Patent ID: 8584956

Claim:
A card reader, comprising: a housing that includes a read head; a jack attached to the housing adapted to be inserted into a microphone input associated with a mobile device, the read head forming a slot for swiping a magnetic stripe of a buyer's financial transaction card with the slot utilized to enable a financial transaction between a buyer and seller, the read head reading data on the magnetic stripe and producing a signal indicative of data stored on the magnetic stripe; and an electronic system that includes a card reader circuit, a communication subsystem with a control until, a fake load, a monitor system to manage card reader behavior between power cycles, a power subsystem and a pathway system, wherein following the control unit booting up, the communication subsystem checks a status bit in the monitor subsystem, the pathway subsystem configured to direct a signal path to the fake load preventing the mobile device from detecting a disconnect with the card reader, when the power subsystem has completed a power cycle the control unit configures the pathway subsystem to direct a signal path to a card reader circuit, and the control unit puts the system into a low power state with the monitoring subsystem remaining active, the monitor subsystem waking the electronic system from the low power state before a power cycle, the control unit being notified of the electronic system awakening by the monitoring subsystem and then forcing a power cycle.