Printer disconnecting

[Ruby_Rouge_Admi]

We have a TSP100 Lan connected to our network which our shopify POS app uses, but it keeps disconnecting and connecting all the time, so we keep seeing 'Receipt Printer Disconnected' / 'Receipt Printer Connected' on the App and as a result the app keeps hanging and stalling .. really unworkable. Have tried lots of things but cannot seem to resolve.. wondering if anyone else had similiar problems?

[Bryce1]

Hi Ruby,

We are Shopify Experts and also sell the POS hardware in Australia. There could be a few things that may be causing this issue i.e. faulty network cable, router or network port on the receipt printer.

Try changing over the network port on the router, that the receipt printer is connected to would be the first test. If you are still having problems after this, try replacing the network cable. If you dont have one handy or this doesn't fix your problem, I can send you the next set of instructions. You will need a laptop to help test this, so just let me know if you have a MAC or Windows computer.

The only other similar issue we have come across is with two of our clients who were using a Netgear broadband (3G/4G) wifi hotspot with an Netgear 78XS ethernet cradle. http://www.netgear.com/service-providers/products/mobile/mobile-hotspots/78XS-cradle.aspx

Apart from the above mentioned issue, we have found the Star TSP143LAN to be really reliable.

Cheers

Bryce

www.silverbacktech.com.au

[Harry22]

Hey there

We're having the same issue on a regular basis. We at least have to restart printer, Ipad and Router once a day, since it randomly stops working. And we also experienced the printer connected / disconnetcted in a random intervall. Really unsatisfying. I have checked on everything, couldn't find out what the reason was. But it defintly happens after the POS being idle for some time. That's also why it's pretty annoying. If you have any ideas how to avoid that, i'll be very thankful.

[Robert33]

We experience the same problem. Shopify - any solution?

[Bryce1]

Hi @Harry and @Robert 

We actually ran into this issue while setting up Shopify POS for one of our clients today. The issue was caused by the wifi signal dropping out on the router. However before going into more detail I thought it was worth checking whether you are using a 3G/4G broadband modem/router as typically these are set to go into standby mode when the network is idle to reduce broadband usage. 

When the app reports that printer is disconnected, does the receipt printer prints out a receipt with the words ’No Host Connection’? If it’s the printer that is dropping the connection then you should see this message.

Cheers

Bryce  

[Harry22]

@bryce

Thanks for you explanation, but no, the printer does not print out this receipt. I also don't think that my rounter goes into standby mode, since my network is never really idle. I have a computer running, that is permanently conncected to the network (shopify backend, mails, etc.) I also always can ping the printer, so i don't think it's that. I really think it's just the app, because i can also access the internet from the ipad while the printer is not connected. As said, it happens quite a lot.

[Aaron_Loo]

Is there any follow up on this?

i do face the same problem, however sometimes my pc can print the receipt but my iPad couldn't. 

Sometimes, both my pc and iPad couldn't print at all. 

[Bryce1]

Hi @Aaron,

Yes, there is. I am working on a guide to assist with determining the cause of this issue.

I hope to have this completed by tomorrow at the latest.

Cheers

Bryce

[Alex_M3]

Hey all!

Sorry to hear that this is happening so often. Bryce made some great suggestions, and sometimes even the old "turn it off and on again" can help with this.

To anyone who has some time to answer:

• Do the printers show an IP and as connected to the network even when their connection to the app is interrupted?
• Are there any other data or wifi areas that your iPad could be connecting to?
• What type of router or hub is the printer plugged into?

The more we can find in common, the more readily we can figure something out. Let me know! :)

-Alex M.

Shopify Guru | support@shopify.com

[Bryce1]

Hi Alex,

Nice to see you here. You made a good point with regards to powering everything off and on again. This has fixed the issue previously for another client as devices do play up sometimes. The point about the iPad connecting to another signal could definitely be another cause.

I have generally found this issue to be caused by the router, rather than the printer or the app. In any case, I have put together some notes to help with troubleshooting this issue to narrow down the potential cause. Before you do any tests first double check you are still connected to the correct Wi-Fi signal.

I shall put this in the next post.

Cheers

Bryce