Pinpad: How to connect a pinpad to a main terminal

The pinpad is a customer-facing device. It can be connected directly via cable to a main terminal, on which runs our Payments Terminals application. The main terminal automatically detects the pinpad upon connection. Importantly, only the main terminal needs to be added during onboarding; the pinpad itself does not require external configuration.

Prerequisites

  • Supported PAX Android Terminal. We currently support PAX A80 and A8500 (link to check A8500 specifications)
  • Payments Terminals application minimum version 4.0.1
  • Cable to connect pinpad to your main terminal (USB-A or USB-C)

Which type of cable to use when connecting your Q25 pinpad to your PAX terminal?

When connecting a Pinpad to another device, such as A8500 PAX Terminal, you can use two different cables: USB-A or USB-C. Depending on the selected cable, you may have to change one setting inside the pinpad OS Settings to allow the pinpad to communicate with your PAX terminal using the selected cable.

How to Access the OS Settings Menu

To begin, you must access the terminal's internal configuration menu before the payment application loads.

  1. Power off the terminal (or perform a reboot).
  2. Immediately as the terminal begins to power on, tap the 2 key repeatedly until the "Main Menu" or "OS Settings" screen appears.

Configuration Steps

Use these steps to change the USB cable.

  1. Select System Config from the main menu. (or "General" for newer versions)
  2. When prompted for a password, enter 123456
  3. Scroll down and select USB Func sel.
  4. Change the setting from USB A to USB C, based on the cable you are using
  5. Save and exit to allow the terminal to reboot.

 

USB-C

 

USB-A

 

 

Ensure your terminal correctly has our Market Pay software, when turned on, it should display Market Pay logo:

 

💡 Pro-Tips for Success

  • Timing is Key: If the terminal boots straight to the "Welcome" or "Input Amount" screen, you missed the window. Restart and tap the 2 key more rapidly.

Reboot Required: Changes to USB functions usually require a full reboot of the device to take effect.