> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.now-os.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The main register

> What the main register does, why that iPad must stay on and plugged in, and how to keep an eye on the store's connected devices.

Every store has exactly one **main register**: the iPad designated during
setup (see [Pairing your devices](/en/setup/pairing)). It is the store's
conductor. Its role is the same in restaurant mode and retail mode.

## What the main register does

* **It records every order in the store.** Every order taken on a secondary
  device goes through the main register, which validates it, saves it, and
  shares it with the other iPads. It is what keeps the whole team looking at
  the same orders in real time.
* **It distributes the menu and the team.** The menu published in the
  backoffice and the list of team members land on the main register first,
  which then pushes them out to every paired device.
* **It syncs with the cloud.** Whenever internet is available, it sends the
  store's sales to the backoffice. Without internet, it keeps everything
  locally and catches up later — see [Connectivity](/en/pos/connectivity).

The main register is still a regular register too: you can sign in and take
payments on it as usual.

## Why that iPad must stay on

Secondary devices need to reach the main register to save their orders. If it
becomes unreachable, they switch to **degraded mode** and can no longer take
orders.

Three rules to follow at all times:

* **Plugged into power.** A sleeping iPad stops answering the other devices.
* **The NowOS app in the foreground.** iOS suspends background apps: don't
  switch to another app and don't lock this iPad's screen during service.
* **On the store Wi-Fi.** That network is how the other iPads reach it — even
  without internet, the local Wi-Fi is enough to keep working.

While NowOS stays in the foreground on the main register, the app automatically
prevents the iPad from sleeping. After two minutes without interaction, it
shows a very dark NowOS screen to reduce power use. Touch anywhere to return to
the register immediately at its previous brightness. Leaving NowOS or removing
its main-register role also restores that brightness.

This behavior applies only to the main register. iPhones and secondary
registers keep their device's normal Auto-Lock behavior.

<Warning>
  If the main register shuts down or leaves the app, secondary devices
  immediately show **Main register unreachable** and can no longer save orders.
  Turn it back on and reopen NowOS: everything resumes automatically.
</Warning>

## System status

On the main register, signed in as a manager, the **More** tab shows a **Main
register** section the other devices do not have. It holds three entries:
**System status**, **Connected devices**, and **Add a device**.

Tap **System status**: this is the screen to open when something looks wrong,
and the one to show NowOS support.

### The verdict

At the top, one sentence answers the only question that matters: **does
everything work?** It names the worst thing currently true and says what it
changes for service — for example "The cloud is unreachable. Selling continues
normally."

That sentence runs the same rules as the backoffice **Health** page: the two
cannot contradict each other.

### The four areas

Each row carries a coloured pill and opens its own detail.

* **Local service** — the service the other devices talk to. It must read
  **OK** during service. The detail shows the local address, how long it has
  been up, how many connections are active, and lets you stop or restart it.
* **Cloud** — the link to the backoffice, and everything still waiting to be
  sent: sales, closures, fiscal journal, availability, stock, devices. Each
  queue shows how long it has been waiting and, where relevant, the last error.
* **Data** — the menu, roster and printer versions installed on this register,
  with the button to update them when a new version is published.
* **Devices** — how many devices are connected right now, out of your licence's
  slots.

If tickets are stuck, a red **Printing** panel appears and leads straight to the
print queue.

### This register

The register's identity card: name, location, data space (**Production** or
**Training**), fiscal regime, app version, when it was paired and by whom.

### The technical report

**Copy technical report** puts a full summary on the clipboard — versions,
queues, recent errors, devices. Paste it into a message to NowOS support when
asked. It contains no amounts and no customer data.

### Reset

At the bottom of the screen, **Reset this register** removes this iPad's
main-register role and erases all of its local records. You are asked to
confirm.

<Warning>
  Never reset the main register during service. Secondary devices immediately
  lose the ability to take orders, and anything not yet sent to the cloud is
  lost. Keep this for replacing the iPad, with help from the backoffice (see
  [Pair your devices](/en/setup/pairing)).
</Warning>

## Connected devices

**More → Connected devices** lists every iPad and iPhone paired to this store,
with its model, iPadOS version, app version, and above all its live state:

* **Main** — this iPad, the main register.
* **Online** — the device is receiving orders live.
* **Silent** — seen less than five minutes ago, but not connected right now.
* **Offline** — nothing heard for over five minutes.

A device running a **different version** from the main register is flagged:
update it.

<Note>
  To **release** a device (unpair it and free its licence slot), use the
  backoffice: **Settings → Devices**. See [Devices](/en/backoffice/devices).
</Note>

## Going further

* The rest of the device settings are covered in [Device
  settings](/en/pos/device-settings).
* Connection states as seen from secondary devices are explained in
  [Connectivity](/en/pos/connectivity).