Receipt printer idsconnecting every day for a week

Retail & Point of Sale
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1

My Star Micronics TSP143III printer is connected through bluetooth. Every once in a while it has disconnected over the past 3 years, but over the last week it has been disconnecting every single day when we open up the ipad in the morning. We try turning the ipad off and on, swiping in and out of shopify pos, forgetting it and re-adding it. It will eventually reconnect with one of these things. I updated shopify pos and the ipad and it’s still having issues. Anyone else having this problem?

2

Hey there @nikniksboutique

This is Aaron from the Retail Team here at Shopify!

Thank you so much for sharing your question with the Shopify Community!

The best step in this situation would be to submit a Bug Report directly from the Shopify POS where you are experiencing issues with the receipt printer disconnecting so frequently. The Bug Report can be submitted through the following steps.

  1. Open the Shopify POS app
  2. Tap ⋯
  3. Tap Support
  4. Tap Report a bug
  5. In the text field, explain the issue
  6. Tap Send

Given that you are using the Star Micronics TSP143IIIBI receipt printer, and not another similar model such as the TSP143IIIW (Wi-Fi) or the TSP143IIILAN (Wired/LAN), we can complete the following troubleshooting steps.

Check the Shopify POS app permissions

  1. Open Settings in the iPad (not the Shopify POS app).

  2. From the list of Settings, scroll to the bottom and tap Apps.

  3. From the list of Apps, scroll down and tap Shopify POS.

  4. Ensure the following permissions are enabled:

    • Location is set to While Using

    • Background App Refresh is turned on

    • Allow Cross-Website Tracking is turned on

Reset the iPad’s Bluetooth setting

  1. Open Settings in the iPad.
  2. Tap Bluetooth.
  3. If the Star Micronics TSP143IIIBI receipt printer is appearing in the list of Devices, tap the ⓘ button and then tap Forget this device.
  4. Turn Bluetooth off.
  5. Turn the iPad completely off for 3-4 minutes.

If needed, you can also refer to our Resetting Bluetooth Connections for Shopify POS Hardware video.

Reset the Star Micronics TSP143IIIBI receipt printer

  1. Unpair your device and receipt printer.
  2. With the printer turned off, locate the reset (RST) button on the back of the printer, and use a pen to press and hold down the button.
  3. As you hold down the reset button, turn on the printer. When the ERROR light flashes, release the button.
  4. Wait until the ERROR light stops flashing. To complete the reset, turn off the printer a second time, wait 5 seconds, and then turn on the printer again.

Thanks,

Aaron | Retail Support Specialist

3

Hey @nikniksboutique

1 . Restart and clean Bluetooth on iPad

On the iPad:

Go to Settings → Bluetooth
Find the Star Micronics printer
Tap Forget This Device
Turn Bluetooth OFF
Restart the iPad completely power off for 3–5 minutes
Turn Bluetooth back On

2 .Reset the printer

On the Star Micronics TSP143III:

Turn the printer OFF
Press and hold the reset button or power + feed depending on model
Turn printer ON while holding reset
Wait until reset completes
Power cycle once more after reset

  1. Re pair correctly

Open Shopify POS
Go to Hardware → Set up printer
Select Star Micronics TSP143III Bluetooth
Pair the printer through Shopify POS only
Do not pair from iPad Bluetooth settings

4.Fix iPad settings

Go to Settings and ensure:

Bluetooth = ON
Low Power Mode = OFF
Background App Refresh = ON for Shopify POS
Auto-Lock = set to longer duration or Never
iPad is plugged in overnight

5 . Remove interference issues

Keep printer close to iPad
Avoid other active Bluetooth devices nearby (keyboard, scanners etc.)
Avoid placing printer behind metal counters or enclosed areas

6.Update software

Make sure everything is updated:

Shopify POS app
iPad iOS
Star Micronics firmware

  1. Daily stability fix if issue continues

If disconnection still happens every morning:

Turn OFF Bluetooth overnight Or
Restart iPad once in the morning before opening POS

This clears stale Bluetooth sessions that often cause morning disconnection.

8 .Final escalation if still not fixed

If issue continues daily after all steps:

Report issue in Shopify POS → More → Support → Report a bug
Mention:Daily Bluetooth disconnect with TSP143III after overnight idle
Include printer model and iPad model

I hope this help

Thank You !