Situation
You've activated a Card Reader using an Activation Card but the readers are not appearing on the LaundroPortal. Either none of the readers are showing up the Machines table, or at least the one you're expecting.
The Machine table might look like this if there are zero Card Readers activated to the location according to the LaundroPortal:
Troubleshooting Steps
Confirm reader is Activated
If the Card Reader's display is showing "NOT ACTIVATED", then it has not been activated correctly. You must use the Activation Card for this location to activate the Card Reader to it.
Confirm that VAC01 is reporting as Online
The Card Readers communicate using an internal Zigbee wireless network which is established by Value Add Center kiosk that is reporting as VAC01 on the LaundroPortal for the location.
This is the VAC that's responsible for communication to our web server.
If VAC01 is not appearing as Online on the LaundroPortal specifically, then no Card Reader can forward any of it's data to the LaundroPortal.
Confirm that your Value Add Center is connected to the internet and that you see VAC01 Online on the LaundroPortal.
VAC01 should NOT be showing an Offline error, and it's listed Last Communication time should be within the last 10 minutes:
If your VAC01 is reporting as offline, review our VAC Offline troubleshooting article.
You'll also want to confirm that you have a VAC01 listed on your LaundroPortal, as in some rare cases, it may be the case that you have 2 VACs online, but 1 VAC is reporting as VAC02 and the other as VAC03 (or some other number besides VAC01).
Only a VAC reporting as VAC01 will automatically establish the Zigbee wireless network that the Card Readers rely on for communication to the LaundroPortal.
Ensure the Card Reader is numbered
Ensure you've numbered the reader using the DIP switch on the backside, The reader should NOT display Washer 127 or Dryer 127.
See this article about numbering the Card Readers if all reader's are reporting the incorrect reader numbers: Reader DIP Switch settings
Check for a WNC Error
The WNC is the Wireless Network Controller, a small board inside the Value Add Center. It's the main radio board responsible for communication with the readers.
Ensure you don't see a WNC Error on the LaundroPortal.
If you see WNC Error then there will be no communication with the Card Readers.
Wait or Reboot Value Add center
If you connected the internet to the Value Add Center AFTER you activated the Card Readers, then there might be a backlog of records from the readers that the VAC is flushing to the web Server.
It may take some time for the VAC to process all the records so you might not see particular readers until some or all of the backlog has been processed.
This is a common issue during laundromat installations, as internet service might not be available until well into the installation process.
Power cycle the VAC01 kiosk as this may expediate the process.
Check Card Reader's Location ID
The Card Readers will only communication with a VAC that has the exact same 7-digit Location ID.
If you've just installed readers, confirm that the 7-digit Location ID on the Card Reader matches the Location ID of your actual location (i.e same as the VAC).
You can reboot the reader (power cycle it) and watch it's LCD display.
If, for instance, the location ID is 0100001, the Card Reader should display "LocID: 0100001" as well.
You can confirm what the location's Location ID should be, by checking the LaundroPortal.
This is sometimes an issue in multi-family/route installation, or if an owner owns multiple stores, as there may be a mix-up of Activation Cards between the different locations (e.g. The VAC was Activated with location ID: 010002's Activation Card, but the Card Readers were activated with location ID: 010001's Activation Card).
For more details on offline readers and confirming location IDs, review our Portal says "Timeout - check reader/machine" - Card Reader is Reporting it's offline article.
Check the Antenna clip on WNC
There have been some cases where the antenna clip on the WNC board got unclipped, possibility as a result of shipment.
Open the VAC and confirm that the gold antenna clip is snapped onto the WNC board as shown below:
Possible Wireless Interference issues
If the VAC kiosk is installed in a different room, or on a completely different floor, from where the Card Readers are being installed;
or if there's a WiFi router positioned within 5ft of the VAC01 kiosk, it's possible you're running into wireless interference that's preventing the Card Readers from being able to join the VAC's Zigbee network wirlessly.
If the Card Readers are installed on a complete different floor (which may happen in multi-family/route installations; it's possible the Card Readers are too far away from the VAC to be able to communicate with it.
First attempt to Activate a Card Reader that's closest to the VAC kiosk. All Card Readers act as wireless repeaters, so if you're able to get a closer reader to connect to the VAC, it's possible that reader can be used to extend the network to Card Readers on machines installed farther away.
If this is a Laundromat, it's unlikely the Card Readers are too far away in distance, so you may be running into wireless interference between a WiFi network broadcasting on the same frequency the VAC is using for it's Zigbee network.
For more details on how to combat this type of wireless interference, review our Reader Network Communication Issues - Interference & Obstruction article for more details.


