Troubleshoot Star printer connectivity and order printing

​

Diagnostic Tool

Answer a few questions to diagnose your issue:

---

​

LED Indicators

Star printers have LED indicators that show printer status:

​

Quick Power Cycle

If your printer has steady blue and green lights but isn’t printing, try a power cycle:

1. Turn the printer off
2. Unplug the power cord from the wall
3. Wait 30 seconds
4. Plug back in and turn on

If queued orders start printing, the printer is back online.

​

Connection Issues

​

Power LED is off

• Check the power cable is connected to both the printer and wall outlet
• Disconnect and reconnect the power cable
• Try a different power outlet
• Press the power button - it should show a steady blue light

​

Network LED is off or flashing

1. Power off the printer
2. Check the ethernet cable connection to your router (or WiFi signal strength)
3. Disconnect and reconnect the network cable
4. Power on the printer
5. If still flashing, check your internet connection is working

​

BT Routers

BT (British Telecom) has rolled out a network policy that can block the connection between BT routers and the storekit cloud printing service. This affects many BT Hub and BT Smart Hub models. Symptoms:

• Printer shows online in the dashboard but orders intermittently stop printing
• Power-cycling the printer temporarily fixes it, but the issue recurs — often within hours
• Test prints may work fine, then real orders fail to print shortly after

Workarounds (in priority order): Additional BT router tips:

• Disable Smart Setup / Complete Wi-Fi — this feature can interfere with printer connections by automatically moving devices between bands or access points. Turn it off in your BT router admin panel under Advanced Settings → Wireless
• Power-cycle the printer (off, unplug for 30 seconds, plug back in) to temporarily restore printing while you apply one of the fixes above
• If none of the above resolves the issue, consider replacing the BT router with a non-BT router for the network the printer connects to

For general printer setup steps, see the printer setup guide.

​

Orders Not Printing

​

Printer shows online but orders don’t print

• If using auto-print, orders only print after being accepted
• Check the buffer setting isn’t delaying pre-orders
• Verify the printer is assigned to the relevant categories (for split printing)
• Try sending a test print from the dashboard

​

Some items not printing

• For split printing: check the category is assigned to an online printer
• Ensure the printer has paper
• Place a test order to confirm routing

​

Delayed Printing

If orders are printing but arriving later than expected, work through this checklist:

1. Check if Order Batching is enabled — go to Store Settings → Operations and check the batching timeout value. Set to 0 to disable batching. See the Order Batching guide for more details.
2. Check the Pre-Order Buffer in your printer settings — a non-zero buffer delays printing for pre-orders.
3. Check Auto Accept — if disabled, orders wait for manual acceptance before printing.
4. Check your internet provider — slow or unreliable connections can delay order delivery to the printer (see BT Routers above).

​

Intermittent Printing (Works Sometimes, Then Stops)

If your printer works for a while then randomly stops printing — and resumes after a power cycle — this is usually a network stability issue, not a printer hardware problem. Your router may be dropping the printer’s connection periodically.

​

Diagnose the issue

1. Check your router’s DHCP lease time — short lease times can cause the printer to lose its IP address. Set the lease time to 24 hours or longer in your router’s admin panel
2. Assign a static IP to the printer — this prevents the router from reassigning the printer’s address:
   • Find the printer’s current IP address on the network status printout (hold the FEED button while powering on)
   • Open your router’s admin panel and reserve that IP for the printer’s MAC address
3. Whitelist the printer’s MAC address in your router settings to prevent the router from deprioritising or disconnecting it
4. Check for WiFi interference — move the printer closer to the router or switch to an ethernet connection

​

Split Printing Issues

​

Items printing on all printers

The category hasn’t been assigned to specific printers. Go to Menu → select the category → Printing tab and tick only the printer(s) you want.

​

Items printing on wrong printer

• Review the category’s Printing settings
• Untick printers you don’t want receiving that category

​

Print Quality Issues

​

Faded or light printing

• Check paper is loaded correctly (thermal side facing out)
• Clean the print head with isopropyl alcohol
• Replace paper roll if old or stored in humid conditions

​

Text too small

Try the Large text size setting in your printer settings.

​

Factory Reset

If nothing else works: Step 1: Delete the printer from storekit

1. Go to your storekit dashboard
2. Navigate to Settings → Direct Printing
3. Click the trashcan icon next to the printer to delete it

Step 2: Reset the printer

1. Turn the printer off
2. Insert a pen into the RESET hole on the back of the printer
3. While holding the RESET button, press and release the POWER button
4. Continue holding RESET until the green Network LED flashes
5. Release the RESET button
6. Press the FEED button to select the LAN interface
7. Hold down FEED to confirm
8. The printer resets to factory defaults

Step 3: Set up again Set up the printer again from the beginning.

​

Email Notifications

storekit automatically sends email notifications when your printers go offline or come back online, helping you stay informed about printer status.

​

Printer Offline Notifications

When a printer fails to check in for 5 minutes, you’ll receive an email that includes:

• Printer details - Printer name, model, and MAC address
• Offline timestamp - When the printer went offline
• Quick actions - Direct link to view printer status in your dashboard

​

Printer Online Notifications

When a printer reconnects after being offline for at least 5 minutes, you’ll receive a confirmation email with:

• Printer details - Printer name and model
• Online timestamp - When the printer reconnected
• Status confirmation - Verification that the printer is ready to receive orders

​

Ensuring You Receive Notifications

Make sure your venue email address is configured correctly:

1. Go to Store Settings in your dashboard
2. Navigate to Store Details
3. Verify your email address is correct
4. Add multiple email addresses if needed (the first address will receive notifications)

​

Pre-Order Printing

Pre-order tickets differ from live order tickets — they print at a scheduled time based on your buffer setting, not immediately when the order is placed. For example, a pre-order placed at 10am for 2pm collection with a 30-minute buffer will print at 1:30pm. See Pre-Order Buffer for how to configure this timing.

​

Pre-orders aren’t printing

​

Pre-order ticket shows wrong date/time

• Check timezone settings — go to Dashboard → Store Settings → Store Details and verify the timezone matches your venue’s physical location. An incorrect timezone will offset all printed times.

​

Test Print Issues

​

Test print works but real orders don’t print

​

Test print fails

​

Still Having Issues?

1. Send a test print from the dashboard to confirm connectivity
2. Note any error lights or messages
3. Check for printer status email notifications
4. Contact storekit support with your store name and description of the issue