Timeouts, Errors and Recovery

Overview

A kiosk has to look after itself: a customer walks away, the wifi drops, a page fails. This article covers what a paired tablet does in each case, so it is ready for the next customer without staff stepping in.

The idle reset

When nobody touches a paired tablet for the idle reset time (240 seconds unless you change it under Settings → Kiosk), it asks Still there? with a countdown and an I'm still here button. If nobody taps it, the kiosk clears the design and goes back to the welcome screen.

• The countdown lasts 15 seconds, or a third of the idle reset time if that is shorter.
• On the welcome screen and the design screen, the clock starts at the first touch, so a tablet nobody has used yet doesn't keep resetting.
• The receipt and proof pages reset sooner: after your idle reset time or 60 seconds, whichever is shorter. They ask All done? ("Your order is placed. This screen clears for the next customer in …") with a Keep this on screen button.
• Each paired tablet can have its own idle reset time (see Session settings).
• A customer's own phone never resets, so locking their screen doesn't lose their design.

If the page is refreshed

A design in progress comes back after a refresh: the text, fonts, threads and moved letters, on the step the customer was on. Their name, email, phone and notes don't, and they approve again. See Finishing a design saved on a phone for what is kept and when it is cleared.

If the kiosk goes offline

When a kiosk loses its connection it shows a banner across the top: "This kiosk is offline. Please ask a member of staff. What you entered is kept." The page moves down below it, so Change design and the rest of the header stay usable.

• What the customer typed stays on screen.
• Submit order waits until the connection is back. Nothing is queued to send later.
• The idle reset waits too, so the design isn't lost.
• A paired tablet notices within about two minutes when the wifi is up but the internet is not.

If saving or submitting fails

If the tablet can't reach ThreadReady when the customer saves or submits, it says "Could not reach the server. Please check your connection and try again." Trying again is safe: it never places a second order. While a save or submit is under way, extra taps are ignored.

If something goes wrong on our side, the kiosk says "We couldn't save your design just now. Please try again, or ask a member of staff for help."

If a page fails to load

See After the customer submits: the tablet offers to try again or start again, and still resets itself.

If the tablet needs pairing again

A paired tablet checks in every two minutes. If you revoke it (or pair the same tablet again elsewhere), it reloads to This tablet needs to be paired again. Enter a new pairing code there to put it back in service (see Pairing a kiosk tablet).

If your workspace is locked for billing

Every ordering screen says "This kiosk is temporarily unavailable" and asks customers to see a member of staff. Receipt and proof pages stay open, and staff can keep finishing orders already placed (see Billing & Plans).