Apple Pay is undoubtedly one of the most convenient and secure ways to make payments. It’s like having a virtual wallet in your pocket that can be used to pay for your groceries, coffee, or even that new pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing. However, there are times when even the most reliable of technologies fail us, and Apple Pay not working on your iPhone 14 Pro Max can be one of those moments. But fear not! With a few simple steps, you can get your Apple Pay back up and running in no time.
Apple Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service developed by Apple Inc. It allows users to make payments using their iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac devices. The service was first introduced in 2014, and since then, it has gained widespread adoption among iPhone users. Despite its popularity, however, users sometimes encounter issues with Apple Pay not working on their iPhone 14 Pro Max.
How to Fix Apple Pay Not Working on iPhone 14 Pro Max
Note: information in this article apply to iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max Max.
1. Make sure the business accepts Apple Pay
The first thing you need to check is whether the business you’re trying to pay at accepts Apple Pay. It might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people try to use it at places that don’t support it. If you’re not sure, look for the Apple Pay symbol on the payment terminal or ask a store employee.
If it does, it may be that a particular terminal isn’t working when you use Apple Pay. When you experience this problem, ask if there is another terminal you can use. Once you know which terminal accepts Apple Pay, keep it in mind for future transactions.
2. Close and reopen the Apple Wallet app
It may seem too simple, but sometimes all your iPhone needs is a quick reset. So, if you find that Apple Pay isn’t working on your iPhone 14 Pro Max, try closing the Wallet app and reopening it.
To do this, swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone screen to access the App Switcher. Then, find the Wallet app and swipe it up and off the screen. Next, go back to your home screen and tap the Apple Wallet app to open it again.
3. Restart your iPhone
If you’re still unable to use Apple pay on your iPhone 14 Pro Max, you should try restarting your device. Yes, we know, it sounds boring, but it works like magic. Restarting your phone will help clear out any glitches and bugs that might be preventing Apple Pay from working correctly. So go ahead, turn off your phone, take a deep breath, and switch it back on.
Press and hold the side and the volume up (or down) buttons together until the power off slider appears. Then drag the slider. Wait until your device completely shuts off. Then press and hold the power button until you see the Apple logo.
4. Check Your Battery Life
Low Battery Mode can throw all your apps out of whack, including Apple Pay. If your battery is below 20 percent, and Apple Pay suddenly isn’t working on your iPhone 14 Pro Max, the low battery could be the culprit. Charge your battery and try again.
5. Check the System Status of Apple Pay
If Apple Pay is not working on your iPhone 14 Pro Max after trying the above steps, it’s time to check the service’s status online. Apple Pay rarely goes offline. However, Apple might temporarily halt its Apple Pay services in specific areas when performing system-wide maintenance checkups and repairs.
Also, it takes less than 30 seconds to check the status; you wouldn’t lose much time either way. Just go to Apple’s System Status page and look for Apple Pay & Wallet. Here’s an explanation of what the various symbols mean:
- Green Circle: A green circle indicates that Apple Pay is online and available.
- Yellow Diamond: The yellow diamond means that Apple discovered potential performance issues, indicating that the service may be temporarily down.
- Red Triangle: A red triangle only appears if the developers declare a system-wide outage.
6. ALLOW ACCESS WHEN LOCKED
If you are having this problem on your iPhone 14 Pro Max, make sure that the Wallet app setting is allowed to access when your device is locked. Here is how you can adjust this setting:
On your device, go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > enter your passcode and scroll down and find the “allow access when locked” section and make sure that Wallet is enabled.
7. Remove Your Case
Sometimes your iPhone case can get in the way of using Apple Pay on a reader. Try taking your case off and scanning again to see if this works.
8. Choose Credit
If you’re trying to use a debit card, try running it as credit instead. Reportedly, sometimes Apple Pay can be finicky with debit, but users have had success switching to credit.
9. Manually Select Your Card
Apple Pay automatically uses your default card for all payments—online and offline. Although this feature streamlines checkouts, the NFC chips on POS terminals don’t always read Apple Pay properly.
In these instances, you’ll need to select your preferred card manually. All you have to do is tap on it, and, if all is right, you should see a notification reading, “[CARD NAME] is ready for Apple Pay.”
10. Remove & Re-Add the Card
Sometimes, the problem with Apple Pay not working is simply that your cards aren’t playing nicely with your iPhone. To fix this, try removing your cards from the Wallet app and then re-adding them.
Also, newly added credit cards might not register with Apple Pay right from the get-go. The system might need some time to read and update your payment preferences, especially if your new credit card has a different billing address
To add and remove cards, go to Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay > Payment Cards, then select Remove This Card on the malfunctioning card—or all your accounts. Afterward, restart your iPhone to clear the cache. Go back to the Payment Cards section and select Add Card. Repeat this as many times as needed.
11. Check for iOS updates.
Sometimes, Apple Pay may not work because your iPhone software is outdated. Apple frequently releases software updates that include bug fixes and performance improvements, so it’s important to keep your iPhone up to date.
To update your iPhone software, go to the Settings app and tap on General, then Software Update. If an update is available, tap Download and Install. Your iPhone will need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network and have enough battery life to complete the update.
12. Log out of your Apple ID and back in again
It’s possible that something has gone awry with the way you are signed into your Apple account, so in the same way that you might have tried to restart your iPhone or replace your credit card, you can sign out of your Apple ID and sign back in again. Go to Settings > Your Name > Sign Out.
13. Check your Apple Pay Settings
If none of these work, you might want to go into your Apple Pay settings just to make sure everything is set up.
14. Call Your Bank
If you’ve gone through this whole list and have had absolutely no luck, it might be time to call your bank or financial institution that issued your card. Perhaps Apple Pay did not work on your iPhone 14 Pro Max because your card is declined because of various reasons including the following:
- Your card may have expired.
- Your card does not have sufficient funds for the transaction.
- Your card payment is past due.
- Your card has been flagged for fraud and thus your account was blocked by your bank.
Simply call your card issuer and find out the reason.
15. Contact Apple customer support
If none of those troubleshooting steps solved the problem, you should contact Apple Support. It’s possible that you have a hardware problem for example, the NFC chip used to communicate with the point of sale terminal might not be working. This isn’t something you can easily test or troubleshoot on your own, so enlist the help of Apple.