Kiosk App for AndroidBeta
The Kiosk App for Android is still in beta
We're still testing it, and we can't guarantee yet that every feature works correctly on every computer, tablet and printer. Before relying on it at your counter, try it with your own printer and a few test sales, and keep a way to print receipts by hand. If something doesn't work as described, contact Trapyfy support.
Turn an Android tablet into a dedicated kiosk: your store's kiosk runs full screen, the tablet stays locked so customers can't leave it, and order receipts print automatically on a receipt printer, with no print dialogs. It can also run your staff POS as a tablet till (see Run the POS on the tablet).
In plain words
A kiosk is a tablet locked to your shop, standing in a room, serving customers with nobody behind it. This page covers the Android app that turns a tablet into that kiosk. Still in beta.
Download
Version 0.5.0 · Android 8 or newer · 1.5 MB.
Open this page on the tablet itself and tap the button, or copy the file to the tablet.
Only download the app from this page. The kiosk itself is the same one described in POS & Kiosk; the app is how you run it on an Android tablet with a printer.
What the app does
Runs your kiosk full screen
No browser bar, no other apps. The tablet starts straight into your kiosk after a restart.
Locks the tablet
Home and Back don't leave the kiosk. Staff get out with a secret tap and a PIN.
Prints receipts silently
Each order's receipt prints on your receipt printer as soon as the order is placed, with no print pop-up.
Never loses a receipt
If the printer is off, receipts are saved and can be printed when it's back.
What you need
- An Android tablet with Android 8 or newer. 10 inches or larger works best. The app isn't available for iPad; iPads can keep using the kiosk in the browser.
- A thermal receipt printer for 80 mm (or 58 mm) paper, connected by USB, to your network, or by Bluetooth. Most thermal receipt printers work.
- Wi-Fi for the tablet. For a network printer, the printer and the tablet must be on the same Wi-Fi.
- A store with Kiosk mode turned on in your Trapyfy dashboard. See POS & Kiosk, steps 3 to 5.
- A staff PIN (4 to 8 digits) your staff will use to get out of the kiosk.
- Recommended: a tablet stand or enclosure that covers the power and volume buttons.
Prepare the tablet
Do this once, in the tablet's own Settings, before installing the app.
Set a screen lock PIN
Settings → Security (or Lock screen) → Screen lock → PIN. This protects the tablet itself; it is not the staff PIN.
Turn on app pinning
Search Settings for pinning and turn it on. Also turn on Ask for PIN before unpinning.
On Samsung: Settings → Security and privacy → More security settings → Pin app.
Allow installing the app
Settings → Apps → Special app access → Install unknown apps → allow the browser you'll download with (for example Chrome).
Install the app
Download and install
Open this page on the tablet, tap Download Trapyfy Kiosk, open the downloaded file and tap Install. If Google Play Protect warns about an unknown app, tap More details → Install anyway.
Open the app
Open Trapyfy Kiosk. It says This device is not set up yet: tap Set up. When it asks to send notifications, tap Allow. The notification keeps the printer service running.
Connect your printer
In the app's settings screen, under Printer connection:
USB printer
- Choose USB.
- Connect the printer to the tablet (you may need a USB-C adapter) and switch it on.
- When Android asks Open Trapyfy Kiosk to handle this device?, tick Use by default for this USB device and tap OK.
Network printer
- Choose Network (IP address).
- Enter the printer's IP address (many printers print it when you hold the feed button while switching them on) and port 9100.
- Ask whoever manages your router to give the printer a fixed IP address, so it doesn't change.
Bluetooth printer
- Switch the printer on. Choose Bluetooth, and tap Allow when Android asks about nearby devices.
- Tap Pair a printer: Android's Bluetooth settings open. Tap Pair new device, choose the printer (its PIN is often 0000 or 1234), then go back to the app.
- Choose the printer in the list (printers are marked · printer). Tap Refresh list if it isn't there yet.
Choose the paper width
80 mm (576 dots) for most printers. If receipts come out cut off on the right, try 80 mm (512 dots). For narrow paper, 58 mm.
Save and print a test receipt
Tap Save, then Print test receipt. A receipt with a QR code and a barcode prints. Scan the QR code with your phone: it should read PRINT TEST OK.
Connect your store
Get your kiosk address
In the Trapyfy dashboard, go to POS → Stores and open the store. Copy its Tablet URL.
Add v2/ right after /kiosk/. For example, https://www.trapyfy.com/kiosk/ab12cd34 becomes https://www.trapyfy.com/kiosk/v2/ab12cd34.
Enter it in the app
In the app's settings, paste it into Kiosk page and tap Save. You don't need to fill in “Other websites allowed to print”: your kiosk's website is allowed automatically.
Pair the tablet
In the dashboard, inside the store, click + Pair new device, give it a name and click Generate code. The code is valid for 15 minutes.
In the app, tap Save and open the kiosk and type the 8-character code on the kiosk screen.
/v2/. With the regular Tablet URL the kiosk still works, but receipts won't print through the app.Run the POS on the tablet
The app can also be a tablet till: it shows your staff POS instead of the self-service kiosk, and prints each sale's receipt automatically. Set up the printer as above, then:
Point the app at the POS
In the app's settings, set Kiosk page to https://www.trapyfy.com/pos/v2.
Leave Lock this device to the kiosk unticked, so staff can use the rest of the tablet. Tap Save and open the kiosk. No pairing code is needed.
Sign in
Sign in with your Trapyfy email and password (a sign-in link sent by email would open in the browser instead of the app). Choose the store and register at the top of the POS.
Sell
When a sale is completed, its receipt prints by itself and the receipt window says Receipt sent to the printer. Print again prints another copy. To print only on request, tap the printer icon at the top of the POS and turn off Print automatically after each sale.
Lock the tablet
To get back to the settings from the kiosk at any time, tap the top-left corner 5 times quickly. Before a staff PIN is set, the staff menu opens straight away; choose Printer and kiosk settings.
Set the staff PIN
Tap Set staff PIN and enter 4 to 8 digits twice. Share it only with staff.
Make the app the home screen
Tap Make this app the home screen, choose Trapyfy Kiosk and Always. This is what brings the tablet back into the kiosk after a restart.
Keep it running
Tap Disable battery optimisation and allow it. Otherwise Android may close the app to save battery.
Lock it
Tick Lock this device to the kiosk and tap Save and open the kiosk. Android shows Viewing full screen and App is pinned: tap Got it on both.
Check everything works
- ✓Place a test order on the kiosk and choose to pay at the counter: the receipt prints right away, with no pop-up.
- ✓Scan the receipt's QR code with your phone: it opens the order.
- ✓Press Home and Back on the tablet: it stays on the kiosk.
- ✓Tap the top-left corner 5 times: it asks for the staff PIN. A wrong PIN does nothing.
- ✓Restart the tablet: it comes back into the kiosk by itself. Tap Got it on "App is pinned".
- ✓Cancel the test order in the dashboard.
Everyday use
Staff open the staff menu by tapping the top-left corner 5 times and entering the staff PIN. The PIN is asked every time.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Back to the kiosk | Closes the menu. |
| Reload the kiosk page | Reloads your kiosk, for example after changing products or branding. |
| Printer and kiosk settings | The settings screen: printer, waiting receipts, colors, test receipt. |
| Unlock for 10 minutes | Lets you use the tablet normally. A banner on the kiosk shows until when; Lock now ends it early. It locks again by itself. |
| Android settings | Unlocks for 10 minutes and opens the tablet's Settings (for example to change Wi-Fi). |
When the printer is off
If a receipt can't print (printer switched off, out of paper, unplugged), the kiosk shows a Printer not connected message and the app saves the receipt, so nothing is lost.
- The latest order's receipt prints by itself once the printer is back, as long as no newer order has come in and it's within 10 minutes. That customer is probably still waiting for it.
- All other saved receipts are held for staff. They never print on their own, so the next customer doesn't get receipts for orders that aren't theirs.
- In Printer and kiosk settings → Receipts waiting for the printer, each receipt shows its order number and time, with Print and Discard. Print a held receipt only if that customer still needs it.
- Saved receipts are kept through restarts and deleted after 24 hours.
Colors
The app's own screens (settings, staff menu, setup and offline screens) use Trapyfy purple and black. To match your brand, go to Printer and kiosk settings → Colors, enter colors for Buttons and Background (for example #0F766E) and tap Save. Text colors are chosen automatically so everything stays readable. Reset to default colors goes back to Trapyfy's. Your kiosk's own look is set in the dashboard, as before.
Setting up more tablets
On a tablet that's already set up, tap Copy setup code in the settings and send it to yourself. On the new tablet, tap Import setup code, paste it and tap Apply. That copies the kiosk address, printer and colors. Then set a staff PIN, make the app the home screen and pair the new tablet in the dashboard, since each tablet needs its own pairing code.
Updating the app
When a new version is announced, unlock the tablet for 10 minutes from the staff menu, download the app from this page again and install it over the old one. Your settings, PIN and pairing are kept, and the version is shown at the top of the settings screen.
Troubleshooting
Most printing problems show their reason in the app: Printer and kiosk settings → Recent jobs.
The kiosk says “Printer not connected”
Check the printer is switched on, has paper and is connected. Then tap Print test receipt in the settings.
- Recent jobs shows no-printer: the tablet can't find the printer. Check the cable, the IP address for a network printer, or that a Bluetooth printer is on, in range and still paired.
- Recent jobs shows no-permission (USB): tap Grant USB permission and allow it. Unplug and replug the printer and tick Use by default so it isn't asked again.
- Recent jobs shows write-failed: the printer stopped mid-receipt. Check the cable or network, then print the receipt again from Receipts waiting for the printer.
The test receipt prints, but kiosk orders don't
Your Kiosk page must be the address with /kiosk/v2/ (see Connect your store). The status at the top of the settings should list your kiosk's website under Allowed websites.
The network printer shows as not connected
The printer and tablet must be on the same Wi-Fi. Guest and venue Wi-Fi networks often block devices from talking to each other: use your own network, or a USB printer. If the printer's IP address changed, update it in the settings and ask for a fixed IP.
The Bluetooth printer doesn't print
- Check the printer is on and close to the tablet (a few metres, without walls in between), and that the tablet's Bluetooth is on.
- Recent jobs shows no-permission: open the app's settings, choose Bluetooth again and tap Allow (or allow Nearby devices for Trapyfy Kiosk in Android's app settings).
- The printer isn't in the list: pair it first (Pair a printer), then Refresh list. A printer listed as no longer paired must be paired again.
- Only one tablet or phone can be connected to a Bluetooth printer at a time: disconnect it from other devices.
Receipts are cut off or squeezed
Change the Paper width: most 80 mm printers use 576 dots, some use 512. Use 58 mm for narrow paper. Save and print a test receipt.
The kiosk shows “Can't reach www.trapyfy.com”
The tablet has no internet. Check its Wi-Fi. The kiosk retries every 10 seconds by itself, or tap Retry now.
Customers can leave the kiosk
After a restart, the tablet isn't locked until someone taps Got it on “App is pinned”. Also check that Lock this device to the kiosk is ticked in the settings, and that app pinning is turned on (see Prepare the tablet).
Holding Back and Recent apps unpins the tablet
That's Android's own way out. Turn on Ask for PIN before unpinning (see Prepare the tablet): then it goes to the lock screen, which needs the tablet's PIN.
The app stops printing after a while, or the tablet doesn't return to the kiosk
Tap Disable battery optimisation in the settings. On Samsung tablets, also check Settings → Battery → Background usage limits, and add Trapyfy Kiosk to Never sleeping apps. Make sure Trapyfy Kiosk is still the home screen (Settings → Apps → Default apps → Home app).
A receipt printed twice, or a customer got the wrong receipt
Receipts from earlier orders never print on their own once a newer order has come in. Check Receipts waiting for the printer before tapping Print all, and discard receipts for customers who have already left.
Staff forgot the PIN
Hold Back and Recent apps to unpin, unlock the tablet with its own PIN, then go to Settings → Apps → Trapyfy Kiosk → Storage → Clear data. This resets the app completely: set it up again and pair the tablet with a new code.
The kiosk says “This device is not set up yet”
The app's settings were reset. Set it up again, or use Import setup code from another tablet.
Installing an update says “App not installed”
Make sure you downloaded the update from this page. If it still fails, contact support before uninstalling, because uninstalling deletes the tablet's settings.
Still stuck? Contact support, and tell us the app version (top of the settings screen) and what Recent jobs shows.