Toast Go® Handheld Card Reader / Payment-Blocking Issue
Last updated: Sep 22, 2025, 10:50 AM
After the Toast Go® handheld update to Android 12, you may experience a “card readers cannot be recognized” error, which can be temporarily resolved by resetting the Card Reader.
| If you are experiencing connectivity problems between the credit card reader and your Toast Go® handheld, it is advisable to prioritize rebooting the device as a potential resolution. |
After the Toast Go® handheld update to Android 12, you may experience a “card readers cannot be recognized” error which can be temporarily resolved by resetting the Card Reader.
When troubleshooting issues with Toast Go® handheld, Clear Storage (as outlined below) should only be used if other, less invasive troubleshooting steps have been taken and have not resolved the issue. If Clear Storage is used, make sure to follow the necessary steps to re-enable Location and Nearby Device permissions.
In this Article:
Reset the Card Reader
- Wake up the card reader by pressing the Card icon in the lower left corner of the passcode screen (the Card icon will remain blue if this step worked)
- Power cycle your device by turning off the Toast Go® handheld and turning it back on. This may require you to log back into your Toast account. If you’ve forgotten your Toast password, check out for instructions on how to reset your password.
- Clear Cache from Android Settings:
- Force quit the Toast app by selecting the square icon on the bottom of your screen, swiping all the way to the left, and selecting close all.
- Clear your terminal’s cache by navigating to your terminal’s home screen and selecting the Clear Cache icon. Then, select the Clear Cache button on the top right of your screen.
- Ensure the location permission is set to “Allow all the time” by navigating to (select your device):
- Toast Go® 2: Settings > Apps & notifications > Toast POS > Permissions > Location, where the Allow all the time setting should be selected. If it’s not, go ahead and select it, and enable Use precise location as well.
- Toast Go® 3: Settings & tools > Service settings > Apps > Toast POS > Permissions > Location > Allow all the time.
- LAST RESORT: Clear Storage from Android Settings
- Note Clearing storage will require Location and Nearby Device permissions to be re-enabled on the device. Clear Storage is a common troubleshooting step and if it was already executed, follow these steps to re-apply the Location and Nearby Device permissions.
- If these permissions are not enabled on the device, it may result in displaying the PCI Blocking Banner.
- Please confirm that the card reader is connected and its functions are working properly in the Card Reader Test App. For more detailed troubleshooting instructions, you can refer to this article: .
- Ensure the location permission is set to "Allow all the time” by navigating to (select your device):
- Toast Go® 2: Settings > Apps & notifications > Toast POS > Permissions > Location, where the Allow all the time setting should be selected. If it's not, go ahead and select it, and enable Use precise location as well.
- Toast Go® 3: Settings & tools > Service settings > Apps > Toast POS > Permissions > Location > Allow all the time
- Ensure the Nearby Devices permissions is set to “Allow” by navigating to Settings > Apps & notifications > Toast POS > Permissions > Nearby Devices and selecting Allow.
- Power cycle the device and attempt a test payment.
- If the test payment is not successful, Clear cache, and attempt the test payment again.
- If the test payment is still not successful, Clear storage. Note that this action will reset the location permissions, so you'll need to set them back by following the aforementioned navigation (select your device):
Video Tutorials
Location Permissions
Clearing Cache and Clearing Storage