Hardware attaches to Appmint Mobile in two different ways, and picking the right one matters:
| Use when | |
|---|---|
| Paired to this device | The hardware belongs to whoever is holding the phone — a Bluetooth printer on a belt, a card reader a server carries |
| Through the Device Hub | The hardware is shared — a till printer several tablets send to |
Everything on this page is the first kind. Each pairing lives on that device, not on your account, so a new phone pairs again.
The printer, the card reader, the scanner, the NFC reader, the selected location and the home layout are all cleared when someone signs out — only the remembered organization and the one-tap account list survive. On a configured till or door device, use quick sign-in for staff changes and leave the session alone.
Where to find it all: the Devices tile on the home screen is the index — it shows the POS card reader, receipt printer, barcode scanner, NFC card reader and cash drawer with their live status, and opens each one's screen. The printer and card reader also have their own entries under More → Hardware.
Receipt printers
More → Printer, or Devices → Receipt printer.
1. Tap Scan. The app discovers nearby Bluetooth printers and lists them under Nearby printers. With Bluetooth off it says so instead: Bluetooth is off. Turn it on to discover Bluetooth printers.
2. Tap Pair on yours. It confirms Connected to
3. Set the paper width — 80 mm or 58 mm. Get this wrong and receipts wrap or waste half the roll.
4. Tap Test print. You should see Test receipt sent. Kick drawer tests the cash drawer the same way.
Once a default is saved, printing reconnects to it automatically. If nothing is connected and no default exists, printing fails with "No printer configured" rather than silently doing nothing.
USB and network printers are also supported where the device can reach them.
Cash drawers
A drawer plugs into the printer and opens by a kick command sent through it. There is nothing separate to pair — if the printer works, the drawer works.
Card readers
More → Payments, or Devices → POS card reader. The screen is a wizard; follow it in order.
1. Pick the venue. Which venue is this reader for? lists the organization's business locations. Readers register against a Stripe Terminal location, so this is not optional — a reader cannot be paired without one.
2. Give the venue an address if it has none — street, state or region, and a two-letter country code. Stripe requires it to register the location.
3. Put the reader in pairing mode. On an M2, hold the power button for about four seconds until it flashes.
4. Scan for readers, then tap the row that matches your reader's serial. Pairing can take up to 30 seconds.
5. Wait out the firmware update on a first pair. The screen says Updating reader firmware and it can take 2–5 minutes. Keep the reader powered and in range — this is the step people abandon, and abandoning it is what leaves a reader half-paired.
Done, the screen reads Ready to take card-present payments, and M2 reader becomes selectable at checkout. Unpair and Pair a different reader are on the same screen.
Tap to Pay, where the device supports it, needs no pairing at all — pick it at checkout and the phone takes over.
The app fetches its connection token from the platform and the SDK rotates it as needed, so there is nothing to renew by hand.
The reader talks to the payment processor. If the venue network is down the payment waits rather than completing — it is not queued and applied later. See connectivity.
Barcode scanners
Devices → Barcode scanner.
Two switches decide how scanning behaves on this device:
- Camera scanner — on by default, works from any scan button with no setup. Turn it off only to stop camera scanning entirely; the POS then answers Camera scanner is off — turn it on in Devices → Barcode scanner.
- App-wide hardware scanner — a paired scanner adds products from anywhere in the app, not just in a text field.
Two kinds work:
The device camera — nothing to pair. Fine for occasional scanning; slower for volume.
A Bluetooth scanner — pair it in scanner settings for anything sustained, like a door queue or a stock count. Put the scanner into BLE mode (not HID or SPP) with its configuration barcode before scanning for it, or it will not appear in the list. The screen shows Last scan: so you can prove it is working without leaving it.
With Bluetooth off the screen says so and reminds you the camera scanner still works without it.
Scanner input modes
All three inputs feed the same scan stream, so a screen that accepts a scan does not care which one produced it:
| Mode | How it reaches the app |
|---|---|
| Camera | The device camera, opened from the scan button. |
| HID keyboard wedge | A scanner that types. The app watches for a fast burst of at least 3 characters (gaps under 60 ms) and treats it as a scan; slower typing is left alone, so a scanner in keyboard mode never swallows what someone is typing by hand. Switch this off in scanner settings if it misfires. |
| BLE serial | A scanner paired in the app that sends codes over Bluetooth serial. This is the mode to use for volume; it needs the one-time configuration barcode that puts the scanner into BLE mode. |
NFC readers
Devices → NFC card reader.
Power the reader on in BLE or serial mode, then tap it in the list; it confirms NFC reader connected and closes. A phone with built-in NFC needs none of this — the screen says Built-in NFC ready.
Used for staff sign-in and access cards. Pair the reader, then register cards under Card management, where you link a physical card to an employee.
The card carries only the employee id, not a credential. Whether a PIN is also required on tap is an organization setting.
A Bluetooth reader sends each tap as one line ending in CR/LF: either the chip UID on its own, or UID|employeeId when the card's text record was written at issue. Devices with built-in NFC read the same two values directly. Either way the UID is the anti-clone key and the employee id is a convenience. See staff and access.
What is configured per device
| Setting | Scope |
|---|---|
| Paired printer and paper width | This device |
| Paired card reader | This device |
| Paired scanner | This device |
| Paired NFC reader | This device |
| Home layout | This device |
| Registered cards | The organization |
| Menus | The organization |
That split matters when you roll out: a new tablet needs its hardware paired and its home layout set, but inherits menus and cards.
Troubleshooting
The printer will not appear in the scan. Confirm it is powered, in pairing mode, and paired at the operating-system level first. Bluetooth printers usually need OS pairing before an app can see them.
Printing says "No printer configured." No default is saved on this device. Go to printer settings and connect one.
Receipts print with wrapped or cut-off text. Paper width is wrong. Switch between 80 mm and 58 mm.
The card reader will not pair. Almost always the location step — you must select a Stripe Terminal location, with an address, before connecting. If the wizard says No business locations on this org yet, create one first.
Pairing seems stuck for minutes. On a first pair the reader is taking a firmware update — 2 to 5 minutes is normal. Leave it powered and in range. Interrupting it is what causes the next pair to fail.
Checkout says "No M2 reader paired". This device has no reader saved. Tap Pair now from that message, or take the payment another way.
Checkout says Stripe is not configured. The organization has no Stripe integration, which is a web-side setup job, not a device one. See payments.
The camera scanner does nothing. Camera scanner is switched off under Devices → Barcode scanner.
A Bluetooth scanner never appears. It is in HID or SPP mode. Scan its BLE-mode configuration barcode and rescan.
The reader paired yesterday but not today. It reconnects by saved serial. If the reader was paired to another phone in between, re-pair it here. If everything on the device is suddenly unpaired, someone signed out — that clears all of it.
Scans go to the wrong place. A Bluetooth scanner in keyboard mode types into whatever has focus. Use scanner settings rather than leaving it as a keyboard.