Fix common problems with the BizPrint Android app

This page helps when the BizPrint Android app shows a message, is not connected, or does not print to its printer. It is for merchants and staff who use an Android phone, tablet or Sunmi device as their station.

Before you start, update the BizPrint Android app from Google Play to the latest version. The steps on this page describe the latest version.

Where the app shows what went wrong

• On the main screen. The top of the screen shows your station’s name and its connection, such as Connected or Not connected. Cards below it point out problems, each with a button to fix them. Under Printers, each printer shows its status, and how many jobs failed, for example 1 job failed.
• In the job list. A job that did not print shows Failed, followed by the reason. To see the list, tap See all under Jobs on the main screen. To see one printer’s jobs, tap the printer, then look under Recent jobs on this printer.

Before you print anything again

Some fixes end with printing a job again. Before you print anything again, check all of these, so you do not print the order twice:

1. Look at the printer for the printout.
2. Check the status of the print job in the BizPrint dashboard.
3. Wait for the station to finish anything it is still printing, whatever status the job shows.
4. Go to WooCommerce > Print Manager in WordPress, if the order came from WooCommerce.
5. Click the Support tab.
6. Check Queue Status in Print Job Queue.
7. Wait for any pending or processing jobs to finish.

Do not print a job again while it is still pending, connecting-to-printer or processing. Never place an order again to get a printout. The app’s own test page (Test print or Print test page) is not an order, so you can print it at any time the printer is not printing a real order.

The app shows “Not connected” or “Paused”

Symptom: The top of the main screen shows Not connected, Paused or Connecting… instead of Connected, and new jobs do not print.

Cause: The app is not connected to BizPrint. The device may have lost its internet connection, someone may have tapped Disconnect, Android may have stopped the app in the background, or the station keys in the app may be wrong.

Fix: Connect the app again. When a station reconnects, BizPrint can send it print jobs that are still pending, and they print automatically. This happens when Archive offline print jobs is off. See Choose what happens to BizPrint print jobs when a station is offline.

Before you connect, make sure the device is connected to the internet. Look at the printer for printouts, and check the status of recent jobs in the BizPrint dashboard.

If it shows Paused:

1. Tap the station name at the top of the main screen. The Connection sheet opens.
2. Tap Connect.
3. Check that the status changes to Connected.

If it shows Not connected:

1. Tap Connect on the Not connected card on the main screen.
2. Check that the status changes to Connected.

If it still does not connect:

1. Tap the station name at the top of the main screen. The Connection sheet opens.
2. Tap Check connection.
3. Look at each line of the check: Server reachable, Keys accepted and Listening for print jobs.

If the check shows Keys not accepted, see Check the station keys. You can also connect again by signing in with your BizPrint account instead of entering keys. See Install and connect the BizPrint Android app to your station.

After the app connects, check the dashboard for jobs that were sent while the device was not connected. Do the checks in Before you print anything again before you print any of them again.

The app also reconnects by itself when the network comes back. If the main screen shows BizPrint isn’t running, tap Start. If it shows Printing may stop in the background or Notifications are off, tap Fix. See Keep the BizPrint Android app running so it can print.

Check the station keys

Symptom: The connection check shows Keys not accepted, or the message These keys don’t match a station. Copy both again from the dashboard.

Cause: The Public key or Secret key in the app does not match a station in the BizPrint dashboard, for example because one was copied with a missing character, or the station was deleted.

Fix:

1. Tap the menu at the top of the main screen.
2. Tap Server and keys.
3. Enter the station’s Public key and Secret key again, copied from the BizPrint dashboard. Instead of entering keys, you can also sign in with your BizPrint account. See Install and connect the BizPrint Android app to your station.
4. Tap Check connection.
5. Wait until the check shows Keys accepted and Listening for print jobs.

The connection check can also show these messages:

• Can’t reach the server. Check this phone’s internet or Wi-Fi. Connect the device to the internet, then check again.
• This app version is no longer supported. Update BizPrint. Update the BizPrint Android app from Google Play.
• Connected to the server but not receiving print jobs. Try again. Tap Check connection again after a moment.

A job fails with “isn’t set up on this phone”

Symptom: A job does not print, and the job list shows a reason that ends with “isn’t set up on this phone”. On the main screen, the printer shows Set up on this phone.

Cause: The printer belongs to your station, but this device has not been told how to reach it. This happens when you connect the app to a station that already has printers, for example after you replace your Android device.

Fix:

1. Tap the printer that shows Set up on this phone on the main screen.
2. Follow the steps to set it up. See Add a printer to the BizPrint Android app.
3. Do the checks in Before you print anything again.
4. Reprint the job from the BizPrint dashboard, if it still has not printed. See Reprint a print job from the BizPrint dashboard.

“Printer named ‘…’ not configured”

Symptom: A job does not print, and the job list shows a reason that starts with “Printer named” and ends with “not configured”.

Cause: The job was sent to a printer that is not in this device’s list. This usually happens when:

• The printer was deleted from the app and added again. A printer you add again counts as a new printer in BizPrint.
• A printer location or integration still points to a printer that was removed.

Fix: Make sure jobs go to a printer this device has:

1. Open the BizPrint Android app.
2. Check the printer’s name under Printers on the main screen.
3. Open the station in the BizPrint dashboard. See Manage stations and their printers in the BizPrint dashboard.
4. Check that a printer with that name is listed.
5. Go to WooCommerce > Print Manager in WordPress, if your orders come from WooCommerce.
6. Open the Printers tab.
7. Click the name of the printer location in the Description column.
8. Select the printer again in the Printers box.
9. Click Save Changes.
10. Repeat for every printer location that used the old printer.

Do not reprint the old job from the dashboard: a reprint goes to the printer the job was first sent to, so it will not reach the printer you selected. Instead:

1. Do the checks in Before you print anything again.
2. Print the order again from the order screen in WooCommerce, or from wherever the order came from, if it still has not printed.

The printer shows “Offline” or a printer problem

Symptom: The printer shows Offline · last seen followed by a time, or Offline · not seen yet, or a job fails with a reason that starts with “Printer reported:”, such as “Printer reported: Paper out” or “Printer reported: Cover open”.

Cause: The printer is off, out of paper, has its cover open, or the device cannot reach it. A network printer must be on the same Wi-Fi or network as the device. A Bluetooth printer must be on and close to the device.

Fix:

1. Make sure the printer is on, has paper, and shows no error.
2. Clear the problem the reason names, for example close the cover.
3. Check that a network printer is on the same Wi-Fi or network as the device, and that its IP address in the app matches the printer’s address. The printer’s own settings page or self-test printout usually shows it.
4. Tap the printer on the main screen.
5. Tap Check status.
6. Do the checks in Before you print anything again.
7. Reprint the job from the BizPrint dashboard, if it still has not printed.

If a job fails with Printer did not confirm (no status reply), the printer’s Confirm print with printer status setting is on, and the printer did not answer in time. Look at the printer before you print the job again: it may have printed. See Change paper, cut and layout settings for a printer in the BizPrint Android app.

The test page does not print, or prints strange characters

Symptom: After you add a printer, the app shows The test page didn’t print. or the printer prints random symbols instead of text.

Cause: The app is using a Printer language that the printer does not understand, or it cannot reach the printer.

Fix:

1. Make sure the printer is on and has paper.
2. Tap Change language.
3. Choose the language your printer uses. Your printer’s manual says which one, sometimes under the name emulation.
4. Tap Try again.

For a printer you already added:

1. Tap the printer on the main screen.
2. Tap Printer language.
3. Choose another language.
4. Tap Test print.

The printer must support the language you choose, and some printers need it turned on in their own settings. See Add a printer to the BizPrint Android app.

Add printer finds no printers

Symptom: Add printer shows No printers found, or a card such as Bluetooth search is off, Bluetooth is off, Location is off or No network.

Cause: The app cannot search where your printer is. Each card names what is missing.

Fix:

1. Tap the button on the card, such as Allow, Turn on or Open settings, and allow what Android asks for.
2. Turn the printer on and keep it close to the device.
3. Put a Bluetooth printer that is not paired yet in pairing mode.
4. Connect the device to the same Wi-Fi as a network printer.
5. Tap Search again.

If the printer still does not show, use one of the options under Don’t see your printer?, such as Enter IP address. Printers that only use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) do not work with the app. See Add a printer to the BizPrint Android app.

A Bluetooth printer does not print

Symptom: A Bluetooth printer does not print. The main screen shows Bluetooth permission needed, or the app shows an error that starts with “Missing permissions:”, or a job fails with Device not paired.

Cause: Android has not given BizPrint permission to use Bluetooth devices (called Nearby devices on newer Android versions), or the printer is no longer paired with the device, for example because someone removed it in the Android settings.

Fix: For a missing permission:

1. Tap Allow on the Bluetooth permission needed card, or tap OK in the error.
2. Allow the permission when Android asks.
3. Tap the printer on the main screen.
4. Tap Test print.

If Android does not ask, open the Android settings for the BizPrint app, open its permissions, and allow Nearby devices. The menu names vary between Android devices.

For a printer that is no longer paired:

1. Tap the printer on the main screen.
2. Tap Bluetooth settings.
3. Pair the printer in the Android settings that open.
4. Go back to the BizPrint app.
5. Tap Paired printer.
6. Choose the printer.
7. Tap Test print.

See Add a Bluetooth printer to the BizPrint Android app.

A USB printer does not print

Symptom: The main screen shows A USB printer needs permission, or a job fails with one of these reasons:

• BizPrint doesn’t have permission to use this USB printer
• This USB printer isn’t plugged in
• Couldn’t connect to this USB printer. Unplug it, plug it back in, and try again.
• The USB printer stopped responding.

Cause: Android needs your permission each time you plug in a USB printer, or the printer is unplugged, off or busy.

Fix:

1. Make sure the printer is on and plugged into the device.
2. Tap Allow on the A USB printer needs permission card. You can also tap Allow USB on the printer’s page.
3. Allow BizPrint to use the printer when Android asks.
4. Unplug the printer and plug it back in, if it still does not print.
5. Tap Test print on the printer’s page.

The printout is cut off or the wrong size

Symptom: The printout is cut off, too small or too large, or a job fails with one of these reasons:

• Content is wider than the paper
• Margins leave no printable width
• The paper width is too large to print
• “Document too long for printer” followed by numbers
• Resolution too high for this printer language

Cause: The printer’s paper, margin or resolution settings in the app do not match the printer or the document.

Fix:

1. Tap the printer on the main screen.
2. Check that Paper matches the paper in the printer, for example 80 mm roll or 58 mm roll.
3. Tap Advanced.
4. Check the margins, Resolution (dpi) and Fit. With Shrink to paper width, content wider than the paper is made smaller to fit.
5. Tap Test print.

If you want the paper size and margins from your WooCommerce printer location, set Page size from job to Use the job page size when sent. See Change paper, cut and layout settings for a printer in the BizPrint Android app and Set up a WooCommerce printer location for an Android station with BizPrint.

A PDF or large document does not print

Symptom: A job fails with one of these reasons:

• This PDF is password protected
• This PDF couldn’t be opened
• A reason that starts with “This PDF has” and gives the number of pages
• This job is too large to print
• Document too large
• The document took too long to download

Cause: The document cannot be printed as it is. A PDF must not have a password, and can have up to 200 pages. A very large document, or one that takes too long to download, is not printed.

Fix: Send a smaller document, or a PDF without a password. If the document comes from your own app, see Serve the document to print with the BizPrint Print API (print by URL). For The document took too long to download, check the device’s internet connection, do the checks in Before you print anything again, then reprint the job.

“WebView is not available on this device”

Symptom: HTML jobs, such as WooCommerce receipts in HTML, fail with WebView is not available on this device.

Cause: The app uses Android System WebView to print formatted pages. It is built into Android on most devices, but it can be turned off or out of date.

Fix:

1. Open Google Play on the device.
2. Search for Android System WebView.
3. Tap Update or Enable, if you see it.
4. Do the checks in Before you print anything again.
5. Reprint the job from the BizPrint dashboard, if it still has not printed.

“The text cannot be encoded for this printer”

Symptom: Plain text jobs fail with The text cannot be encoded for this printer.

Cause: The text has characters that the printer’s own fonts cannot print.

Fix: Use one of these:

• Set the printer’s Plain-text jobs setting to Render as image in the app. See Change paper, cut and layout settings for a printer in the BizPrint Android app.
• Set the WooCommerce printer location’s Output Format to HTML. See Set up a WooCommerce printer location for an Android station with BizPrint.

Jobs for the Android print dialog do not print

Symptom: A printer set up as Android print dialog does not print, and a job fails with Print cancelled, a reason that starts with “No one tapped Print within”, or This device has no print dialog.

Cause: With the Android print dialog, someone must tap Print for each job. The job fails if the dialog is cancelled, or if nobody taps Print in time.

Fix:

1. Tap the Tap to print notification when a job arrives, if the app is not open.
2. Tap Print in the dialog.
3. Raise Tap to print wait (minutes) in the printer’s Advanced settings, if you need more time.

If the device has no print dialog, set the printer up as Full-page printer (enter address) instead. See Print full pages on an office printer with the BizPrint Android app.

A full-page printer refuses the job

Symptom: A printer set up as Full-page printer (enter address) does not print, and a job fails with The printer refused the job or This printer doesn’t accept PDF or PWG raster. Or a job shows The printer may not have printed every copy.

Cause: The printer is busy or not accepting jobs, or it does not accept the kinds of documents the app sends.

Fix:

1. Make sure the printer is on, has paper, and shows no error.
2. Look at the printer for what printed.
3. Do the checks in Before you print anything again.
4. Reprint the job from the BizPrint dashboard, if it still has not printed.

If the printer shows This printer doesn’t accept PDF or PWG raster, set it up as Android print dialog instead. See Print full pages on an office printer with the BizPrint Android app.

The built-in printer of a Sunmi device does not print

Symptom: A job fails with This device has no built-in printer, This device’s printer service did not respond or The built-in printer stopped responding.

Cause: The app could not reach the built-in printer of the device.

Fix: See Print to the built-in printer of a Sunmi device with BizPrint.

“HTML not supported by printer”

Symptom: A job does not print, and the app shows HTML not supported by printer, visit Print Manager > Printers. Edit. Switch to Plain Text output format.

Cause: The device has an older version of the BizPrint Android app.

Fix:

1. Update the BizPrint Android app from Google Play to the latest version.
2. Do the checks in Before you print anything again.
3. Reprint the job from the BizPrint dashboard, if it still has not printed. See Reprint a print job from the BizPrint dashboard.

“This job is ZPL label code” or “This job is TSPL label code”

Symptom: A job does not print, and the job list shows This job is ZPL label code. Send it to a ZPL label printer. or This job is TSPL label code. Send it to a TSPL label printer.

Cause: The job is label code, the commands a label printer reads, in ZPL or TSPL. Label code prints only on a label printer whose Printer language is the same as the code. The job went to a printer with another printer language, to an office printer, or to the built-in printer of a Sunmi device.

Fix: If the printer is a label printer that uses the language named in the message, change its printer language:

1. Tap the printer under Printers on the main screen of the app.
2. Tap Printer language.
3. Choose the language named in the message: ZPL (Zebra and compatibles) or TSPL (TSC and most generic label printers).
4. Tap Test print.
5. Check that the test label prints clearly.
6. Do the checks in Before you print anything again.
7. Reprint the job from the BizPrint dashboard, if it still has not printed. See Reprint a print job from the BizPrint dashboard.

If the printer does not use that language, do not reprint the job, because a reprint goes to the same printer. Ask whoever sends the job, such as your developer, to send it to a label printer with the same Printer language as the code, or to send a PDF label instead. See Print shipping labels on a label printer with the BizPrint Android app.

Related pages

• Install and connect the BizPrint Android app to your station
• Add a printer to the BizPrint Android app
• Set up a WooCommerce printer location for an Android station with BizPrint
• Keep the BizPrint Android app running so it can print
• BizPrint print jobs are stuck, archived or not printing

Still stuck? Contact BizPrint support at https://getbizprint.com/support/.