Why do the printers decide to not connect/print randomly and how can we avoid this problem?

[BearCityPub]

Our printer decides to not be connected or allow printing at random times once or twice a month, and we can't troubleshoot why this happens.  How can we avoid this inconvenience?  I need a good SOP for what steps to take to get it back online ASAP because it's usually just a front line employee dealing with the problem and they don't have any resources to help them in that moment. 

[ryanwanner]

Hello @BearCityPub ! Welcome to the Square Community!

Quick question: how are your printers connected to your system? USB, Wifi, Ethernet, or Bluetooth?

If it's ethernet or wifi, I'm betting your router is just forgetting things every now and then. That usually happens with older routers or ones that are taking a lot of use with customers and employees always on the wifi. Usually a restart of the router weekly can solve this problem, but I'd start saving up to get a beefier router and switch for your installation. I highly recommend anything from UniFi.

If it's bluetooth or usb, what kind of system are the printers connected to? Square Stand, Register, or something else? Always make sure your software and OS are always on the latest and greatest versions, and double check that your cord (for usb) isn't being pinched anywhere along the line. Also if your printer is near a microwave you may be seeing some interference.

If these troubleshooting steps don't really help, can you respond with your type of network and system setup so we can troubleshoot further?

As for SOPs, the best thing I can recommend is to make sure your team stays vigilant when it comes to printing. All Square in person orders should print immediately, and there are alerts on the app when a printing error occurs. If something doesn't print, they need to be paying attention to that.

[Candlestore]

@BearCityPub ;

I was having this issue when the power would flash on and off.  My printers would get a different IP address since they are networked.  I set them all to a Static address and that fixed that issue.   I am not sure how your system is setup or connected to your Square POS system.  Also make sure the printer is getting connected to your Wifi and not some random one, like a open guest network.  When mine would get the wrong IP address all I would do is once my network was up and running again, was disconnect and power cycle the printer.  This worked for me having the wrong address assigned to my network printer until I assigned Static addresses.