iPhone 4 Square Card Reader Interaction
The new iPhone 4 design uses a 3-part steel band that acts as an antenna. As a result of this design, the Square Card Reader can malfunction when it comes into contact with the steel band.
An initial workaround for this problem with the Card Reader and iPhone 4:
- Poke a hole in a small piece of paper with the square plug.
- Move the piece of paper all the way down to the base of the plug, as shown in the picture.
- Plug in the Card Reader, making sure that the paper is between the metal base and the iPhone 4's casing.
We are working on a permanent fix to prevent this issue.
Much thanks to Steven Noreyko who reported this fix in the Square forums.
Further Explanation:In our original Square design, we had to make a headphone plug that was compatible with the original iPhone headphone jack, which was recessed, and the iPhone 3G and iPod touch.The steel area where the headset jack is mounted is an antenna. When the base of the Square Card Reader makes contact with the headphone jack and the steel casing at the same time, the ground contact on the Card Reader is bridged with the antenna thereby distorting the incoming signal and causing noise and unpredictable behavior. Some of the problems this has caused are:
- Inability to properly distinguish the type of device plugged in to the headset
- No detection of plugin and unplugs of the square
- Detection of a new external microphone, causing the operating system to route audio from the voice microphone to the Square app, which would then constantly detect failed swipes
If you have questions or need help, please contact Square support. Thank you for your patience.
