When experiencing anissue with your PIN pad device, one of the first things a help desk technicianwill have you do is swap the PIN pad with a known working one.
This is one of the easiest ways to pinpointexactly which part is failing.
If theissue follows the PIN pad to a different register, it can easily be determinedthat the problem is with that PIN pad.
Ifit stays at the register, then swapping the PIN pad cable out will determine ifthe issue is with the cable or the register.
This way it can easily and accurately ensure the failing element iscorrectly identified, minimizing down time due to improper diagnosis.
Many times the reason a PIN pad is not workingproperly is due to a loose cable connection.
Swapping it out will correct the issue becauseyou reseat the connections, resolving the issue.
Another suggestion is to have a spare PIN pad and a PIN padcable. This will not only save timeswapping out the PIN pad, but also will restrict any downtime to the oneaffected lane instead of taking down an additional lane. Another big advantage of having a spare is ifit is determined to be an issue with the PIN pad or cable, you can use yourspare until a replacement PIN pad or cable is sent to your store, againeliminating costly downtimes. If youdecide to keep a spare unit available, you should always swap out anyreplacement units once received from the processor with a known working unit toensure the replacement also works. Thiswill also guarantee the spare unit should work when needed as well.
