You may have hit a snag when setting up your printers and are seeing that your printer has DHCP disabled, and possibly an IP address of 192.168.0.30 or 192.168.0.31 This will cause some problems when trying to set up your printers, so this guide will walk you through the steps to re-enable DHCP and have them ready to connect to your Lightspeed POS.
What's in this guide?
Before you begin
You would need:
- Element Printer - loaded with paper and plugged into the power source
- Ethernet cable
- Computer/Laptop - running either Windows or Mac OSX with an ethernet port
- Google Chrome or Safari web browser
What is DHCP
In the simplest terms, DHCP is a protocol which allows a device such as your printer to get an IP address from your modem/router. When this is disabled, the printer is hard-coded with a default IP which is typically not compatible with your network, and if your local network can’t talk to your printer, then neither can Lightspeed.
Verify the printer is connected to the network
On the printer you should see a solid green light and a yellow blinking light signalling that the printer is connected to your network and able to receive a data connection. (example below)
Perform a status print on the printer
Using a pen/pencil or other thin pointy object press and hold the reset button for 3 seconds; a short docket with the current IP address will be produced, the printers as supplied will have factory-set static IP addresses of 192.168.0.30 or 192.168.0.31
Enable DHCP on Windows
To configure your printer with an IP address that is compatible with your network, we will first need to make a temporary change to your computer's network setting.
Note - Your printer needs to be directly connected to your computer using the ethernet cable.
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Click the Start button. On the search bar type network and sharing centre and select it from the list of displayed options
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If the above does not work, try this: click the Start button. On the search bar type control panel and select it from the list of displayed options. When the Control Panel opens, select Network and Internet - finally, select Network and Sharing Center
2. Under Connections, select Local Area Connection or Ethernet
IP Address: 192.168.0.32 (This is not a typo, the IP needs to end in .32)
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Note - When you are done with the settings in this guide, change the above settings back to Obtain an IP address automatically to restore your original settings
7. Once done select OK or Close on each screen until back on your Desktop
Now, we will access the Printer settings via browser
8. Open your Google Chrome browser and navigate to http://192.168.0.30 (enter this on the address bar). This will open the printer configuration page.
Note - On some Element printers you will need to enter http://192.168.0.31
Under Configuration select TCP/IP
Change the ‘Get IP address’ value from Manual to DHCP (tap on it and a list of options will show)
Before
After
Tap on RESET
The config page page says “Please Wait for printer to reset” and the printer should beep
Perform a final status print to get your new IP Address
Using a pen/pencil or other thin pointy object press and hold the reset button for 3 seconds; a short docket with the new IP address will be produced (note this down, we will use this in the next step).
Enable DHCP on Mac OSX
To configure your printer with an IP address that is compatible with your network, we will first need to make a temporary change to your computer's network setting.
Note - Your printer directly to your computer using the ethernet cable.
1. Go to the Wifi/Networking Icon on your Mac in the top right.
2. Select Open Network Preferences
3. Select Ethernet or Thunderbolt Ethernet from the list of connections on the left
We will now edit these settings to place your computer on the same network range as your printer, we do this so that we are able to connect to it and change the DHCP setting.
4. Change the fields as follows:
Configure IPv4: Manually
IP Address: 192.168.0.32 (This is not a typo, the IP needs to end in .32)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Note - Once you complete this guide, change the Configure IPv4 setting back to Using DHCP to restore your original settings.
5. Select Apply
Now, we will access the Printer settings via browser
6. Open your Google Chrome browser and navigate to http://192.168.0.30 (enter this on the address bar). This will open the printer configuration page.
Note - On some Element printers you will need to enter http://192.168.0.31
Under Configuration select TCP/IP
Change the ‘Get IP address’ value from Manual to DHCP (tap on it and a list of options will show)
Before
After
Tap on RESET
The config page page says “Please Wait for printer to reset” and the printer should beep
Perform a final status print to get your new IP Address
Using a pen/pencil or other thin pointy object press and hold the reset button for 3 seconds; a short docket with the new IP address will be produced (note this down, we will use this in the next step).
Once you have enabled DHCP,
Once you have enabled DHCP, continue setting up Element Printer on Lightspeed