iphone contactless payment, device not recognise the merchant terminal

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Level 1

4 points

iphone contactless payment, device not recognise the merchant terminal

Hey guys, I hope that someone has an answer for my issue. I have an Iphone 14 to which I have transferred my apple id and settings from Iphone SE. For six months I had no issue till I upgraded to IOS 18. Since then I constantly have issues with contactless payments. The issue seems to have been described several times in the community however I see no resolution. The thing is that when I try to pay, the device stays on the payment initiation screen with chosen card and message ‘hold near reader’ and that’s it. The payment is not initiated like the merchant terminal does not recognise the phone. Let me provide some more details- the issue happens like on 80% of my payment attempts on different terminals. On all of those terminals I used to pay without issue in the past. There are terminals where I’m now having no successful payment and there are certain terminals on which I have 100% success rate. Again, previously i had no issues. The issue is not the phone case. I have no vpn settings. The issue is not with the cards in the wallet. All of them were working fine. The issue is not with the merchants/ terminals. According to apple support, no issue with the phone based on remote diagnostics. After I have called them, the suggestion was to erase all setting on the phone. After I did that I went immediately to a store where I have 0 success rate and- miracle. The nfc communication was flawless. After that I have started changing the phone settings and till I have finished the issue appeared again. Multiple times I have been removing and adding my cards(3 in total) to the wallet with no success . All cards behave the same. The other day I have erased the phone and set it up without backup( to avoid transferring of conflicting settings). Since I’m writing here, obviously no luck. I’m desperate now. Anyone? Please do not hijack the post

Posted on Jan 17, 2025 11:16 AM

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Answer 1

Mac Jim ID

Level 7

31,361 points

Jan 17, 2025 11:26 AM in response to zar145t

The issue you are having is a Hardware issue either with the Terminal or your phone. With the Hold Near Reader message on your phone, communication is not happening. For some retailers, such as Home Depot or Walmart, this is normal as they do not support Apple Pay. Other terminals have different locations where the phone must be placed and there is no standard location. Since you seem experienced in the use of Apple Pay, I suspect you are well aware of those idiosyncrasies, so would tend to think it was your phone.

While I saw you called Apple Support, I would recommend scheduling an appointment with an Apple Store as they are able to specifically test the NFC reader on your phone to make sure it is working correctly. It is those intermittent problems that are the most difficult to diagnose, but you may have success

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Answer 2

zar145t Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 17, 2025 11:39 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

It is not the terminals for sure as i have mentioned. All of those are terminals where I had no problem and according to the staff there I’m the only one experiencing difficulties. Visiting Apple store will be the last resort but does not explain why on some terminals i have no issue. I’m trying several times per day on same terminals. I’m clueless. And what have the reset settings had to do with fixing the issue for a while. No idea

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Answer 3

Jeff Donald

Level 7

31,254 points

Jan 17, 2025 5:31 PM in response to zar145t

Did Apple Support do remote diagnostics when you called them? They can diagnose NFC issues. There are also free apps that can diagnose NFC issues. But if it’s intermittent, diagnostics will probably report no issue.

I think you have multiple issues contributing to the NFC issue you’re confronting. I suspect the NFC antenna is having issues. The antennae transmission and reception of data can be affected by cases and proximity of device to transaction terminal. In most cases, the iPhone must be within 2 inches of the terminal.

Some terminals may have stronger transmitters and connect when others don’t. Basically, there are no NFC police that inspect all the terminals and make the merchants comply. In the same vein, your iPhone was manufactured with an antennae that is at the other spectrum of norm. It works when held very close to a terminal and/or held at a certain angle and it connects. Those are the symptoms of an intermittent issue.

The iPhone passes diagnostics tests, but it doesn’t work at every merchant every time. That’s basically the definition of an intermittent device. Certainly the case could be an issue. The argument is, I don’t use a case and never have issues. That’s a real naive argument, because as illustrated, there are multiple contributing factors. So, what’s the answer? There is no answer, other than to continue to troubleshoot the intermittent issue. Try to note different times, cards, merchants, terminals and probably 2 dozen other potential factors.

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Answer 4

Jeff Donald

Level 7

31,254 points

Jan 17, 2025 3:37 PM in response to zar145t

So, who’s the merchant that has the terminal you’re using 3 or 4 times a day?

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