Apple Pay Not Working "Hold Near Reader to Pay"

In my experience, Apple pay is simply not that reliable right now. Whether it is because of my iPhone 6 or something on the merchants' end, I have no idea. I'll visit the exact same merchant and pay at the exact same cash register and sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. When it works, it works flawlessly and it is awesome but other times it is awkward because the phone instructs me to "hold place near reader to pay" even though my phone is right next to the reader and the same distance away from the reader as when it worked flawlessly the previous time. So, I have to ask the cashier what the deal is, they have to get a manager, etc. I end up having to pay with a credit card anyway, or worse, my wallet is not on me so I can't pay at all and need to return.

The suggestions that I need to restart my phone or restore are not helpful since when I am in line paying for something, I can't be having to restart my phone and certainly can't do another restore. BTW, anything calling for a restore as a solution is basically a deal-breaker for me. I don't have time for that.

Bottom line, when apple pay works, it is awesome but it simply isn't reliable enough right now to be of any value to me. Hopefully in a year or so the kinks will have been worked out.

I went to Home Depot twice and it works perfectly (very fast) their opperater looks very new.

I also went to Foot Locker it works perfectly as well (but you have to wait for the Cashier to tell you it's ready and then place your phone on the terminal or wait for the green light ON).

I went back to Walgreen again and it's perfectly went through. (The Lady at the Cashier looking at it and says WOW, she is really surprise about it when I use my Apple Pay, she asked me this is secure and I told her as I know yes it is.)

Anyway I just want to share/updated what I been through. HAPPY THANKSGIVINGS! :-)

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iPhone 6 Plus - iOS 8.1.1

Apple Pay with Wells Fargo Cards.

I used Apple Pay this morning at Walgreens and it did not initially work. The clerk told me to turn my phone sideways and it worked. Weird. Maybe Apple Pay has some bugs right now that Apple will fix. Cool service when it works correctly.

At the Walgreens... Have you wait for the blue lights flashing and then place the top head of your phone touch the terminal? If so, it should works. Try again when you have a chance and see if it work.

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iPhone 6 Plus - iOS 8.1.1

Apple Pay with Wells Fargo Cards.

I wish I had seen these last two posts earlier because when I went to Walgreen's today, I got the message about getting close and it never did work.

I have been outside the USA for almost three weeks but prior to that trip I had no problem with ApplePay at the same Walgreens and at a Subway.

So are these 'work-arounds' due to 8.1.1?

Actually, I believe its a hardware issue on the Merchants' side of things. It does NOT seem to be an iPhone or iOS issue. The iPhone obviously recognizes the reader. I tried restarting my iPhone and it did not resolve the issue. I got the error at one cash register so the merchant rang me up at the adjacent register with a different reader and it worked just fine. So, again, it appears to be an issue with the merchants' own hardware.

Just my guess is that I'll see the same reader not working months from now. Instead of troubleshooting and problem solving, I bet they let it go for months on end. They don't know why it's not working and most probably won't take the time to figure it out.

I Tried it tonight at Whole Foods tonight and it was declined the first time. I think it was declined because I accidentally pushed my home button down even though it showed as being accepted. The second time it worked great. Hopefully as time goes on it will get better and better.

I went to a different Walgreen's today and it worked once the cashier had properly prepared their device but then they required a signature.

So is the signature now required at all Walgreen's or just individual stores who elect to enforce such?

I thought I would share my two cents. I have Invisiheild on my iPhone 6. I finally decided to try out an Apple Case.. I tried both the Silicone and the Leather. I started having more trouble with Apple pay at certain terminals. I would get the "Hold phone Near" and a "Try again" message. I would get this a few times. After I removed the iPhone from the apple iPhone case, it worked immediately. I don't want to think it's just Apple's cases but I think there is a an issue with Apple pay working with cases. Then again it could just be a coincidence.

I have tried Apple Pay at OfficeMax and it always declines. At Whole Foods, Walgreens, etc. it works fine. also it may be an authentication issue with Chase or perhaps Chase does not work with Apple Pay yet. I have a Delta Platinum Amex and a CapitalOne Visa on my iPhone 6.

I finally got it to work at Winn Dixie.

AFter putting in my fingerprint the Cashiers keypad would ask me to "input you PIN or press enter" & before; I would put in my PIN & be declined.

IF I just press enter without the PIN it gies through.

APple needs to get with all merchants & make sure that we do not need to touch the terminal to complete the transaction.

THe transaction should go through as soon as I do the fingerprint thingie...

Same problem. Went to breakfast this morning at McDonald's and got the hold phone near error 3 times. It would not go through. The cashier said he has seen this before. This was iPhone 6. I wonder if cases are causing issues or if something else? When I first got the phone I only tried apple pay one other time at that same McDonald's and it worked.

The older gentleman behind me said he tried his on about 10 different visits and it failed 8 times so he says he doesn't even bother using Apple Pay anymore. Looks like lots of issues to still work out for some users.

If I have to replace and restore my phone to use Apple Pay I'll pass. I can use my credit cards which are in the end, just as easy, fast and work 100% of the time. Unless Apple Pay is as reliable I just can't take it.

Fortunately I always keep my wallet handy and whipped out my amex and paid. That worked!

My iphone 6 apple pay stopped working about two months ago... only says "hold near reader to pay" then nothing... the apple watch has been working just fine. I've tried doing all that apple support has suggested and no change - I think it's a bad NFC reader in the phone... no resolve as of yet...

I Think in total it has worked 1 time. I have the 6 and have the most updated software. I have pretty much given up on Apple Pay. I can't be trading in my phone everytime something doesn't work. Just seems like Apple is going down in quality. most things work better than anything else out their but when it doesn't it don't work at all.

Mine has worked fine since the UK launch but today I tried it in two different stores and it failed. In both cases I used a normal contactless card and that worked so the merchant's terminal cannot be the issue. Anyone else in the UK found that Apple Pay is broken?