# Logging In to Gladstone 360 and Using the Hardware Service

HTML version: [Logging In to Gladstone 360 and Using the Hardware Service](https://support.gladstonesoftware.cloud/gladstone360/logging-in-to-gladstone-360-and-using-the-hardware-service)

## Problem
Front of house staff need to pick the right hardware service and till on each Gladstone360 PC and keep the connection to the desk's cash drawer, receipt printer and card machine. Picking the wrong one, or opening extra tabs, is the most common cause of till problems.

## Resolution

### Choose the hardware service and till the first time

1. **Open a module**
   - Open a module (for example **Check-in** or **POS**) from the Gladstone360 home screen.

2. **Choose this PC's hardware service and till**
   - When **Global settings** asks, choose the hardware service for **this PC** (for example "Reception PC1") and the till for this desk.
   - Gladstone360 remembers the choice for this PC and this site. If you work at another site, you'll be asked once there too.

### Check you're connected

3. **Check the bell icon**
   - Look at the **bell icon** at the top of the screen. Green means this page holds the hardware service. Orange or red means another page or PC has taken it.
   - Clicking the bell takes the connection back, but it disconnects the other page or user. Only do this if the hardware service belongs to your PC.

### Move between modules without losing the connection

4. **Stay in one window**
   - Keep one Gladstone360 window open.
   - Use **Go to** on the record to move between Check-in, POS, Contacts and Details. You stay on the same member record.
   - Don't use the app-switcher square (top left) or open modules in new tabs. Each new tab tries to take the hardware service.

### Change the hardware service, site or till on a PC

5. **Open PC settings**
   - Click the **cog** (top right) > **PC settings**.

6. **Check the settings**
   - Check the **hardware service**, **current site**, **designation** (Reception for front desks, Office for back-office tills) and **till**.

7. **Save**
   - Save. The setting is remembered for this PC.

## Notes

- **Before you start:**
  - You sign in to Gladstone360 with your usual Gladstone360/Plus2 user ID and password. Google Chrome is recommended.
  - Each reception or till PC needs its own hardware service, installed by your site IT. Installing and naming hardware services is covered in [Setting Up and Naming Gladstone 360 Hardware Services](setting-up-and-naming-gladstone-360-hardware-services.md).
  - To change the hardware service, site or till on a PC, you need the **View PC settings** permission.
- A hardware service belongs to the **PC**, not the user. Everyone who signs in on that PC uses it, until the browser cache is cleared.
- Only one PC can use a hardware service at a time. Two PCs on the same service keep knocking each other off.
- While disconnected, sales still look as if they complete, but the drawer and printer don't fire and card payments may not reach Gladstone360. This causes cash-up differences.
- **Tablets** can be used with Gladstone360. A tablet doesn't have its own hardware service installed: download the hardware service on the reception PC, with **Portable Device** set to **Yes** during the install, and the tablet then uses it. See [Setting Up and Naming Gladstone 360 Hardware Services](setting-up-and-naming-gladstone-360-hardware-services.md).
- Never pick a reception PC's hardware service from a back-office or home PC. Ask IT to install a separate one for that device.
- Name hardware services clearly by site and PC (for example "Site A – Reception PC1", "Café till"). Renaming later means removing and reinstalling the service.
- A back-office till needs its own hardware service with the designation set to **Office**, and its own cash-up.
- Your notes, bookings and record changes always save, even when the hardware is disconnected. Only the till hardware is affected.
- Gladstone360 only opens from approved (whitelisted) IP addresses. Gladstone doesn't whitelist home IP addresses. Staff working away from site need your organisation's VPN, or you can ask Gladstone about a chargeable VPN licence.
- **Troubleshooting:**
  - **The bell is orange or red:** another page or PC has taken this hardware service. Close extra Gladstone360 tabs. If another PC is using your desk's service, set that PC to its own service in **cog** > **PC settings**, then click the bell to reconnect.
  - **The drawer or printer didn't fire, or a card payment didn't show in Gladstone360:** the page lost the hardware service. Reconnect via the bell. Check the sale in the member's **Sales** tab before doing anything else. Don't take the payment again: if the customer may have been charged, speak to your duty manager and raise a case.
  - **"No till available for the current site", or the till defaults to the wrong site:** the site or till in PC settings is wrong, or the till's [site group](../guides/glossary.md) was changed. Check the bell, then **cog** > **PC settings** (site, hardware service, default till). Check the till's site group includes this site (for example set it back to all sites).
  - **Your till buttons don't show:** the PC is set to a different till. In **cog** > **PC settings**, choose the right till.
  - **The Gladstone360 login page just spins:** an old page is cached. Press **Ctrl+F5**. If that fails, right-click > **Inspect**, then right-click the refresh button > **Empty cache and hard reload** (on both the Home and POS windows). Open Gladstone360 in a new tab, not from an old bookmark.
  - **Gladstone360 is slow or drops out at one site only:** this is usually the local network. Ask your site IT to check the connection and that websockets aren't blocked. Check the Gladstone status page.
  - **403 Forbidden error:** the IP address isn't whitelisted (for example after a new internet line, or working from home). See the whitelisting note above. For a new site IP address, raise a case.
- **Common questions:**
  - *Can two reception PCs share one hardware service?* No. Each PC needs its own. Sharing causes each PC to disconnect the other.
  - *Can I look things up from my office PC using the reception hardware service?* No. It takes the connection away from reception. Ask IT to install a hardware service for your own PC.
  - *Can we use Gladstone360 on a tablet?* Yes. The tablet uses a hardware service downloaded on the reception PC, installed with **Portable Device** set to **Yes**. On the tablet, choose that hardware service when asked.
  - *Why does it ask me for a hardware service again?* You're at a different site, on a new PC, or the browser cache was cleared.
- **When to contact Gladstone support:**
  - Your site's public IP address has changed and Gladstone360 shows 403: include the new static IP address(es) and approval from your organisation's infrastructure contact.
  - The login page still won't load after clearing the cache.
  - Gladstone360 keeps dropping out after your IT has checked the network: include the site, PCs affected and times.
- Related: [Gladstone360 PC Settings, Hardware Service and Card Terminals](gladstone360-pc-settings-hardware-service-and-card-terminals.md); [Configuring Point of Sale Peripheral Hardware in Gladstone360](configuring-point-of-sale-peripheral-hardware-in-gladstone360.md).