Barcode scanner not working at the counter? Work through these five checks

Short answer: a USB scanner in HID mode is just a keyboard. If nothing is appearing, the problem is nearly always focus, mode, or a suffix setting — not the software.

1. Is the cursor in the search box?

The scanner types wherever the cursor is. No focus, no result. Click into the search field and scan again.

2. Is it in HID keyboard mode?

Scanners can ship in serial or point-of-sale modes that browsers cannot read. The manual will have a "USB HID keyboard" configuration barcode — scan it to switch.

3. Is a carriage return configured?

Most order tools trigger the search on Enter. If your scanner does not send a return suffix, the code lands in the box and nothing happens. Another configuration barcode fixes it.

4. Wrong keyboard layout

A scanner set to US layout on a UK machine (or vice versa) garbles certain characters — a classic source of "it types nonsense".

5. The barcode is genuinely unknown

If the scan reaches the box but returns nothing, the barcode may not be on the SKU in Linnworks. Search the product manually and add the barcode to the item.

Setup guidance for a clean counter build: USB barcode scanner setup.

Questions, or want a tool we don't have yet? Email hello@grafto.co.uk — a real person replies.