# Connect to a reader Connect your application to a Stripe Terminal reader. > If you haven’t chosen a reader yet, compare the available [Terminal readers](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/payments/setup-reader.md) and choose one that best suits your needs. # Smart Readers Smart readers run Stripe reader software to communicate directly with Stripe over the internet. Connecting your app to a smart reader requires three steps: 1. [Register a reader](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/payments/connect-reader.md#register-reader) to your Stripe account. 2. [Discover readers](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/payments/connect-reader.md#discover-readers) with the SDK. 3. [Connect to a reader](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/payments/connect-reader.md#connect-reader) with the SDK. ## Register a reader [Server-side] Before you can connect your application to a smart reader, you must register the reader to your account. #### Dashboard ### Register in the Dashboard You can add your reader directly in the [Dashboard](https://dashboard.stripe.com/test/terminal). #### Register by registration code 1. In the [Readers](https://dashboard.stripe.com/terminal/readers) page, click **Register reader**. 2. If you have a [smart reader](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/smart-readers.md), enter the key sequence `0-7-1-3-9` to display a unique registration code. If you have a BBPOS WisePOS E or Stripe Reader S700/S710, go to the [reader settings](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/payments/setup-reader/bbpos-wisepos-e.md#settings) and tap **Generate pairing code**. 3. Enter the registration code then click **Next**. 4. Optionally, choose a name for the reader. 5. If you already created a Location, select the reader’s new Location. Otherwise, create a Location by clicking **+ Add new**. 6. Click **Register** to finish registering your reader. #### Register by serial number 1. In the [Readers](https://dashboard.stripe.com/terminal/readers) page, click **Register reader**. 2. Find the serial number on the device and enter the serial number. To register multiple devices at once, you can enter multiple serial numbers separated by commas. 3. Optionally, choose a name for the reader. 4. If you already created a Location, select the reader’s new Location. Otherwise, create a Location by clicking **+ Add new**. 5. Click **Register** to finish registering your reader. #### Register by hardware order 1. In the [Hardware orders](https://dashboard.stripe.com/terminal/hardware_orders) page, find an order with a status of either “shipped” or “delivered.” Click the overflow menu (⋯) at the end of the row, then click **Register**. 2. On the **Register Readers** page, select one or more readers from the hardware order to register, then click **Register**. 3. Optionally, choose a name for the reader. If you selected multiple readers, the name serves as a prefix and we name the readers sequentially (for example, for a given input of “Test reader”, we name the readers “Test reader 1”, “Test reader 2”, and so on). 4. If you already created a Location, select the reader’s new Location. Otherwise, create a Location by clicking **+ Add new**. 5. Click **Register** to finish registering your readers. #### API For larger deployments, enable users in the field to receive and set up new readers on their own. In your app, build a flow to [register](https://docs.stripe.com/api/terminal/readers/create.md) a reader with the Stripe API. 1. If you have a [smart reader](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/smart-readers.md), enter the key sequence `0-7-1-3-9` to display a unique registration code. If you have a BBPOS WisePOS E or Stripe Reader S700/S710, go to the [reader settings](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/payments/setup-reader/bbpos-wisepos-e.md#settings) and tap **Generate pairing code**. 2. The user enters the code in your application. 3. Your application sends the code to Stripe: ```curl curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/terminal/readers \ -u "<>:" \ -d registration_code={{READER_REGISTRATION_CODE}} \ --data-urlencode "label=Alice's reader" \ -d "location={{TERMINALLOCATION_ID}}" ``` To confirm that you’ve registered a reader correctly, list all the readers you’ve registered at that location: #### curl ```bash curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/terminal/readers \ -u <>: ``` ## Discover readers [Client-side] - [discoverReaders (React Native)](https://stripe.dev/stripe-terminal-react-native/api-reference/interfaces/StripeTerminalSdkType.html#discoverReaders) After registering the reader to your account, search for previously registered readers to connect to your point-of-sale application with `discoverReaders`, setting `discoveryMethod` to `internet`. You can scope your discovery using the `location` you registered the reader to in the previous step. ```js export default function DiscoverScreen() { const { discoverReaders, discoveredReaders } = useStripeTerminal({ onUpdateDiscoveredReaders: (readers) => { // After the SDK discovers a reader, your app can connect to it. }, }); useEffect(() => { const fetchReaders = async () => { const { error } = await discoverReaders({ discoveryMethod: 'internet', }); } fetchReaders(); }, [discoverReaders]); return ; } ``` ## Connect to a reader [Client-side] > In version `0.0.1-beta.29` of the React Native SDK, you can use the [easyConnect](https://stripe.dev/stripe-terminal-react-native/api-reference/interfaces/StripeTerminalSdkType.html#easyconnect) method to combine reader discovery and connection into a single API call for a simpler integration experience. To connect your point-of-sale application to a reader, call `connectReader` with the selected reader. To prevent connection failures, make sure you always pass a reader object from the most recent discovery results. Don’t cache or reuse reader objects from a previous discovery session. ```js const { reader, error } = await connectReader({ discoveryMethod: 'internet', reader, }); if (error) { console.log('connectReader error:', error); return; } console.log('Reader connected successfully', reader); ``` - [connectReader (React Native)](https://stripe.dev/stripe-terminal-react-native/api-reference/interfaces/StripeTerminalSdkType.html#connectreader-1) ### Multiple connections Only one instance of the Stripe Terminal SDK can connect to a reader at a given time. By default, when you call `connectReader` from another application, the incoming connection replaces the existing SDK-to-reader connection, and the previously connected SDK disconnects from the reader. The `connectReader` method takes a configuration object with a `failIfInUse` property, whose default value is `false`. When your application sets `failIfInUse` to true, the `connectReader` call has an alternate behavior where the incoming connection fails when the reader is in the middle of a `collectPaymentMethod` or `confirmPaymentIntent` call initiated by another SDK. If the reader is connected to another SDK but is idle (displaying the splash screen before `collectPaymentMethod` is called), setting `failIfInUse` has no change to the connection behavior, and the incoming connection request can always break the existing SDK-to-reader connection. ```js const { reader: connectedReader, error } = await connectReader({ discoveryMethod: 'internet', reader, failIfInUse: true, }); ``` | | failIfInUse is false (default) | failIfInUse is true | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `connectInternetReader` called from a new SDK when the reader is idle. | The existing SDK-to-reader connection breaks, and the new SDK connects to the reader. The next command from the previously-connected SDK fails with a reader error, and that app’s `onDidDisconnect` method is called. | The existing SDK-to-reader connection breaks, and the new SDK connects to the reader. The next command from the previously-connected SDK fails with a reader error, and that app’s `onDidDisconnect` method is called. | | `connectInternetReader` called from a new SDK when the reader is mid-transaction. | The existing SDK-to-reader connection breaks, and the new SDK connects to the reader. The next command from the previously-connected SDK fails with a reader error, and that app’s `onDidDisconnect` method is called. | The incoming connection fails with a reader error. The existing SDK-to-reader connection doesn’t break and the command in progress continues. | For the least-disruptive connection experience in multi-reader environments, we recommend setting `failIfInUse` to `true` on your application’s initial connection attempt. Then, allow your users to retry the connection with `failIfInUse` set to `false` if the connection fails the first time. With this setup, one of your users can’t accidentally interrupt a transaction by inadvertently connecting to an in-use reader, but can still connect if needed. ### Handle disconnects - [UserCallbacks (React Native)](https://stripe.dev/stripe-terminal-react-native/api-reference/index.html#UserCallbacks) Your app must implement the `onDidDisconnect` callback to handle when a reader disconnects. When you implement this callback, display a UI that notifies your user of the disconnected reader. You can call `discoverReaders` to scan for readers and initiate reconnection. Your app can attempt to automatically reconnect to the disconnected reader or display a UI that prompts your user to reconnect to a different reader. The reader can disconnect from your app if it loses connection to the network. To simulate an unexpected disconnect, power off the reader. ```js const terminal = useStripeTerminal({ onDidDisconnect: (result) => { // Consider displaying a UI to notify the user and start rediscovering readers }, }); ``` ### Automatic reconnection Stripe Terminal doesn’t automatically reconnect to a reader when your application starts. Instead, you can build a reconnection flow by storing reader IDs and attempting to connect to a known reader on startup. Display some UI during the discovery and connection process to indicate that an automatic reconnection is taking place. ## Next steps You’ve connected your application to the reader. Next, [collect your first Stripe Terminal payment](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/payments/collect-card-payment.md). The BBPOS and Chipper™ name and logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of BBPOS Limited in the United States or other countries. The Verifone® name and logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Verifone in the United States and/or other countries. Use of the trademarks doesn’t imply any endorsement by BBPOS or Verifone.