Basic Station Troubleshooting – Alpha POS Services

Primary Path not Found

Cause: The main focus station cannot be detected over the network, or the software on the focus station is not running. If this is happening to all stations, see Solutions 1 and 2. If just happening to one or a few stations, apply Solution 3 to each.

Solution 1 – Restart the problem terminals

Before attempting any other troubleshooting, it is always good practice to unplug the problem terminal, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in.
1. The power cable is always located on the bottom left of the terminal near a blue light.

Solution 2 – Make sure the software is running on the main station

Go to the main focus station (says focus on the bottom right when software is running) and ensure the software is running.
1. If not running, triple tap on the orange Focus icon
  1. Once started, attempt to start focus on the other stations
2. If running, ensure that the terminal is connected to the internet (see Solution 2)

Solution 3 – Check to see if the Focus station is connected to the internet

If the software is running, close out of it using the door icon in the bottom right (might need a manager’s code)
Once you see the desktop, tap on the very bottom of the screen to bring up the windows task bar
On the bottom right of the task bar, check to look for the internet icon. See images below to see which icon you should be looking for. The image with the monitor means there is internet, the image with the globe means there is no internet detected.
If you do not see the internet connected, apply solution 3 to the main server
1. If you do see the internet connected, apply solution 3 to the problem terminals

Solution 4 – Reconnecting the station to the internet

First, check that ALL connections of the ethernet cable are secure, and clicked in.
1. There will be one ethernet cable per station, located on the bottom of the monitor
2. Once found, attempt to unplug the cable and plug it back into the SAME port that it was originally plugged in to
Next, follow the ethernet and check if there are any switches that are unpowered or unplugged.
1. An ethernet switch is a small box that has many different ethernet cables running in and out of it. Ethernet switches will ALWAYS be powered by some external cable, and you should see flashing lights.
2. If you find a switch, attempt to first unplug it, wait for 1 minute, and plug the power back in.
As a last resort, you may attempt to restart the modem at the venue, though this is only recommended if all internet is offline.

Backup Path not Found

Cause: The backup path cannot be located over the network. If this is happening overnight and preventing terminals from restarting in the morning, see Solution 2.

Solution 1 – Ensure the backup terminal is up and running

First, go to the backup terminal and make sure the software is running, and the terminal is connected to the internet.
If connected to the internet, attempt a standard restart on the terminal by holding the power switch down for 10-15 seconds.

Solution 2 – Silencing the message to prevent startup problems

Due to the fact that the backup is not necessarily required for Focus to function, we can mute the message to prevent any issues with restarts that happen overnight.
First, right click the Focus icon on the desktop and click properties.
Next, navigate to where you see the “arguments” section of the properties menu
Append “ -b” without the quotes to the end of the arguments string.
1. This tells focus to ignore the backup path when starting up
Start Focus as an admin and the backup path message should never appear again

Focus displaying "Invalid Key" w/ Red Bar

Cause: This message means focus cannot detect a hardware key on any of the stations.

Solution 1 – Restarting the station with the key plugged into it, and restarting problem stations

First, locate the station that has the hardware key plugged in to it.
1. The hardware key is a small physical USB drive that is purple with a red light. This is plugged into the bottom of a terminal (usually the main focus term)
Next, power down that station by holding down the power switch for 10-15 seconds. After waiting a minute, power it back on.
After that, power down the station showing an Invalid Key message using the same process.
After the restarts, the stations should now be showing a number next to the key instead of the error message.
1. If issue persists, see Solution 2.

Solution 2 – Relocating the hardware key to another station

First, locate the hardware key.
Power down the station by holding the power button and remove the hardware key.
Locate another terminal to move the key to, preferably a reliable one like the backup station.
Power down the new terminal, and while powered off insert the hardware key into any of the available USB slots.
Power on any stations that are still powered down.
You should now see the hardware key populating instead of the error message.

Terminal Not Powering On

Cause: This is almost always caused by an unplugged cable/power strip, or in exceedingly rare cases a bad cable.

Solution 1 – Ensure the cables are tightly connected

First, ensure the black power cable on the bottom left of the terminal is securely in place and locked into the slot.
Next, follow the cable until you reach a power brick. Ensure that the brick is connected together tightly
Finally, ensure that the cable from the brick to the outlet is secured.
If all cables are tight, ensure that any possible power strip that the terminal is plugged in to is also powered on and did not get turned off.
Lastly, attempt to plug the terminal into another outlet to figure out if it is terminal related or if the issue is stemming from a bad power outlet.

Credit Card Reader is Displaying "This Lane Closed"

Cause: The UTG (Universal Transaction Gateway) is having trouble connecting to the pinpad

Solution 1 – Restarting the terminal

Remove the power plug from the terminal (located on the bottom right) and ensure that the screen and pinpad go completely black.
Wait for 30 seconds and plug the power back into the terminal.
Upon reboot, the UTG will have restarted and should automatically redetect the pinpad. Keep in mind the pinpad will take a few minutes longer to fully restart than the terminals, so be patient.
Test a card once you see the blue “Shift 4” logo on the pinpad for at least 15 seconds uninterrupted.

Terminal Displaying "Focus is already running"

Cause: Focus did not fully close, and windows will not allow 2 instances to start at once

Solution 1 – Kill the Focus.exe task

This will only work if you have a keyboard/mouse. Open up task manager by typing control/alt/delete and clicking on the Task Manager button.
Navigate to the task named “Focus.exe” and click on it
On the bottom right, hit end task and the program should close.
You should now be able to start Focus normally now.

Solution 2 – Restarting the terminal

If no keyboard/mouse is available, restarting the terminal will accomplish the same task. Power down the terminal by holding the power switch for 10-15 seconds
Wait 30 seconds, then power the terminal back on.
You should now be able to start focus, though it should automatically start on restart anyways.

Cash Drawer will not Open

Cause: This is usually cause by one of two things. One, the printer is not powered on. Two, the cable connecting the cash drawer and printer has either gone bad or come lose.

Solution 1 – Ensure the printer is functioning and powered on

First check that the printer is on and is actively printing tickets.
If so, give the printer a restart and see if that resolves the cash drawer issue.

Solution 2 – Check the cash drawer cable

The cash drawer cable connects the cash drawer to the guest check printer. Check behind the printer and make sure the small ethernet-type connecter did not get jarred loose and is clicked in.
Check the other side of the cable, usually connected to the back of the cash drawer.
If the cable is confirmed connected, it may be a bad cable. Locate a new cable and attempt to replace it with the old one.
If the new cable still does not resolve the issue, try connecting a new guest check printer to check if the issue is on the printer end.