The Card Reader becomes "blocked" after receiving a small shock/hit

ii think its just a scam so that you buy a new one i have dropped

my one lots of time, and it was always working then suddenly two

days ago a customer inserts a card and it stopped working and it was not dropped

i think its a scam by sumup to make more money, i think that they

block your machine from from their end so you buy a new one

This happened to me while my reader was sat in it's box, fully charged in my desk draw. So after being told multiple times they couldn't replace it and I had to buy a new one, I decided to do the petty (but morally right) thing and issue a small claims court notice at essentially the same price as a new machine.

Surprise surprise, two weeks later they refunded me the money + the court fee (£85).

I would suggest everyone who has this same issue to do the same. They shouldn't develop things with planned obselesance, its the last thing the planet needs.

@norman ludgate

unfortunatly not. I throw the broken one away and bought a new one.

@michaelhow57243 we have the same issue. Card reader never been used since it was bought in 2017 other than a quick test transaction.

Do you have the details of what you put in your claim as I want to go down the same route? Or at least the gist of it?

This isn't about the money it is making sure they start to take some notice and produce a product that doesn't block when it shouldn't or at least replace for free in circumstances like this.

Mine worked fine last weekend. Turned it on today to find it blocked. Not been dropped (just been sitting on worktop all week). Wasted ages messaging robots through Sumup Support. Finally spoke to a human to be told its several years old - buy a new one! When I objected & said it hadn't been dropped or even used since last week, I was told it had probably been plugged in too long or subject to extreme temperatures 🤯

I have now replaced it WITH A ZETTLE.

I'm convinced Sumup stop them working from their end to make you replace the reader. Won't be buying another from them!

Two devices blocked in the same week, both four months out of warranty. I put both devices in the closet and after three weeks of vacation they are blocked.
On the solo I get the message that I'm getting a brand new one, but after contacting sumup that also turns out to be a scam. I was with Sumup and their company account. But now without any leniency I am not very happy anymore.

I’ve the same issue with my Air terminal. We use that device in our taxi and suddenly it broke today at 8:45 am. This %#*@ thing never touched the floor or anything else and it’s always charged. The device is out of warrenty since February 2021.

Support sad to me the same thing “we can’t do anything else. Please buy a new device”.

Were you be able to find out anything regarding electronics and reverse engineering?

Hi, I have only just began to dismantle my Paperweight (SumUp Reader) I will upload my findings at a later date but currently it seems as though the only way to reset the configuration is with an interface (I haven’t figured out which as yet?) but have I have tried several various software methods. I have managed to make the device discoverable but non writeable! Once I have uploaded the Board & component details (Photos) I am hoping that there will be others that will recognise them & maybe able to offer a schematic?

Unfortunately at this moment in time, I am afraid that a replacement unit is currently the only quick fix solution

Yep, I bought a new device so we can further accept payments.

I also found this topic while I was doing a small research

https://gitlab.com/Lazlo/sumup-reversed

He listed some of the components of the Sumup Air Terminal. Maybe it could be useful.

I guess if we want to reset the device we need to unsolder some chips right?

Did you manage to fix this? I have a similar problem and my card reader was not dropped…

I get the need for tamper protection (probably needed for PCI DSS compliance), but the devices are too fragile. We bought 4 solo devices to use in our theatre bar and coffee corner. One of them came up with the blocked message. From enquiries, I think it was dropped onto the counter (about 20cm) - there isn't a single mark on the device. I contacted sumup as it was still in warranty (just) but they said a drop voids the warranty (despite there being no evidence of such - my fault for even mentioning it!).

I won't be recommending anything other than the air readers from now on, as they are much cheaper to replace.

The sumup app on android is supposed to support "tap on phone", which could be used for contactless if the card reader fails, but despite ensuring nfc is enabled on my phone I never see the option in the checkout. No idea if they'll be adding a similar feature to the ios app now that apple tap to pay is a thing.

For anyone new starting out I'll be pointing them at zettle, as the 'tap on phone' feature works on their app!

We had not used the device for a year or so due to covid. It would not charge, or turn on without the lead connected. I opened it up by removing the 2 screws under the rear label. The battery measured only 0.8 volts so was presumably too low to charge. I charged it up to 3.5V from an external supply. It then booted fine but came up with the contact support message.

I suspect that once you take the back off the little switch mechanism activates and bricks the unit. Dropping it can also trigger this. Seems unfair.

Have the same problem sumup won't replace it and assume i use pay urls but when i ask about maestro cards and pay online they only say min 1 its possible, min 2 its probably possible and min 3 it's then not possible, they should start learning how they're products work before they go to support...

It's an OTP bit in their secure SoC. Unable to reset without a very precise gamma strike into the SoC silicon structure.

The tamper trigger is a set of logic gates - tamper contacts reversed and then ANDed with a precise reference voltage input. This way the tamper triggers also when voltage is too low.

And yes, you are right it's a PCI DSS certification mandate - the card terminal needs to be permanently rendered useless once tampered with to prevent potential threats like bugging by deliberate malicious actors. (You need to know a bugged card terminal is not easily distinguishable, unlike skimming covers.)

@dtdink:
For anyone new starting out I'll be pointing them at zettle

@kim74979
I have now replaced it WITH A ZETTLE.

Careful with those ones too! I just had a Zettle reader somehow end up in a permanent state that says "Reader Damaged". I kept it in it's box and rarely used it, maybe 3 or 4 times in about 2 years. The reader was handled very gently and only charged when it needed it. Now it's a paperweight.

Contacted Paypal support, and they said to try holding the power button '⏻' and the '9' button down for 5 seconds to reset. That didn't work. They sent a $50 credit and said to buy a new one.

I'm wondering what it is about these card readers that would make them put in such a stupid failure mode. Some people here on the Paypal forums kept being sent new ones that all had already been stuck in "Reader Damaged" state. What a defective by design product!

I'm considering taking it apart to see what could have possibly gone wrong to cause it to think it's "damaged". 🤷

Only solution what i think is good; Buy a android smartphone and use the available NFC-Function with tap to pay.

iPhones support his feature too but only within EU.