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PAX Credit Card Reader Setup

Warning

This is a technical setup that involves editing your computer's host file using Notepad++ ( https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/ ) on a PC and Terminal on a MAC. You can do this only if you have Administrator access to your computer on Windows.

If your district has a firewall you may need to Whitelist the store4schools.com as well as heartlandportico.com

Instructions below are designed for the PAX A35 if using the PAX A920 the screenshots might look slightly different .

 

Connecting the Pax Device (A35 Only)

  • Turn your device upside down and plug the USB-C as seen here. 

First you will need to plug in your PAX device. There are several cables that need to be plugged in. The USB-C cable will be connected to the under side of your device. 

  • Plug the USB-C cable into the adapter. On the other end is a standard USB plug that will fit into the power adapter and then into the wall outlet.

  • Network / Ethernet cable needs to be plugged into the schools network. The other cables coming out of the Y adapter are not used for our configuration.

The other end of the cable has a Y adapter with 3 cable’s coming out of it and one open spot for a USB-C cable. 

Connect to Internet (A35 and A920)

  • Once the device is powered up, click on the Settings icon.

  • Next click Network & Internet

Notice

You will need to choose either wired or wireless connection type. Do not configure both. Make sure that you connect to the same network as your computer is connected to. 

A920 - Can only connect via Wi-Fi and the screenshots look slightly different then what is shown below. 

Ethernet (Wired - A35 Only)

  • Be sure Ethernet is turned on

  • Click the text “Ethernet” to go into the Ethernet settings

If using a wired connection (recommended) turn on Ethernet

  • Identify and write down the IP Address. This will be needed in future steps. In this example (192.168.1.116)

Wi-Fi (Wireless)

  • Be sure Wi-Fi is turned on

  • Click the text “Wi-Fi” to go into the settings

If using a wireless connection, turn the switch on for Wi-Fi, this image is white, when it is on it will be Blue.

  • Click the drop down arrow to the left of “Advanced”

Select your wireless network and connect. Once connected, there will be a small cog wheel next to the network name. Click that and go into the network settings. 

  • Identify and write down the IP Address. This will be needed in future steps. Our example is (192.168.1.116)

     

Windows Setup

Microsoft / Windows Setup

Follow the instructions below to continue your setup. You will need to be an Administrator on your computer to complete the following steps. 

  • Search for Notepad ( or for Notepad++ ).

  • Right click the Notepad application and choose “Run as administrator“

 

 

  • Click File

  • Click Open

 

 

  • Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

  • Change File Types to view to All Files (*.*)

  • Open the “hosts” file

  • Add in the following line of text  

    192.168.1.116 pax.software4schools.com

    Note: You must change the IP Address to match your device IP Address from above. Also there is no # before the IP address. The # indicates to ignore that line of text

You can only connect 1 PAX credit card reader to one computer at a time. if you have multiple computers and PAX credit card readers then do the same process on the other computers. The only difference will be that the IP address has to match the second device. 

For example if you have a second reader and the ip address ends in 117 you would put in a second entry like this. 

192.168.1.117 pax.software4schools.com

When finished be sure to save your file 
Info

More details on editing a local host file can be found here. 

Editing a local host file

Apple Setup

Apple / Mac Setup

Follow the instructions below to continue your setup. You will need to be an Administrator on your computer to complete the following steps. 

  • Command + Space. In the pop-up window, type Terminal and press Enter.

     

    Or go to Applications / Utilities and Open up Terminal

Open up Terminal

  • Next type the following

    sudo nano /etc/hosts

    Next click Enter to confirm the command. You will then see the text Password with a key icon. Enter the password for your computer login. This must be an Administrator account

  • Add in the following line of text  

    192.168.1.116 pax.software4schools.com

    Note: You must change the IP Address to match your device IP Address from above. 

     

    Finally click control+X then click y Yes to save your file. 

You can only connect 1 PAX credit card reader to one computer at a time. if you have multiple computers and PAX credit card readers, do the same process on the other computers. The only difference will be that the IP address has to match the other PAX device. 

For example if you have a second reader and the ip address ends in 117 you would put in a second entry like this. 

192.168.1.117 pax.software4schools.com

 
 

 

PAX Device (Final Step)

  • Click the Portico app to start it up. This always needs to be running for the software to connect to this device. 

Go back into the PAX device.  Click the Circle at the bottom of the screen to go back to the home page. 

  • When the app is running you will just see the blue screen that says PAX on it. This means your device is ready. 

  • When Credit Card is selected as the payment option you will see this on the Store 4 Schools Screen

  • The PAX device should then show a screen like this with the total amount.

Troubleshooting

1. Open up your local host file and make sure your settings were saved. 

2. Try and ping your device. Open up CMD prompt (PC) or Terminal (MAC) and ping the following. 

ping pax.software4schools.com

3. Make sure your district firewall is not blocking store4schools.com as well as heartlandportico.com

4. Using Google Chrome, click the 3 dot menu (top right) select More Tools / Developer Tools. Then click on Console and run the credit card process. Send a screenshot to support@software4schools.com

5. Try and disabling any antivirus or computer firewall to see if that is blocking you from accessing the device. 

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