Kiosk
Answers on the Muin kiosk — setting up a donation or check-in tablet, taking card and tap-to-pay payments on it, pairing a reader, and keeping an unattended screen running.
22 questions
What do I need to turn a tablet into a donation kiosk?
An Android tablet with NFC running Android 13 or later (Stripe's Tap to Pay minimum), Google Play Services, a reliable network connection, and mains power at the spot you are mounting it. Then three things in Muin: 1. **Pair the tablet.** **Devices & Kiosk** → **Device Registry** → run the pairing wizard and enter the six-digit setup code on the tablet. 2. **Accept the Tap to Pay terms once for your organization.** An owner or admin does this on the Stripe Connect onboarding screen. 3. **Enroll this tablet for Tap to Pay**, in the Muin Go app's Pay module under **Settings** → **Tap to Pay**. Steps 2 and 3 are separate on purpose. A tablet can be enrolled while the organization has not accepted, and the readiness check tells you which one is missing. Full walkthrough: [QuickPay setup](/docs/platform/payments/quickpay-setup).
What is the difference between a kiosk campaign and a kiosk config?
A **kiosk campaign** is the ask a donor sees: the headline, the picture, the amount tiles and the thank-you. You author it under **Muin for Non-Profits** → **Fundraising** → **Kiosk Campaigns**. A **kiosk config** is what a paired device runs: which campaigns it offers, its branding, its timeouts, whether it offers tipping or invites the donor to cover the processing fee. You author it under **Devices & Kiosk** → **Kiosk Configs**. A campaign only reaches a tablet once a config that uses it is running on that tablet. Assign them to each other from the **Campaign: Kiosk Config Assignment** panel under the campaign list. That split is why one campaign can run on several tablets, and why you can move a tablet to a different ask without setting the device up again.
My kiosk says there are no campaigns available. What is wrong?
No active campaign is reaching that device. Check in this order: 1. **Is the campaign active?** In **Kiosk Campaigns**, the **Active** badge on the row is a toggle. An inactive campaign reaches nothing. 2. **Is it assigned to the device's kiosk config?** Look at the **Campaign: Kiosk Config Assignment** panel, which also lists the device names currently running each config. 3. **Has the device synced?** Send **Force config sync** from the **Fleet Dashboard**. The command applies at the device's next check-in, and you can watch it land in **Fleet Commands**. If a config pins specific campaigns, the tablet offers only those, in the config's order. A config that pins none offers every active campaign.
Why can't I point a kiosk at a fund?
Because a fund is an internal spending rule, not a purpose. A gift taken straight into one carries no program, so every tap reports as unattributed and you lose the ability to say what the money was for. The **Fund** option in the create wizard is disabled deliberately, and a link that asks for a fund target is corrected back to a giving page. Point the kiosk at a **published giving page** instead, which is the recommended target, so the kiosk and your web page agree about funds, programs and receipting. For a counter-only ask with no web equivalent, point it at a **program**. A campaign already pointed at a fund or a program can be moved with the **Change target** row action. One pointed at a giving page, a fundraising campaign or a volunteer event cannot, because the page or event carries its own fund policy.
Donors have to tap two or three times before the card reads. How do I fix it?
Run **Reader Check** first, from the Pay module's settings in Muin Go. It checks NFC, the connection, your organization's terms acceptance and this device's enrollment in one pass, and names the one that failed. If everything passes and taps are still missed, the usual cause is the mounting. Phone and tablet NFC antennas are designed for handheld use: somebody aiming the device at a card. A mounted tablet inverts that, so the donor has to find a small invisible sweet spot, often through a case and near metal. Check **Payments** → **Terminals** → **Reliability** for that device's first-tap success rate. Consistently below 85% on a mounted device is not a coaching problem; fit a dedicated card reader beside it. For the donor standing in front of you right now, the payment-failed screen offers **Try Another Way**: QR, manual card entry or cash, with the amount and fund carried over.
Can I use a proper card reader instead of the tablet's own NFC?
Yes. Muin Go supports a Stripe internet reader on the same network: the **Stripe Reader S710** or the **BBPOS WisePOS E**. The donor taps on the reader's own screen while the tablet handles the amount, the fund and the receipt. Pair it on the device, not in the web console: - **Staff tablet:** Muin Go → the **Pay** module → **Settings** → **Card Reader** → **External card reader**, then discover and pick your reader. - **Unattended kiosk:** the kiosk **staff panel**, behind the kiosk PIN and a staff sign-in. An unattended kiosk has nobody signed in, so it cannot reach the settings screen. The choice is per device and survives restarts. One current limit: the mobile POS cart checkout still reads the card on the device itself; every other flow uses the reader. Buy the reader through your own Stripe Dashboard's hardware shop, which shows the models and prices for your country.
A screen reloaded itself in the middle of a service. How do I stop that?
Set quiet hours. **Devices & Kiosk** → **Quiet hours** is where you say when a screen may not restart itself to take an app update: add the windows that matter to you, for example Friday midday, and the screen defers its own updates until the window closes. Two other timing controls do different jobs and will not help with this: - The screen's **on and off schedule** and its time zone are on the kiosk config. - A notice's **publish window** and its **daypart** are on the notice and its placement.
A kiosk tablet is locked and nobody can use it. How do I get out?
A locked kiosk is resting in its intended state, not broken, so there are three deliberate ways out: 1. **From the console:** send **Turn off kiosk** from the **Fleet Dashboard**. It reverses the lockdown and leaves the device enrolled and configured. 2. **On the device:** the kiosk **staff panel**, behind the kiosk PIN and a staff sign-in. **Turn off kiosk mode** and **Wi-Fi & network settings** sit above the **Switch config** list, so you reach them without scrolling past every kiosk config. 3. **On the device, as a last resort:** the kill-switch gesture. A command is applied by the device, not by the console, so Muin tells you it was **sent** and that it applies at the next check-in. Watch it move through pending, delivered and executed in **Fleet Commands**. If the tablet has stopped checking in entirely, the two on-device routes are the only ones left and somebody has to be in the room.
What is the difference between a signage screen and a kiosk?
A **kiosk** collects. A donor interacts with it, picks an amount and taps a card. A **signage screen** displays. It shows approved notices, active campaigns and a small set of live widgets, and it takes no payment. Where a board shows a campaign, a QR code is the donor's way to give, on their own phone. The same tablet can do either; it depends on the kiosk config it runs. Start a new screen from **Devices & Kiosk** → **Get a screen live**, which walks four steps: pair the screen, choose what it shows, put something on it, and choose who is told when it stops checking in. Signage shows still images only. There is no video, no prayer-times feed and no weather widget: an unattended screen that depends on an outside data feed fails where nobody is watching. The three widgets are a clock, an upcoming-events list and a donation thermometer.
Should a lobby tablet use a menu or a rotation?
A **rotation** cycles through several kiosk configs on its own, which suits a screen nobody touches, such as signage in a hallway. A **menu** opens on a Home screen of big tiles and lets each visitor choose: check in for a shift, donate, RSVP or fill in a form. It suits a lobby tablet that people walk up to. A tablet runs one or the other. A menu cannot be part of a rotation, and a tablet showing a menu has no rotation. Build a menu under **Devices & Kiosk** → **Kiosk Configs** → **Create Config**, then pick a starter menu such as **Food Pantry Lobby**.
Why can't I assign a menu to this tablet?
Menus need version 1.0.17 of the Muin app or newer. When a tablet runs an older version, Muin refuses the assignment and the tablet keeps showing what it had: > This tablet runs Muin <v>. Menus need <min> or newer. It updates itself during quiet hours; assign again after. Leave the tablet on and connected overnight so it updates during quiet hours, then assign the menu again. You can see a tablet's app version on its page under **Devices & Kiosk** → **Device Registry**. The same check runs when a tablet is paired with a setup code that carries a menu.
Which card reader should volunteers tap at a menu kiosk?
Volunteers check in by tapping their card on the tablet's built-in NFC or on an ACR1555U reader. - **This device**, the tablet's own NFC, works when the menu takes no card payments. - **ACR1555U** is the one to use whenever the menu also takes tap-to-pay, so payments and check-ins don't compete for the tablet's NFC. Staff choose the reader on the tablet: tap the exit chip, enter the exit PIN, choose **Staff panel**, then under **Check-in card reader** read cards with **This device** or the paired ACR1555U, and press **Test tap**. This is separate from the payment **Card reader** set up above it. If the test tap reads nothing, NFC may be off in Android settings, or the ACR1555U may not be paired.
What happens to a visitor's details when they walk away?
When nobody touches the tablet for a while, it shows a 20-second warning: > Still there? We'll clear this screen in <n> s to protect your information. If nobody presses **Keep going**, the tablet clears the screen and goes back to Home. The quiet time before the warning is 45 seconds on a group of tiles or a list, and 90 seconds on a task screen such as check-in, giving, a form or RSVP. A card payment in progress is never cut off; the timer waits until it finishes. Home, Cancel and the idle reset all clear what the visitor typed, the name they searched for, who they were recognized as, and the language and text size they chose. Nothing is kept for the next visitor.
Can visitors switch the kiosk to Arabic, Urdu or Spanish?
Yes. A language pill on Home and in the bottom bar shows each language in its own name. Add Arabic, Urdu or Spanish labels to your tiles in the menu editor so the pill can switch them. Switching between English and Spanish is instant. Switching to or from Arabic or Urdu restarts the screen in a second or two and lands on Home in the new language, because the whole layout turns right to left. When the tablet resets after a visitor leaves, it goes back to the kiosk config's default language.
How do I set up a tablet as a kiosk from the Muin app?
An owner, an admin or a Kiosk Operator can do it on the tablet itself, with no setup code: 1. Sign in to the Muin app on the tablet. 2. Open **Settings** → **Kiosk Mode** → **Set up this tablet**. 3. Pick the kiosk config or menu it should show. 4. Set a 4 to 8 digit exit PIN, twice. The tablet pairs itself and opens the kiosk. On Android it then walks you through pinning the app; on an iPad, through Guided Access. Only an owner, an admin or someone with the **Kiosk Operator** role sees **Set up this tablet**. Everyone else can still enter a six-digit setup code made in the console under **Devices & Kiosk** → **Device Registry**.
How do I stop visitors leaving the kiosk app on a plain tablet?
**Android:** pin the app. During **Set up this tablet**, Muin checks that the tablet has a screen lock, asks you to turn on **App pinning** and **Ask for PIN before unpinning** in Android settings, then pins the app when you press **Pin now**. Test it by swiping up and holding: Android should ask for the PIN. Without a screen lock anyone can unpin the app, so setup will not continue until the tablet has one. **iPad:** use Guided Access. Turn it on under **Settings** → **Accessibility** → **Guided Access**, set a passcode, then triple-click the side button in the Muin app. A supervised iPad starts it on its own. The device page in the console shows **App pinned** or **Not pinned** for an Android tablet set up this way. Staff leave the kiosk with the exit PIN, and the **Return to kiosk mode** banner takes them back and pins the app again.
Can people sign up to volunteer on the lobby tablet?
Yes. Add two tiles to your menu under **Devices & Kiosk** → **Kiosk Configs** → your menu → **Menu**: - **Volunteer calendar** lists your public volunteer shifts for the next two weeks. A visitor picks a shift and a role, enters their name and email, and presses **Sign me up**. If the role is full they join the waitlist. - **Become a volunteer** opens your volunteer application form. You need a published volunteer application form first; start one from the Volunteering template. A shift that needs a waiver, an approved application, required questions, a minimum age or a payment shows a QR code instead, so the visitor signs up on their phone where those steps work. For volunteers arriving for a shift, add **Check in now**. It shows only shifts starting soon, from 30 minutes before the start until the end by default.
Can visitors fill a kiosk form on their own phone?
Yes. Open the forms kiosk config under **Devices & Kiosk** → **Kiosk Configs**, go to **Smart Form**, and choose how visitors fill the form: - **On this tablet or their phone (recommended)**: the visitor picks **Fill here on this screen** or **Scan to fill on your phone**. - **On this tablet only**. - **On their phone only (shows a QR code)**. The QR code opens the same public form as your website, so answers land in the same place. Phone filling keeps the line moving and keeps personal details off the shared screen.
Where do the kiosk menu tile colors come from?
From your brand. Each tile uses one of four colors: **Brand accent** (your accent color, or your primary color if you have no accent), **Brand primary**, **Brand secondary** or **Neutral**. The color select in the tile editor shows a swatch of each. If a brand color is too dark to see on the tile, the kiosk uses a light grey instead, so the tile always stays readable. Change your brand colors in your branding settings and every menu follows.
How do I start a kiosk from my phone?
In the Muin app, tap **Kiosk** on Home, or open **Settings** → **Kiosk Mode**. Pick a board or menu, check the preview and tap **Start on this device**. Your phone runs the kiosk until you end it. To leave, tap the exit chip and unlock with your fingerprint, face or the phone's passcode. The app returns to the screen you started from. - The phone needs a screen lock, or the session will not start. - It ends on its own after the board's idle limit with no taps (30 minutes unless changed in **Kiosk Configs** → **Timing & Session**, 1 to 240 minutes), and after 12 hours at most. Then the app locks. - The app is not pinned during a quick session, so stay with the phone. - A tablet already set up as a permanent kiosk can't start a quick session. Owners and admins can start one. Anyone else needs the **Kiosk Operator** role.
How do I let someone run kiosks without making them an admin?
Give them the **Kiosk Operator** role. Open **Settings** → **Roles & Permissions**, find **Kiosk Operator** under **All starter templates**, and assign it to the member. A Kiosk Operator can: - start a quick kiosk session on their own phone (**Kiosk · Can start a quick kiosk session**) - set up lobby tablets with **Set up this tablet** or a setup code (**Kiosk · Can set up kiosk tablets**) - see the device fleet, including who started each quick session They can't edit menus, boards or devices. To give a custom role the same access, turn on those two Kiosk permissions.
How do I see who started a kiosk on their phone?
Open **Devices & Kiosk** → **Fleet Dashboard** → **Quick sessions**. Each row reads "Quick session · person · device", with the board, when it started and when it ended. Use **Show** to list active or ended sessions. An ended session says why: - **Ended by staff**: the staff member unlocked the phone and left. - **Ended after no taps**: nobody tapped for the board's idle time. - **Expired after 12 hours**: the session reached the 12 hour limit. - **Replaced by a new session**: someone started a new quick session on the same phone. - **Ended: staff access removed**: the person who started it was removed, suspended or lost the Kiosk Operator role. - **Ended: phone removed from fleet**: an admin removed the phone from the device fleet.
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