Quick answer: Qashier connects barcode scanners over USB. A USB scanner in keyboard (HID) mode presents itself to the Android terminal as a keyboard and types the barcode into whichever field has focus — there is no driver and no pairing. Two things decide your purchase: whether you need 2D (you probably do, in Singapore), and how many USB ports you have left.
The NBBS-S30 (wired, 1D + 2D, USB-HID) is the sensible default. For a high-volume counter where staff need both hands, the NBBS-S86 desktop omni-directional scanner reads without aiming.
How a USB scanner talks to an Android terminal
The mechanism is the same one that works on Windows, and understanding it saves you from looking for settings that do not exist.
A scanner in USB-HID mode declares itself to the operating system as a keyboard. When it decodes a barcode it sends the characters as keystrokes, usually followed by Enter. Android accepts it exactly as it would accept a plugged-in keyboard. The POS app receives typing; it never knows a scanner is involved.
What follows from that:
- No driver, no pairing, no app permission. Plug it in and it works.
- Whatever field has the cursor receives the scan. If the wrong field is focused, the barcode lands in the wrong place — that is a workflow issue, not a hardware fault.
- Scanner settings live on the scanner. They are changed by scanning configuration barcodes from its manual, not in Qashier.
The Android quirk nobody warns you about
Here is the one thing that surprises people on a touchscreen terminal, and it follows directly from the point above.
Android hides the on-screen keyboard when a physical keyboard is connected. That is standard Android behaviour and normally sensible — if you have a real keyboard, you do not need a virtual one taking up half the screen.
But your scanner is a physical keyboard as far as Android is concerned. So the moment you plug it in, the touchscreen keyboard can stop appearing when staff tap into a field to type a customer name, a manual product code or a discount reason. The scanner works perfectly; typing by hand becomes impossible.
The fix is a system setting — on stock Android it is under language and input settings, as an option to show the virtual keyboard even while a physical keyboard is connected. On a vendor-configured terminal the path may differ, so ask Qashier support where it lives on your model rather than hunting through settings on a live till.
We mention it because it is the single most common “the scanner broke our POS” report on Android terminals, and it is neither the scanner nor the POS.
Count your USB ports before you order
A smart terminal is not a desktop PC. Ports are few, and every peripheral wants one:
- Barcode scanner — one port
- Cash drawer USB trigger — one port (see the Qashier cash drawer guide)
- Wired LAN adapter — one port
- External printer over USB — one port
Qashier's expansion hub exists for this reason, allowing a cash drawer, LAN and a USB scanner concurrently. Work out your full peripheral list before ordering, not after. Discovering the port limit while installing a till on a Saturday morning is an avoidable experience.
Note that a wireless scanner does not save you a port — its 2.4G dongle occupies one just as a cable would. Wireless buys you range, not sockets.
1D or 2D? In Singapore, 2D
| You scan | What you need |
|---|---|
| Printed product barcodes only | 1D is sufficient |
| PayNow / payment QR codes | 2D imager |
| Member codes or vouchers on a customer's phone | 2D imager |
| Delivery platform order codes | 2D imager |
The deciding factor is screens. A 1D laser scanner works by bouncing light off a printed surface; a phone screen emits light rather than reflecting it, and most laser scanners will not read one at all. An imager takes a picture and decodes it, so screens are no problem.
In a market where QR payments, phone-based loyalty and delivery aggregators are all ordinary, specifying a 1D scanner to save a small amount per unit is usually a false economy. Buy the imager.
Wired, wireless, or hands-free?
Wired handheld is the default: no batteries, no re-pairing, lowest cost. Right for most counters.
Wireless handheld earns its price when the scanner has to leave the counter — stock-taking in a back room, scanning bulky goods, a long counter. One thing to tell staff: because the scanner is only typing, an out-of-range scan produces nothing at all rather than an error. Watch the field, not the beep.
Desktop omni-directional reads a barcode presented at any angle without aiming or pressing a trigger. For a busy convenience store or bubble tea counter where speed per transaction matters and staff have full hands, it is meaningfully faster than a handheld. For a shop doing twenty transactions a day, it is not worth the difference.
NETBYE models for Qashier
| Model | Type | Reads | Interface | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBBS-S30 | Handheld imager | 1D + 2D | USB-HID / USB-COM | General counter — the default choice |
| NBBS-W35 | Handheld, wireless | 1D + 2D | USB + 2.4G (+ BT option) | Stock-taking, bulky goods |
| NBBS-S86 | Desktop omni-directional | 1D + 2D | USB-HID / USB-COM / RS-232 | High-volume, hands-free counter |
| NBBS-S10D | Handheld, 1D laser | 1D only | USB / RS232 | Printed barcodes only, lowest cost |
The imagers read all standard 1D codes plus QR Code, Data Matrix, Aztec, MaxiCode, MicroQR and HANXIN at 4mil resolution. Browse the full range of barcode scanners, the 2D models, or wireless models.
Ordering advice for Qashier: specify USB-HID (keyboard) mode. Our scanners ship in this mode by default. USB-COM (virtual serial port) exists for custom software integrations and is the wrong choice here — in that mode the scanner stops typing and the terminal receives nothing.
Setup, start to finish
- Plug the scanner into the terminal, or into the expansion hub.
- Open any app with a text field and scan a barcode. The digits should appear. This tells you the scanner works before Qashier is involved.
- If digits appear but the cursor does not advance, scan the Enter suffix setup barcode from the scanner manual. Without it, the terminal waits for a manual Enter after every scan.
- If the on-screen keyboard has stopped appearing for manual typing, enable the virtual keyboard setting described above.
- In Qashier, scan into the product code field to confirm the lookup works end to end.
Frequently asked questions
Which barcode scanner works with Qashier?
Any plug-and-play USB scanner in keyboard (HID) mode. Qashier connects scanners over USB and maintains its own documentation on external device compatibility — confirm your specific model with them before a volume order; we can supply a sample for that.
Do I need to install anything on the terminal?
No. An HID scanner needs no driver on Android.
My on-screen keyboard stopped appearing after plugging in the scanner.
Expected Android behaviour — it treats the scanner as a physical keyboard. Enable the setting that shows the virtual keyboard while a physical keyboard is connected. Ask Qashier where that setting is on your terminal model.
The scanner types the code but I have to press Enter each time.
Add an Enter/CR suffix by scanning the relevant setup barcode from the scanner's manual.
Can I scan a QR code from a customer's phone?
Only with a 2D imager. Laser scanners generally cannot read an emitting screen.
Will a Bluetooth scanner work?
A 2.4G dongle is the more predictable route on a terminal, because it presents as a plain keyboard with nothing to pair. If you specifically need Bluetooth, tell us and we will confirm the model before you order.
A note on this guide. The scanner side above — HID keyboard behaviour, suffixes, 1D versus 2D, the Android virtual-keyboard interaction, port budgeting — is what we know from the products we supply, and it holds for any Android terminal taking scanner input as typing. Qashier maintains its own documentation on external device compatibility and on its expansion hub, and that is the authority on which models it has validated and on settings paths for its terminals. If something here did not match your installation, tell us and we will correct this page. We would rather publish something accurate than something impressive.
Get pricing
NETBYE supplies distributors, system integrators and retailers across Southeast Asia and worldwide. Our scanners are built by our partner factories in Shenzhen and sold under our own model range — we handle specification, quality control and support, so you deal with one supplier rather than several factories. Direct wholesale pricing, low MOQ on first orders, and OEM/ODM covering branding, packaging and scanner defaults — including units pre-configured with the suffix and symbologies you need, so they work on arrival.
Tell us which models, what quantity, which country and what you need to scan, and you will get an accurate quote in one reply — including an honest answer if a cheaper model would serve you just as well. Request a quote.
Related guides
These guides form a set. If you are specifying a complete till, the other hardware for Qashier POS is covered here:
And if you are comparing across POS software, the same hardware for other systems: