Designed for payment processing environments where high latency, jitter, or packet loss can cause transaction failures.
1. Connection Details
- Is the POS/router connected via Ethernet or Wi-Fi?
- If Wi-Fi:
- Band used: 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz
- Distance from router and obstructions (metal shelves, coolers, concrete walls)
- Any recent changes to network layout or placement
2. Network Load
- How many devices are connected to the same network?
- Are other devices streaming, downloading, or uploading large files during POS operation?
- Does the POS share its connection with public Wi-Fi?
3. Service Provider & Hardware
- ISP or carrier name
- Type of connection: Cellular (LTE/5G), Cable, Fiber, DSL
- Router/modem make & model
- Is router firmware up to date?
- Has the router been restarted recently?
4. Signal Strength & Quality
- For cellular: bars and/or dBm reading (e.g., -65 dBm is strong, -105 dBm is weak)
- For wired: verify Ethernet cable is CAT5e or better and securely plugged in
- For Wi-Fi: test RSSI or signal quality percentage
5. Performance Testing
- Idle ping (baseline latency)
- Download ping (latency under heavy download)
- Upload ping (latency under heavy upload)
- Jitter readings for all three
- Packet loss percentage
- Test at different times of day (peak vs. off-peak hours)
6. Third-Party Resources
- Confirm payment processor status (Stripe, Square, Clover, etc.)
- Check for known outages on their status pages
- Run traceroute to payment gateway to see if latency is on ISP or provider’s end
Generic Network Troubleshooting Checklist
For diagnosing latency, packet loss, and connection stability in any environment.
1. Physical & Connection Type
- Wired or wireless?
- For wired: check cables for damage, use at least CAT5e
- For wireless: band used (2.4 GHz for range, 5 GHz for speed), distance, and obstacles
2. Device Count & Bandwidth Load
- How many devices are connected?
- Are there any bandwidth-heavy activities (streaming, gaming, large file transfers)?
- Is QoS enabled on the router to prioritize critical devices?
3. Equipment & ISP
- ISP name and type of service (Fiber, Cable, DSL, Cellular)
- Modem/router model
- Firmware version
- Router placement and cooling (avoid overheating)
4. Signal & Speed
- Signal strength (Wi-Fi RSSI / cellular dBm)
- Speed test results (download, upload, ping)
- Idle ping vs. under-load pings
- Jitter and packet loss measurements
5. Interference Sources
- Nearby devices emitting interference (microwaves, cordless phones, Bluetooth)
- Neighboring Wi-Fi channels congestion (use Wi-Fi analyzer to check)
6. External Factors
- Are you connecting to a remote service, game server, or VPN?
- Have you checked if that remote server is experiencing delays or outages?
- Is there maintenance or network congestion reported by the ISP?