If you're having problems with your STAR receipt printer frequently disconnecting or going "offline", this guide to setting a static IP address could help.

The Problem

Here's what could be happening: When you connect a device (like your STAR printer) to a router it will be dynamically assigned an IP address (the address needed by the Passage Manager App to connect to it) and it will keep the same address until turned off and back on again. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, some network routers aggressively rotate through IP addresses, even changing those addresses while the device is connected.

This could be because there are too many devices connecting to the router, there's a setting on the router to "expire" addresses after a period of time, the router itself gets reset, or something else. Either way, it will cause the Passage Manager App to lose connection to your router.

The (Possible) Solution

Setting your printer to a static IP address can keep your router from assigning a new IP address to the printer! It will keep the same address when connected, which should help the Passage Manager App maintain a strong connection to the printer at all times.

1) Know Your Available IP Addresses

Your router will have an available pool of IP addresses that it can assign to devices. The total pool is usually 10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255 or 192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.255. Then, a smaller pool will be reserved for dynamic (DHCP) assignment. This pool is usually around 252 addresses in a range something like 10.0.0.2 through 10.0.0.254.

2) Pick An IP Address

Once we know the available IP addresses and those reserved for DHCP assignment, we can pick a static IP address for our printer! Here are a few rules to follow:

It should be within the TOTAL available range (e.g. 10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255).
It should NOT be within the DHCP reserved range (e.g. 10.0.0.2 through 10.0.0.254).
It shouldn't end with .0 or .255.
It shouldn't be the first address in an available pool (e.g. 10.0.0.1). That's usually reserved for your router.

Using the above pool ranges as an example, a great choice would be 10.0.1.10, or 10.0.1.11, or 10.0.2.94... you get the idea!

3) Set The Static IP Address

WARNING: You can get in to trouble here. Improper network settings can screw up your ability to connect to your printer. If you're uncomfortable with any of this, we recommend consulting an IT professional.

Obtain the current IP address of the printer. To do this, hold the 'FEED' button while power on the printer for 3-5 seconds. You should see a test page print from the printer that will contain the current IP address under the 'Current IP Parameters Status' section.
Connect to the printer using the web-interface. With another device (computer, phone, or tablet) connected to the same router, type the IP address from the previous step into the address bar your favorite web-browser.
Click "Login" and login using the username and password.
The default for these are:
- Username: root
- Password: public
Head to the "IP Parameters" section under "Network Configuration".
Select "Static" and type in the Static IP address you decided on above in the "IP Address" field. The Subnet Mask and Default Gateway fields should remain the same as what was on your test page print in step 1.
Click "Submit" and then "Save" then "Execute" the "Save" Command. You have to do all three!

Here's a great video we found walking through the printer setup on Youtube:

This will restart the printer and should tie it to a Static IP Address. You'll have to re-connect in the Passage Manager App one more time, but from there on your connection should stay much more consistent.

We hope this helps!