Troubleshooting Google Smart Tap

The two basic rules. The screen must be on to read passes, and the phone must stay in range of the reader until the transaction finishes. If the holder removes the phone too soon, the transaction fails and the reader cannot read the pass.

Nothing happens when the user taps

This has a number of possible reasons. Check them in this order.

• The pass sits on a different Google account. Ask the holder to check that they saved the pass on the same account they use in Google Wallet on the phone.
• NFC is off. Turn NFC on under Settings › Connected devices › Connection preferences.
• Smart Tap is off for the pass. Ask the holder to open the pass in the Google Wallet app, scroll to the bottom of the pass and check that the Hold near terminal to use toggle is on.
• Google Wallet is not the default wallet. Google Wallet must be the default wallet to use a pass at an NFC terminal. Go to Settings › Connections › NFC and payment, enable NFC if necessary, then select Tap and pay and choose Google Wallet.
• The NFC antenna sits somewhere else. Most phones have the antenna at the top of the device, but on some models it sits at the bottom. Ask the holder to hold the phone differently against the reader.

If all of the above checks out, do this.

1. Ask the holder to wake up the screen. An unlocked phone works best.
2. Have them tap again and keep the phone at the reader until the checkmark appears. The checkmark shows that the reader has read the pass.

The phone shows a success icon but nothing happens in the app or POS

This is often specific to the NFC reader. The holder's phone must be awake and unlocked. Ask the holder to move the phone completely out of range of the reader and then tap again.

Google Wallet shows a selection of passes when the user taps

If Google Wallet opens and shows multiple passes, ask the holder to select the correct pass and tap again.

The holder does not pay with Google Wallet

Passes still work. Holders use Google Wallet passes at NFC terminals even if they never use Google Wallet to pay for anything.

The phone has no NFC

The ticket usually still works. Passes created with Passcreator normally contain a QR code as a fallback, and if the phone has no NFC chip, Google Wallet displays that QR code. If you validate with the Passcreator Smart Scan app, scan the QR code to validate the pass.

If you use a custom integration, for example into your point of sale system, it depends on what that integration supports. If it scans QR codes, the holder can use the pass. If it only supports NFC, the ticket does not work in this case.