---
title: "Card reader not showing on the Jovvie Checkout payment page"
description: "Fix problems with the PIN prompt, the reader list, and reader status messages on the Jovvie payment page."
url: https://docs.jovvie.com/troubleshooting/reader-connection/
section: "Troubleshooting"
last_updated: 2026-10-26
---

# Card reader not showing on the Jovvie Checkout payment page

Section: Troubleshooting

> Fix problems with the PIN prompt, the reader list, and reader status messages on the Jovvie payment page.

If your reader does not show up on the Jovvie payment page, or the page asks for a PIN, this page helps you fix it. The Jovvie payment page is where staff choose a Stripe reader for a Jovvie Checkout payment. For the full steps, see [Take a payment on the Jovvie payment page](https://docs.jovvie.com/checkout/jovvie-payment-page/).

> **Caution: Before you charge again**
>
> If a problem happens after you click **Process Payment**, look at the reader and check your Stripe Dashboard before you try again. The customer may already have been charged, or the payment may still be processing.

## Access and PIN

### You see a card form instead of a list of readers

**Symptom:** The payment page shows fields for card details, not the **Choose a reader** list.

**Cause:** The **Card** option is selected.

**Fix:** Select **In-Person Payment**.

### **“Provide PIN to access”**

**Symptom:** You select **In-Person Payment** and the page asks for a PIN instead of showing your readers.

**Cause:** This device does not have access to your readers yet. The page asks for a PIN when nobody is signed in to WordPress on this device and the browser is not connected. A browser connection lasts one week, and it only works in the mode it was made in (live or test).

**Fix:**

1. In **PIN**, enter the Access PIN for your Jovvie account.
2. Click **Submit**.

If you do not know the Access PIN, ask the person who manages your Jovvie account.

To stop the PIN prompt on a device your staff use often, connect the browser. See [Use Checkout on a shared or kiosk device](https://docs.jovvie.com/checkout/connect-a-browser/).

### **“Wrong PIN”**

**Symptom:** You enter a PIN, click **Submit**, and briefly see this message. The PIN prompt stays on the page.

**Cause:** The PIN does not match the Access PIN for your Jovvie account.

**Fix:**

1. Enter the Access PIN again in **PIN**.
2. Click **Submit**.

If it still fails, ask the person who manages your Jovvie account for the current Access PIN.

### **“Wrong PIN”** appears every time the page opens

**Symptom:** As soon as the payment page opens, you see **Wrong PIN**, even though you did not enter anything.

**Cause:** **Remember PIN** was selected on this browser earlier, and the Access PIN has changed since then. The page keeps trying the old PIN.

**Fix:**

1. Enter the current Access PIN in **PIN**.
2. Select **Remember PIN**.
3. Click **Submit**.

Only select **Remember PIN** on a device that only your staff use.

## Reader list

### **“No readers found”**

**Symptom:** Under **Choose a reader**, the page shows **No readers found**, and you cannot click **Process Payment**.

**Cause:** No readers are available for this payment. This happens when:

- No reader is registered to your connected Stripe account.
- Your readers are registered in a different mode. Readers registered in live mode do not appear for test payments, and the reverse.
- This browser was connected with a location ID (the code for the place where your readers are registered), and no reader is registered to that location.

**Fix:**

1. Check that a reader is registered to the same location and mode you are using. See [Set up a location and readers in WordPress](https://docs.jovvie.com/checkout/locations-and-readers/).
2. If this browser was connected with a location ID, check that it is the right location. If not, connect the browser again with the correct location ID, as described in [Use Checkout on a shared or kiosk device](https://docs.jovvie.com/checkout/connect-a-browser/).
3. Reload the page in your browser to refresh the reader list.

### Your reader is listed, but its status is offline

**Symptom:** The reader appears under **Choose a reader**, but the status under its name shows it is offline.

**Cause:** The reader is turned off, asleep, or not connected to the internet.

**Fix:**

1. Turn the reader on and wake it.
2. Check that the reader is connected to the internet.
3. Wait for the reader to show it is ready.
4. Reload the page in your browser to refresh the reader list.

### You see simulated readers instead of your own readers

**Symptom:** A **Test Mode** banner appears at the top of the page, and the reader list starts with the message **This is a simulated mode readers list. To select real readers, click the button below:**

**Cause:** The payment is in test mode. In test mode, the page lists simulated readers, and no real card is charged.

**Fix:**

- To take a real payment, turn off test mode in your plugin and start the payment again. See [Use test mode](https://docs.jovvie.com/payments/test-mode/).
- To test with a physical reader that is registered in test mode, click **Switch to live readers**. This does not leave test mode or charge a real card.

## Reader status during a payment

### **“Terminal is not ready. Please try again.”**

**Symptom:** You click **Process Payment** and see this message.

**Cause:** The page has not finished preparing to talk to your readers. No payment was started.

**Fix:**

1. Wait a few seconds.
2. Click **Reload**.
3. Wait for the reader list to load.
4. Click **Process Payment**.

### **“Not connected. Please ensure your device is properly connected.”**

**Symptom:** This status appears after you click **Process Payment**, and the reader does not ask for a card.

**Cause:** The payment page cannot reach the reader.

**Fix:**

1. Check that the reader is turned on, charged, and connected to the internet.
2. Look at the reader screen to see whether a payment is in progress.
3. Check your Stripe Dashboard to make sure no payment for this purchase completed or is still processing.
4. Only then, click **Process Payment** again.

### **“Not ready. Please check the system status.”**

**Symptom:** This status appears after you click **Process Payment**.

**Cause:** The reader is connected but not ready to take a payment. It may be busy, updating, or showing a message of its own.

**Fix:**

1. Look at the reader screen and finish or cancel anything shown there.
2. Wait for the reader to be ready.
3. Check your Stripe Dashboard to make sure no payment for this purchase completed or is still processing.
4. Only then, click **Process Payment** again.

### **“Waiting for input. Please proceed on the connected terminal.”** but the reader shows nothing

**Symptom:** The page shows this status, but the reader in front of the customer is not asking for a card.

**Cause:** A different reader was selected under **Choose a reader**. The payment is waiting on that reader.

**Fix:**

1. Find the reader whose name was selected, and cancel the payment on it.
2. Check your Stripe Dashboard to make sure no payment for this purchase completed or is still processing.
3. Reload the page in your browser.
4. Under **Choose a reader**, select the reader in front of the customer.
5. Click **Process Payment**.

### An error appears with **Back** and **Reload** buttons

**Symptom:** After you click **Process Payment**, a message appears in a box with **Back** and **Reload** buttons. The text of the message comes from Stripe, for example when the reader could not be reached.

**Cause:** The reader could not connect or could not finish the payment.

**Fix:**

1. Look at the reader screen to see whether the payment went through.
2. Check your Stripe Dashboard for this payment. Look for payments that completed and payments that are still processing.
3. If a payment completed or is still processing, do not charge again. Contact support.
4. If no payment went through, click **Reload** and try again.

**Back** returns you to your site. Do not use it to stop a reader payment, and do not assume it prevents a charge. Before leaving the page or starting another payment, check the reader and your Stripe Dashboard. Confirm that no payment completed and none is still processing. If you cannot confirm this, contact support first.

## Still need help?

When you contact support, tell them which plugin you were using, the reader name, the message you saw, and the time it happened.

Contact [Jovvie support](https://jovvie.com/support/).