only use NiMH rechargeable batteries. Charging alkaline or other battery types might damage the barcode scanner. Installing the batteries incorrectly might also damage the scanner.

To replace the scanner's batteries, you need the following items:

• Phillips screwdriver
• 2 AA rechargeable batteries with NiMH (Socket Mobile S700)
• 2 AAA rechargeable batteries with NiMH (Socket Mobile 7Ci)

Steps:

1. Loosen the screw with the screwdriver.
2. Remove the battery door.
3. Remove and replace the batteries.
4. Attach the battery door, and then tighten the screw.

Note

After installing new batteries, you need to fully charge the scanner from a wall outlet until the battery LED turns solid green. Charging from a computer USB port isn't recommended.

Battery life might vary with vibrate settings and work environment. Best practice is to replace the batteries within two years.

Factory reset the Socket Mobile 2D scanner

If the troubleshooting steps don't fix the issue with your Socket Mobile 2D scanner, then you can perform a factory reset by scanning a factory reset barcode or by manually resetting the scanner.

Note

If you connect your scanner to an Android device and factory resetting the scanner doesn't work, then you might need to reset the Android device. Before you reset your Android device, make sure you back up your device's data. Learn how to reset and backup your Android device.

Barcode scan reset

Steps:

1. Charge the scanner to at least 50% power.
2. Unpair the scanner and your device.
3. Power the scanner back on.
4. Scan the factory reset barcode. If the barcode is accepted you'll hear 5 beeps, and then the scanner powers off.

5. Pair the scanner with your device again.

Manual reset

Steps:

1. Turn on the scanner.

   

2. Press and hold the scan button.

   

3. Continue holding the scan button and press the power button one time.
4. Continue holding the scan button until you hear a beep (about 15 seconds). When you release the scan button you'll hear 5 confirmation beeps, and then the scanner powers off.

If you release the scan button before you hear the beep, then the factory reset fails and you'll need to start the manual factory reset steps from the beginning.

Supported barcode types

The Socket Mobile S720 2D scanner supports the following barcode types:

• Bookland EAN
• Chinese 2 of 5
• Codabar (including ISBT 128 bit concatenation)
• Code 11, Code 128
• Code 39
• Trioptic Code 39
• Code 39 Full ASCII
• Code 93
• Discrete 2 of 5
• GS1 DataBar (RSS)
• GS1-128 (UCC-128/EAN-128)
• ISBN
• ISBT 128
• Interleaved 2 of 5 (ITF-14)
• MSI
• Standard 2 of 5
• Telepen
• UPC/EAN (UPC-A, UPC-E, UPC-E1, EAN-13, EAN-8, UCC/EAN-128)
• VIN

Send a report to Shopify Support

If your Socket Mobile 2D scanner still isn't working after following the general troubleshooting steps and the specific issue's troubleshooting steps, then you can contact Shopify Support.

From your Shopify POS app, tap > Support > Contact Support.