# Network transitions on cellular readers

Understand how cellular-enabled readers transition between Ethernet, WiFi, cellular, and offline mode.

Cellular-enabled readers like the Stripe Reader S710 can fall back to a cellular connection when Ethernet and WiFi are unavailable. Network transitions affect payment processing and the connection between your point of sale (POS) application and the reader.

## Network priority

The reader prioritizes network connectivity in the following order:

1. Ethernet
2. WiFi
3. Cellular

When primary connectivity (Ethernet or WiFi) is lost, the reader falls back to cellular. When primary connectivity returns, the reader switches back automatically. See [Configure the cellular network](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/fleet/cellular.md) for configuration details.

## SDK integrations

### How the POS connects to the reader

Your POS application communicates with the reader over the local network (LAN). The reader’s connectivity determines whether a payment is processed online or stored for later forwarding.

If the POS and reader disconnect, the POS can reconnect to the reader for up to 24 hours after the last successful connection, even if the POS doesn’t have internet access. After 24 hours without a successful connection, the POS needs internet access to generate a new connection token.

### WiFi or Ethernet lost

When the reader loses its primary network connection:

- Online payments may fail while the reader transitions to cellular. The connection between your POS and the reader survives the transition. No reconnection is needed.
- After cellular activates, the reader processes payments online.

### Primary connectivity restored

When Ethernet or WiFi becomes available again:

- The reader switches back to the primary network automatically.
- The connection between your POS and the reader survives this transition.

### All connectivity lost

If cellular isn’t available or isn’t enabled and the reader loses Ethernet and WiFi:

- If [offline mode](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/features/operate-offline/overview.md) is enabled, payments are stored locally on the reader and forwarded when connectivity returns.
- If offline mode isn’t enabled, payments fail until connectivity is restored.

### POS loses internet

If the POS loses internet access while the reader is on cellular:

- The POS can reconnect to the reader for up to 24 hours after the last successful connection.
- The reader continues processing payments online using its cellular connection.
- After 24 hours without a successful connection, the POS needs internet access to establish a new connection.

## Server-driven integrations

For server-driven integrations, online payments may fail during the fallback window while the reader transitions from WiFi or Ethernet to cellular (typically 15 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on cellular signal strength). After cellular activates, the reader continues processing payments online.

## Best practices

- Keep your POS connected to the internet when possible to maintain a fresh connection with the reader.
- Enable [offline mode](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/features/operate-offline/overview.md) for resilience during transient connectivity gaps.
- Monitor reader network status in the [Dashboard](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/fleet/monitor-readers.md).