As an operator/owner of your business, there may be a time when you face connectivity issues between your POS integration & MOBI.
MOBI will send you a notification via email of your store being offline, which may look a little like the following:
The POS integration at Melbourne is offline.
An order was unable to be confirmed because MOBI could not communicate with the store's POS integration. Please ensure that the store's internet connection is working and the store's POS settings are correct.
Arrgh! There may be various reasons for this message, however depending on what POS system you use, one main reason is because MOBI cannot connect to the store's POS integration due to the Port (that is required to be open for the connection to be complete) being closed.
Note
Not all POS integrations connect via an IP address & Port so please check your POS settings in Receiving Orders, via the Settings menu.
What does this mean?
In English right? Gotcha.
A port is a channel through which applications on one computer (eg. the store's POS software) can communicate & reach the software on the server (MOBI). By telling us (MOBI) which secure port is open on the store's network (via an external IP address), we will then configure MOBI to listen on that port so that we can accept any incoming packets of data, process them accordingly & send them back to POS.
⚡ Kind of like if we're trying to make a phone call to our friend to talk to them. Our friend could press Answer on their phone to receive the information that we want to tell them, or they can be a real jerk & press Decline, where we have been denied from telling our friend the information.
A Port can be closed through the use of a firewall. A firewall will filter incoming packets of data & will only let through those packets if they have been configured to be allowed. Packets of data directed at a port where the firewall is configured to be "closed" will simply be dropped as if they never existed.
⚡ Kind of like a security guard at a concert. If you turn up & don't have a ticket, then no ticket, no entry & you get turned away, never to be seen at the concert again. If you have a ticket, then walk on through & enjoy the show.
How can I check what my IP Address & Port is?
- Visit whatismyip.org from your POS terminal, which will display your current IP address.
This IP address (of your POS terminal) should match the IP address that is set in MOBI for your store.
- To check what IP address & Port has been set in MOBI, go to Settings from the grey navigational pane
- In Settings, locate Receiving Orders
- Next to the Receiving Orders heading, click EDIT
- In Receiving Orders, the IP address & Port should be listed
- Note down the IP address (and Port for later)
- Compare the IP address in MOBI to the IP address that was returned on the POS terminal - they should be the same
Pro Tip
It's important that you have set up a static IP address with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) so that this doesn't change.
How do I check if my Port is Open?
- Visit canyouseeme.org from the main POS terminal.
- Using the Receiving Order settings in MOBI (details above), grab the IP Address & Port
- In canyouseeme.org, change the values in the IP address & Port fields
- Click Check Port
- A response will be returned with either Port Open (can be seen) or Port Closed (cannot be seen)
- If it is Closed, you will need to contact your IT/network team & ensure the router has been setup to allow the external IP address & Port, with Port Forwarding enabled. (This can be done by logging into the router's admin panel and setting up a new rule for the port.)
Testing the POS Connection in MOBI
For any POS integration within MOBI, you have the ability to test the connection between POS & MOBI. If you have received a store offline notification, this is a great place to start.
- To test the connection between MOBI & POS, go to Settings from the grey navigational pane
- In Settings, locate Receiving Orders
- Next to the Receiving Orders heading, click EDIT
- In Receiving Orders, scroll to the bottom of the page & click the CHECK CONNECTION button
- A result will be returned almost immediately if there's successful connection between the 2 systems. If the test is taking a long time, chances are it's trying to find a response on the other end but is not having any luck (and will eventually time out)
- Alternatively, you can send a test order through your online store & confirm if there are any issues.
If you would like help troubleshooting POS connectivity issues, please contact our Support team.