Explanation:

Card Reader timeout errors mean that the specific reader reporting this error is currently operating in an offline mode.

The reader may still be working correctly at the location, so customers can still start machines with Laundry Cards, and the reader will still deduct the value off the Laundry Cards correctly;
however, while the reader is reporting as offline, it will be unable to send/receive any communications to/from the LaundroPortal. This means you won't be able to change any settings on the Card Reader, and the Card Reader won't send any transaction records to the LaundroPortal.

Possible causes of this error, from most common to least common, are:

The laundry machine is not powered ON (in most cases the laundry machine provides power to the reader directly)
The reader that was reporting as this number was removed or renumbered.
e.g. The Card Reader is installed on Washer #2, however the reader's display currently shows it's reporting to the LaundroPortal as Washer #5.
The reader was activated/reactivation using an Activation Card from a different store location
The reader has experienced some critical hardware failure (an error message should be shown when reader is first booting up)
There's interference from a local Wifi network on the 2.4Ghz wireless channels used by the readers

In order to figure out the cause of this error, as the message states, you will need to check the reader/machine on-site.

How to tell if you have an Offline Card Reader

From the LaundroPortal, if a Card Reader is offline, you will see some form of a Timeout error next to that reader in the machines list:

When 1 or more of the Card Readers are offline,
you will see a "Timeout - check reader/machine" error on the LaundroPortal for all Card Reader's that are currently offline:
When ALL Card Readers are offline,
you will see a "Timeout - check VAC" error:
If the Card Reader was installed recently (in the last day or so), instead of a Timeout error, you may see the message "Check if machine exists. Remove this row if not." error:

All 3 of the above errors errors are simply different variations of the exact same issue; the card reader(s) reporting any of these errors are currently operating in an offline mode, and will be unable to report any transaction data to the LaundroPortal, as they are currently unable to connect to VAC01's wireless Zigbee network.

Note: If ALL readers are showing a Timeout error ("Timeout - check VAC")

first check to make sure that VAC01 is online and does NOT have a WNC error.

If VAC01 is offline, or if VAC01 has a WNC error present, this will cause all Card Readers to report as offline.
(Note: WNC errors on VACs, that are NOT reporting as VAC01, will NOT cause this issue).

Only continue with these troubleshooting steps if VAC01 is reporting as online
and if VAC01 does NOT show a WNC error in the VAC status on the LaundroPortal:

If VAC01 is Offline, follow the troubleshooting in this VAC Offline article.
If VAC01 is showing a WNC error, follow troubleshooting steps in this WNC error article.

Troubleshooting Steps

If the Card Reader was powered OFF, restoring power to the reader is usually all that is required to clear this error message.

However, if the reader is powered ON, and you are still seeing this message, there are a few things you need to check on the physical reader's display.

1) Check the Card Reader's display for any reader error messages

If the reader is displaying an error message, you'll want to diagnose that error first, before looking into the timeout issue, as the error message may be the cause of the Card Reader being unable to join a wireless network.
See article about reader error codes/messages to find information on any error messages you may be seeing on the reader's display.
If the reader's display looks normal (no error messages present), check the bottom right hand side of the display for a vertical curser (" | ") on one of the reader's scrolling display messages. It will look like this if present:
Note: In the above picture, the reader is displaying show's a vertical curser (" | ") indicating it's an offline Card Reader;
however, it's also displaying the error message "NOT ACTIVATED".
This is a common message that means the reader is currently de-activated, and a deactivate reader does NOT attempt to join a VAC's network.
Simple place this location's Activation Card onto the reader to re-activate it to the location.
If you see this vertical curser on the reader's display, it confirms that this reader is not connected to VAC01's wireless network.

Whether the vertical curser is present or not, you will need to power cycle the machine (unplug power for 3 seconds, then plug power back in), in order to get the Card Reader to reboot so you can watch the reader run through it's self test messages that will be displayed on the reader's display as it's booting up.

All readers will perform several self-tests during their initial start up.
These self-test results can go by fairly quickly, so it is recommend that you take a video of the screen, so that you can re-watch, and pause, the video to read all the self-test messages.

There are a few different self test messages you'll need to review in the next steps of this troubleshooting article.

2) Is the Card Reader activated to the correct Location

If the Card Reader is not displaying any errors that need to be address first; reboot the Card Reader in order to review the self test messages the Card Reader displays as it's booting up from being powered OFF.

The first message will display the Location ID that the reader is currently activated for:

You'll need to confirm that this Location ID matches the Location ID of the store this Card Reader is installed in.

You can find the store's Location ID by logging on to the LaundroPortal; the store's location ID will be posted in front of the store's address everywhere on the LaundroPortal where the store's address is displayed:

If you have a VAC equipped with a touch screen, you can also get your Location ID by placing a Management Card into the VAC card holder, and checking the top left hand corner of the VAC's touch screen:

If the Location ID does not match, you will need to factory reset this reader to get it back into a de-activated state, so you can then use this specific location's Activation Card to re-activate this reader to the correct store Location ID:

Note: the Card Reader will only display the Location ID the Card Reader is activated to; however an activation Card programs the store's Location ID AND Support ID in order to link it with a specific location.

It's possible the Card Reader could've been activated to the correct Support ID, but NOT the correct Support ID.

If there is any doubt that the Card Reader may have been activation using a different location's activation card, it's best to Factory Reset the Card Reader, and reactivate it using the Activation Card for this specific location.

3) Confirm the Card Reader's displayed reader number is the same as the reader number on the LaundroPortal

If you check the LaundroPortal, and it shows that Washer #5 has a timeout - check reader/machine error; check the physical reader's display to ensure it's also reporting as Washer #5.

In the above example, if the Card Reader's display shows anything other than Washer #5, that explains why it's showing as an offline Card Reader on the LaundroPortal; as the reader is currently reporting as a different reader number.

If multiple Card Readers are reporting as the same reader number, the LaundroPortal won't be able to tell that's happening. Instead, the LaundroPortal will show transactions from both readers, under the Reader Logs for Washer #5 reader.

If you find the Card Reader is displaying as the incorrect reader number, use the DIP switches on the back of the Card Reader to adjust it's reader number so it's displaying as the correct reader number.

See our Card Reader DIP switch settings article for instructions on adjusting the Card Reader's displayed reader number.

4) Does the Card Reader pass it's Wireless Test

If the Location ID matches (and you are sure the Card Reader has been activated using the Activation Card for this store), the next self-test message you want to check for is the results from the Wireless Test.

During the wireless test, we expect the result to say "Good Signal!" when a Card Reader is working correctly:

If you see any message other than "Good Signal!", or your reader does not display any wireless test results during it's self-tests, please send the video of your readers full self-tests messages to our support team for analysis.

Below we've included pictures that show what a typical working reader's self test messages will look like when the reader is powering ON.

These messages will be specific to your store location, and to the type of machine it's connected to, but in general a working reader should run through the following self test message sequence:

If the Location ID is correct for your store, and the reader shows "Good Signal!" during it's self-test, but the reader is still not connecting to the VAC's wireless network, please get in touch with our technical support team, and let them know about the self-test messages you saw on this reader (it's recommended that you send a video of ALL the self-tests, so our team can look through all the messages, as it may not be clear which message indicates an error with).

5) Is the Card Reader attempting to join the VAC's network ID?

On rare occasions, a Card Reader may work working correctly, activated to the correct store, but still unable to join the VACs wireless network because it's attempting to join some other Zigbee network being broadcasted in the store.

To double check that the Card Reader is attempting to join the correct network; double check what "NetID" it's attempting to join, and confirm that it's the same "NetID" that your VAC01 is broadcasting.

When the Card Reader is booting up from being powered OFF, on the Wireless Test screen, it will display the NetID that the Card Reader is trying to join:

On VACs equipped with a touch screen, place a Management Card into the VAC's card holder, and navigate to the System Status screen.
On this screen, the VAC will display the NetID of the Zigbee network it's established:

If the VAC's Wireless Network ID does not match the NetID that the Card Reader is attempting to join, then the Card Reader is attempting to join some other Zigbee network.

In most cases, this means there is another Card Reader that's broadcasting the incorrect NetID, causing other readers to join it's network as opposed to the VAC's network.

If you have multiple Card Readers that are unable to join the VAC's network, deactivate all Card Readers currently reporting offline (by factory resetting them), and then activate the Card Readers 1 at a time to ensure they're attempting to join the Wireless Network ID being established by the VAC01 kiosk.

6) Card Readers are experiencing wireless interference

If the above troubleshooting steps did not uncover a hardware issue, or configuration issue with the Card Readers or VAC kiosk, and especially if you're noticing Card Readers occasionally drop off the network, but rejoin sporatically; it's likely you're running into wireless interference issue with Card Reader communication.

For details on this type of reader communication issue, review our Reader Network Communication Issues - Interference & Obstruction article.

Portal says "Timeout - check reader/machine" - Card Reader is Reporting it's offline