If you find that Lightspeed is frequently appearing in offline mode, there may be some gremlins in your network.
This guide contains a series of checks you can perform yourself to help determine the cause of these connectivity issues - if it's still not working after that, then you may need some help from the pro’s (our 24/7 Support Team).
What’s in this guide?
Wi-Fi or Internet?
Before we start there is something you need to know - Internet & Wi-Fi (your network on site) are not the same things.
This is important because “not working” means something different for both of them.
Internet (Sometimes called WAN) - You get this from your (internet) supplier like you would receive a delivery from your regular food & bev suppliers. And, like those suppliers - they only deliver what you need to the kitchen door.
Wi-Fi (Local Network or LAN) - From the kitchen door it is your responsibility to put all your stock away where it belongs - as with your internet. In this case though, we use a Modem/Router to manage the process instead of a commis.
(Hint - The router is what allows your register to talk to your printer.)
When the Internet goes down, this cuts you off from Lightspeed HQ - but we knew this could happen so we've built Lightspeed to work offline.
The sales will be stored on your register until you’re back online - so if you’re offsite you won’t be able to see your latest sales until you’re back online.
If the network (Wi-Fi) is down then your devices are no longer able to talk to each other - even if you can still connect to the internet.
Long story short - you should always start your business with a solid network (or, check out this Bluetooth Printer setup)
Device level checklist
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Check your WIFI settings to ensure you are connected to the correct WIFI network. (Often a device will switch to another 'known' network if its existing network goes down or out of range - we recommend that you “forget” other networks for dedicated POS devices to stop this happening)
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If your WIFI network is not visible, move closer to your modem/router and re-test. (WIFI signal strength is affected by physical factors such as distance and physical obstructions)
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Test the internet connection on your device by closing the Lightspeed App and opening a web browser, navigating to a website you do not often visit. (If you visit a site regularly some of the site information may be saved in your browser).
If this does not load, you may be facing network issues.
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Use a second device on the same network to test if the network disruption only impacted certain devices.
Physical level checklist
The first step for any tech troubleshooting is to make sure everything is still plugged in and turned on - each cable has two ends so you’ll want to check both.
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Ensure that network cables are not damaged and securely connected - they should click into place when plugged into devices.
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All devices that require power should be connected and switched on - look for status lights where available
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Printer & Computer devices should be plugged into the ethernet ports on the back of the modem/router - these are usually marked 1,2,3,4. (Using ports marked as 'Internet' or 'WAN' will not work)
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Check that your phone line or coaxial cable is attached correctly and that any carrier supplied splitters/filters are being used.
(An ADSL connection can be interrupted by phone calls if filters are not installed correctly)
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Please try to contact your carrier if connectivity issues occur mostly after bad weather.
Network level checklist
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If possible, consider rebooting the modem/router to try re-establish the connection with your ISP and local devices. (Note: this will take all devices offline temporarily)
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If you are operating on a PC/MAC, visit speedtest.net (This is also available as an app for Android or iOS.) Select “Begin Test” to run a health check of your internet connection. Once done, look for these stats:
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PING: A high PING (anything above 90ms) means that your connection will be operating slowly thus hindering performance
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Download/Upload speed: A low speed (anything below 2Mbps) will slow down the network performance
What's my next step?
Think you might need a stronger network? Our tech pro’s have a couple of tips & tricks to follow when setting up your network
If your network seems broken after you just got a new router - there may have been a few things you missed when changing your new router