IPAD BLUETOOTH TROUBLESHOOTING

Bluetooth is a pretty common option for connecting peripherals to an iPad. Printers, scanners, credit card machines all have Bluetooth components. Unfortunately, like most electronics, certain problems arise. If you are having trouble getting or keeping a connection, here are the most common Bluetooth troubleshooting steps involved in getting your iPad point of sale system back up and running.

Bluetooth Printer – Star TSP650II

If you are using a printer with an iPad, odds are pretty good it connects through Bluetooth. The standard iPad printer in our rental fleet is the Star TSP650II. This is a very common receipt printer known for its versatility with point of sale apps. If you are having trouble getting or staying connected, work through the following solutions in order. The full instructions are detailed further down the page.

  1. Checking Connection Status
  2. Restarting Bluetooth
  3. Pairing the Printer
  4. Restoring Factory Defaults

STEP 1) CHECK CONNECTION STATUS

  1. Open up the iPad settings screen.
  2. Select Bluetooth
  3. Is the printer listed under My Devices, but shows Not Connected?
    • If yes, tap on the printer to refresh the connection
    • If no, proceed to Step 3
  4. Wait about 10 seconds for the connection to re-establish (will switch to Connected)
  5. If the status remains Not Connected or receipts still do not print, proceed to Step 2.
A red arrow pointing to the top of an app icon.
A close up of the bluetooth button on an iphone
A close up of the bluetooth button on an iphone

STEP 2) RESTART BLUETOOTH

  1. Open up the iPad settings screen.
  2. Select Bluetooth
  3. Turn Bluetooth off
  4. Wait a few seconds, then turn Bluetooth back on
  5. Wait about 10 seconds for the connection to re-establish (will switch to Connected)
A close up of the bluetooth button on an iphone
A tablet screen with the word bluetooth on it.
A screen showing the settings for star micronics.

STEP 3) RE-PAIR THE PRINTER

  1. Go to iPad settings
  2. Go to the Bluetooth tab
  3. Tap on the blue ( i ) icon next to printer
  4. Tap Forget this device
  5. Turn off Bluetooth on the iPad
  6. Press and hold in the PAIR button on the back of the printer until the light turns green and stats blinking (takes about 6 seconds).
  7. Let go of the PAIR button
  8. Go back to the iPad and turn on Bluetooth. The printer name* will show up under Other Devices.
  9. Tap the printer name. It will take about 10 seconds to connect, and will move from Other Devices to My Devices
  10. If you still can’t connect, proceed to Step 4.
A screen shot of the settings page.
A screen shot of the settings page.
A picture of the button and power button.

STEP 4) RESTORE FACTORY DEFAULTS

  1. Go to the Bluetooth tab in iPad settings
  2. Tap on the printer
  3. Tap the forget this printer
  4. Turn off the printer
  5. Press and hold the inset RESET button on the back of the printer (using a pen, paper clip or similar) and turn on the printer
    • Continue holding RESET  until the green power light and red error light on the front starts blinking in tandem. Then you can let go.
  6. Wait until the red error light stops blinking (about 10 seconds)
  7. Turn off the printer
  8. Wait 5 seconds and turn the printer back on
  9. Re-pair the printer using sub-steps 5-9 in Step 3
A screen shot of the settings page.
A screen shot of the settings page.
A picture of the button and power button.

Bluetooth Scanner – Socket Mobile CHS 7Ci

If you’ve gotten a scanner from American Metro for use with an iPad, it was a Socket Mobile scanner. These tend to be the most reliable scanners we have found, but they aren’t completely immune to problems. Below, you will find a list of the most common issues and how to solve them.

  • The scanner beeps, but the product doesn’t register
  • The scanner needs to be paired to an iPad
  • The red light keeps blinking
  • A message pops up saying No PLU Data Found

ISSUE: ITEMS DON’T SCAN, BUT SCANNER BEEPS

  1. If the scanner is beeping when it scans something but it is not listing the item on the screen it may need to be reset.

    1. Go to the iPad setting screen on the iPad
    2. Go to the Bluetooth tab
    3. Click on the scanner
    4. Press the blue words “Forget this device”
    5. Click out of the iPad settings
    6. Open the “scanner setting” app
    7. Click the orange words at the bottom of the screen “Factory reset”
    8. On the new screen change the scan code to 1D
    9. Scan the barcode
      • The scanner will make a string of noises and turn off
    10. Turn the Scanner back on
    11. Go back one screen on the iPad
    12. Change IOS barcode to 1D
    13. Scan the Barcode
    14. Re-pair the scanner
A red arrow pointing to the top of an app icon.
A close up of the bluetooth button on an iphone
A close up of the bluetooth button on an iphone
A tablet screen with the word bluetooth on it.
A screen showing the settings for star micronics.
A screen showing the settings for star micronics.

ISSUE: I NEED TO PAIR THE SCANNER

  1. If the scanner does not show up under My Devices, it will need to be paired. Here’s the process.

    1. Power the scanner on.
    2. Press and hold both the scan and power button until it shuts off with a series of beeps in three descending tones.
    3. Turn on the scanner again. It will now be ready to pair.
    4. Open the Bluetooth tab in Settings.
    5. Tap on the scanner, listed as Socket CHS [######] under other devices.
    6. After about 5 seconds, the scanner will show up under My Devices as Connected.

ISSUE: NO PLU DATA FOUND

If you scan a product and you get a message saying “No PLU Data Found”, it means the barcode number has not been programmed in the point of sale system. Go to the online portal and add the product.

 
A close up of the bluetooth button on an iphone
A tablet screen with the word bluetooth on it.
A screen showing the settings for star micronics.

ISSUE: THE RED LIGHT KEEPS BLINKING

If the red light starts blinking, it means the batteries are almost dead. All you need to do is plug the charging cable into the scanner. Please do not replace the rechargeable batteries. If standard batteries are used, plugging in the charger will overheat the scanner and ruin it.