# Fix printer problems

Use this guide from the **Staff app → Settings → Printers**. Expand the affected
printer to see its status, connection settings, host device, and available
actions. Printer setup changes should be made by an authorised manager.

## Start with these checks

1. Check that the device is working in the correct restaurant location.
2. Check power, paper, the cover, and the printer's own error indicator.
3. Read the message on the printer card. **Not checked** is not a successful
   connection check. **Online** means the connection check succeeded; verify
   actual printing with **Test print**.
4. Choose **Check connection**. When the check succeeds, choose **Test print**
   and confirm that the paper output is complete and readable.

Tell the kitchen before sending a test or reprinting an order. A connection
check and a test ticket do not place a new customer order.

## This device can't reach the printer

For a network printer:

1. Join the restaurant network used by the printer. A guest network may prevent
   devices from communicating with each other.
2. Check the printer is switched on and connected to the network.
3. On an Apple device, check that TablePort has **Local Network** access in the
   device's system settings.
4. Compare the configured **Address** with the printer's current address. Use
   **Detect address** where available rather than guessing an address.
5. Check **Host device**. If the printer is hosted by another device, that
   device must be available for jobs relayed through it. Ask a manager to
   correct a missing or incorrect host.
6. Run **Check connection**, then **Test print**.

Use your printer's supported self-test procedure if you need its current
address. The physical button sequence differs by model.

## The printer refused the connection

Something answered at the configured address but did not accept the print job.
Check that the address belongs to this printer and that another printing app is
not occupying the connection. Recheck and send one test print once the conflict
is resolved.

## The printer didn't answer

Check its power and current address, then repeat **Check connection**. If it
still fails, ask the manager to check the restaurant network and printer setup.
Do not repeatedly send customer tickets to test connectivity.

## No printer address, or the address isn't valid

Ask a manager to use **Detect address** or enter the address reported by the
printer. Check **Type**, **Printer language**, **Connection**, and **Host
device** against the physical printer. Save intentional changes with **Save
changes**, then check the connection and test output.

## The printer stopped mid-ticket

Check paper and the cover first. A partial ticket means some output may already
have reached the kitchen. Check the physical ticket and the order with the
kitchen before reprinting. Fix the printer, send a test print, and then use the
supported reprint action for the affected order only.

## Jobs are waiting, or a ticket printed twice

Open **Print Queue** from the Printers screen to inspect waiting jobs.
Coordinate with the kitchen before resending a ticket. Do not use **Clear All**
as a routine connectivity fix: it discards queued jobs rather than confirming
their delivery. Ask the shift leader to decide which jobs are still needed.

When a duplicate has printed, compare the order and ticket details. Confirm with
the kitchen which copy represents the existing order; do not create a second
order to correct a printing problem.

## The test prints, but kitchen tickets are missing

Check the affected item's prep station and its printer routing with a manager. A
reachable printer does not prove that the item is routed to it. See
[Kitchen and hardware setup](/orders/kitchen-setup).

## A receipt or daily report uses the wrong printer

Check the device's selected default printer. On the printer card, **Make
default** selects it for this device. In the daily report, long-press the
printer button to choose another printer.

Daily reports require a thermal receipt printer. Impact or dot-matrix kitchen
printers cannot print the daily report. See
[Printing the daily report](/daily-reports/staff-app#printing-the-daily-report).

## When to contact support

Escalate when the correct connection and host are configured but connection
checks or test prints still fail, or when tickets repeatedly stop partway
through. Provide the printer model, connection type, device name, time, error
wording, and whether any paper printed. Keep network addresses and operational
records within your authorised support channel.