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I use one for business. Sometimes (rarely) it works on the first card swipe. Much more often I have to swipe a card half a dozen times or more. This of course makes some people nervous. Because Im gonna commit credit card fraud for $5? Does anyone have experience with their chip reader? I dont want to get one if its performance is the same. They want $40-$50 for them

I use one for business. Sometimes (rarely) it works on the first card swipe. Much more often I have to swipe a card half a dozen times or more. This of course makes some people nervous. Because Im gonna commit credit card fraud for $5? Does anyone have experience with their chip reader? I dont want to get one if its performance is the same. They want $40-$50 for them

(post is archived)

[–] • 2 pts

Guy at a gas station 20 years ago showed me if you swipe a credit card through a platic shopping bag, it will go through the first time.

Hold the credit card tight so there are no creases in the bag.

Not sure why that works.

[–] • 1 pt

This works because the head is dirty. The plastic allows the strip to once again move over the head at a constant distance. Smoothing the data and lowering error count. See my comment on cleaning it with a dollar bill.

[–] • 2 pts

A common trick with card readers is to run dollar bills through them. The cotton in the bills will likely clean the surface of the reader. This frequently allows them to work first time.

[–] • 1 pt

youre pulling my leg

[–] • 3 pts

This was an old timer's trick for cleaning sticky pads on a sax. It works. Most paper will also, but the cloth-like nature of bills makes them more effective.

[–] • 1 pt

Serious. They actually have cotton in them. They are lightly abrasive from the pulp and can clean the surface. Some ipa on the bill can also be used to assist in cleaning.

If it doesn't work, the issue isn't debris on the reader head.

[–] • 0 pt

ipa? as in beer?

[+] [deleted] • 1 pt