Printer Troubleshooting
This page is a quick-fix guide for the most common printer problems. Each section follows the same format: Symptom → Likely cause → How to fix.
If nothing here helps, contact Fuze Store support with the printer model, the connection type, and any error messages you see.
My printer is not detected
Bluetooth printer not appearing
Symptom: You tap Add Printer → Bluetooth → Scan and your printer doesn't show up.
Likely cause: The printer isn't in pairing mode, Bluetooth is off, or another device is already paired to the printer.
How to fix:
Power-cycle the printer and put it back into pairing mode (usually a long
press of the feed button — check the manual).
Make sure Bluetooth is on in your phone or tablet settings, and that
you've granted Bluetooth permission to the Fuze Store app.
Forget any other Bluetooth pairings to this printer — most thermal printers
only allow one active pairing at a time.
Network (TCP/IP) printer connection failed
Symptom: You enter the IP address and port but Test Print fails.
Likely cause: Wrong IP, wrong port, or the printer is on a different network.
How to fix:
Print a network self-test page from the printer to confirm its IP
address.
Make sure your POS device and the printer are on the same Wi-Fi
network. Some stores have separate "guest" and "staff" networks — both
devices must be on the staff one.
Confirm the port is 9100 (the thermal printer default) unless your
printer's manual says otherwise.
From a laptop on the same network, try opening
http://<printer-ip>:9100 in a browser. If nothing happens (which is
expected), at least confirm the address can be reached. If the connection
immediately fails, the printer or your network is the problem.
USB printer not found by the LAN Bridge
Symptom: You select USB in Fuze Store, tap Discover USB Printers, and no printers appear.
Likely cause: The LAN Bridge is not running, the USB cable is loose, or the LAN Bridge can't access USB devices on its host computer.
How to fix:
Make sure the Discover USB Printers button is active (not grayed
out). If it's grayed out, your device is not connected to the LAN
Bridge — go to Store → Preferences → Local Server and check the
connection.
Confirm the LAN Bridge is running on the bridge computer. Open
http://<bridge-ip>:8080/health in a browser — you should see
{ "status": "ok" }.
On Windows: the LAN Bridge will normally print through the Windows
Print Spooler, so make sure your printer is installed with its
manufacturer's driver and visible under Settings → Bluetooth &
devices → Printers & scanners. You do not need to replace the driver.
On macOS: if the printer shows up in System Settings → Printers &
Scanners, remove it there. macOS claims the USB device through CUPS on
plug-in and prevents the LAN Bridge from talking to it directly.
On Linux: USB printers need access permissions. Install the Fuze LAN
Bridge udev rules (or run the bridge as root for a quick test).
If discovery still shows nothing, you can add the printer manually. Find
the Vendor ID and Product ID from your printer's manual, Device Manager
(Windows), or lsusb (Linux/macOS), and enter them as 4-character hex
codes (e.g. 04b8, 0202).
The LAN Bridge exposes GET /info which shows exactly which USB path is
available on its host (libusb vs windowsSpooler). Useful for diagnosis:
curl http://<bridge-ip>:8080/info.
My receipts are garbled or showing strange characters
Symptom: Receipts print with random symbols, square boxes, or question marks where letters should be.
Likely cause: The encoding is wrong for the language you're printing.
How to fix:
Change the Encoding field. Use:
| Language | Encoding |
|---|---|
| English / Spanish / French / Latin scripts | UTF-8 (default) |
| Chinese | GB18030 or GBK |
| Japanese | Shift_JIS |
| Korean | EUC-KR |
| Older / US-only printers | CP437 |
The wrong printer is printing my receipt
Symptom: Drinks are printing in the kitchen, or food orders are landing on the bar printer.
Likely cause: A routing rule is misconfigured — the filter is wrong, or a rule was created for the wrong printer.
How to fix:
Open Store → Printers, then tap the printer that received the wrong
receipt.
Check each rule's Function, Trigger Event, and Filter. Are the
categories correct? Is "All orders" toggled on when it shouldn't be?
For a guide on setting up routing rules properly, see Routing Rules.
I'm getting duplicate prints
Symptom: Two copies of the same receipt or kitchen ticket appear when only one should.
Likely cause: Two routing rules overlap — for example, one rule says "Receipt on Payment Completed for all orders" and another says "Receipt on Payment Completed for In-Store orders". An in-store payment fires both.
How to fix:
Look for two or more rules with the same Function and the same
Trigger Event that could both match a single order.
If you actually want two copies of the same receipt, set the Copies field
on a single routing rule to 2 instead of creating a duplicate rule.
Print queue is not draining
Symptom: The Status & Queue card on the printer detail page shows queued jobs that never go through, even after the printer is back online.
Likely cause: The LAN Bridge or the connection to it is still down, or the printer is offline at the hardware level.
How to fix:
Check the connection badge at the top of the app. If it shows
"LAN disconnected", the LAN Bridge is the problem — restart it and reload
the app.
Check the printer's hardware: power, paper, no paper jam, and that the
cable or Wi-Fi is intact.
Open the printer detail page and tap Test Print. If that fails, the
queue won't drain either.
Once the printer is healthy, tap Retry on each failed job — or wait
5 seconds for Fuze Store to flush the queue automatically.
The cutter isn't cutting the paper
Symptom: Receipts print but never cut — you have to tear them by hand.
Likely cause: Either the printer doesn't have a cutter, or the cutter capability is turned off in Fuze Store.
How to fix:
Find the Capabilities section and make sure Cutter is toggled
on.
If your printer has a cutter and it still doesn't work, check the printer
manual — some models need a specific firmware version or have a physical
cutter switch.
A toast says "Failover active"
Symptom: After a print, a toast appears that says "Failover active — receipt printed on backup".
Likely cause: This is not an error. It means your primary printer for that function failed, and Fuze Store automatically printed on the next-priority backup printer instead.
How to fix: Check your primary printer when you have a moment. It probably ran out of paper, lost its connection, or had a paper jam. The receipt was already printed safely on the backup.
For more details, see Routing Rules → Priority and failover.
Receipts are clipped or only half-filling the paper
Symptom: Receipts are missing the right side of the page, or they only fill the left half of the paper.
Likely cause: The paper width in Fuze Store doesn't match the actual physical paper width.
How to fix:
Set Paper Width to either 58mm or 80mm to match what's loaded in
the printer. Most receipt printers are 80mm; small portable printers are
usually 58mm.
Bluetooth permission denied on iPhone or Android
Symptom: You see "Bluetooth permission required" even after granting permission.
Likely cause: System permission was denied or revoked outside the app.
How to fix:
On iOS: open Settings → Fuze Store → toggle Bluetooth on.
On Android: open Settings → Apps → Fuze Store → Permissions → enable
Nearby devices (or Bluetooth, depending on Android version).
Getting more help
If none of the above fixes your issue:
- Check the printer manufacturer's documentation. Most quirks are model-specific.
- Confirm your printer supports ESC/POS commands — Fuze Store uses ESC/POS, the standard for thermal printers. If your printer needs a proprietary driver, it won't work.
- Run a Test Print from the printer detail page and see what (if anything) the printer does.
- Contact Fuze Store support with:
- Your printer's brand and model
- The connection type (Bluetooth / TCP / USB / Serial)
- The exact error message or toast
- The steps to reproduce the issue