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TSP-650II Bluetooth printer setup guide for Shopify POS

Install the Star Micronics TSP650II Bluetooth receipt printer

We recommend that you choose this printer for your Shopify POS installation.

In this article:

Plugging in your Bluetooth printer

To connect your printer to the power supply:

  1. Plug one end of the power cable into the back of your receipt printer.

  2. Plug the other end of the cable into a power outlet.

  3. Turn the printer ON. The POWER indicator will turn a solid green. The ERROR indicator blinks red when no paper is loaded.

If paper is loaded, a diagnostic report prints.

After this, you're ready to pair the printer with your iPad.

Status indicator lights

It's useful to understand the meaning of the status light at the back of the Bluetooth receipt printer:

Green (not flashing) Not connected
Green flashing In pairing mode
Blue (not flashing) Connected and ready to print
Purple flashing Auto-connect is on

Pairing and connecting the Bluetooth receipt printer with your iPad

It's important to understand the difference between pairing and connecting bluetooth devices. Pairing identifies the devices to each other, and establishes a bond between them. This enables the paired devices to connect in the future without repeating authentication checks.

Typically, you'll need to pair your printer with your iPad only once, but you'll have to connect it every time you turn the devices on.

On the most recent model of the Star Micronics TSP650II Bluetooth receipt printer (model number 39449871) auto-connect is enabled. This means that once you've paired your printer with your iPad, the Bluetooth connection is established automatically every time the printer's switched on and in range of your iPad.

If your printer is an older model, you'll need to pair and connect manually or enable auto-connect after you've paired the printer with your iPad.

To pair and auto-connect Bluetooth receipt printer model 39449871:

1. Turn on the receipt printer.

2. Go to your iPad settings (not the app settings) and make sure Bluetooth is turned on.

3. In the Shopify POS app, go to the Settings screen.

4. Tap Hardware to access the Hardware Settings.

5. On the iPad, tap Add Bluetooth Receipt Printer.

6. When the Pair and Connect Printer window opens, hold down the red Pair button at the back of the printer for 5 seconds. After 5 seconds, the green LED at the back will start to flash, indicating that the device is inpairing mode. Pairing mode lasts for 60 seconds.

 

Reminder

If the light at the rear of the printer is blue rather than green, it might be paired with another device. You must reset the printer before you can continue.

7. Tap Open Device List.

8. Tap the receipt printer in the list to connect the device.

 

While the connection is being established, you'll see this screen:

When the connection is successful, you'll see a message on your Hardware Settings screen, and the Bluetooth Receipt Printer will show as Connected.

When the printer is connected, the LED on the back of the printer will become a solid blue color. If the setup is not successful, reset the printer and try again.

As long as the printer remains paired with the iPad, it will connect automatically whenever it's in range and the devices are switched on.

Manually pairing your Bluetooth printer

If you're having problems pairing your Bluetooth printer, try pairing it manually from your iPad settings:

1. Connect your printer to the power supply.

2. Tap the Settings icon on your iPad, then tap the Bluetooth menu option. You should see the Star Micronicsprinter in the DEVICES list. The printer's status will be Not Paired.

Not paired

Information

If you're invited to download an associated app for this printer, you can do so now or later. You'll need this app if you're using an older printer model and you intend to enable auto-connect.

3. Find the red Pair button located at the back of the printer, and hold it down for 5 seconds. After 5 seconds, the green LED at the back will start to flash, indicating that the device is in pairing mode. Pairing mode lasts for 60 seconds.

4. While your printer is in pairing mode, tap the Star Micronics printer in the DEVICES list on your iPad. After a short pairing process, the printer will show as Connected, and the LED on the back of the printer will become a solid blue color.

Connected

Reminder

Your printer must be in pairing mode or it will fail to pair with your iPad. If you see a Pairing Unsuccessful message, hold down the PAIR button on the printer for 5 seconds, and try again.

Connecting older models

Older models of the Bluetooth printer are shipped with Auto-connect off. This means that that a paired printer won't connect automatically, even if it's turned on and within range of the iPad it's been paired with.

If Auto-connect is off, you have two options:

Enabling auto-connect

If you want your paired printer to connect automatically every time you switch it on and the iPad is within range, you need to enable auto-connection.

On model number 39449871, Bluetooth auto-connect is enabled by default. For older models, you'll need to use an app produced by Star Micronics:

1. Make sure your printer is paired with your iPad.

2. Download the Star Setting Utility app from the Apple App Store, created by Star Micronics.

3. Open the Star Setting Utility, then select your paired receipt printer from the list.

4. Tap the Auto Connect toggle switch to turn auto-connect on, then tap Done.

Auto connect btn

5. When prompted, tap Update.

Update btn

6. To finish configuring auto-connect, power cycle the printer by turning it off, waiting 5 seconds, then turning it back on.

7. Now you must select the printer from the Bluetooth DEVICES list in your iPad settings one more time. Tap the printer name and wait for it to connect.

From now on, your Bluetooth receipt printer will connect automatically every time you switch it on, if the iPad is within range. You won't need to select it from your Bluetooth DEVICES list.

Manual connection of your printer and iPad

If auto-connect is not enabled, you need to connect the paired printer manually every time you turn it on. To do this, tap the printer name in the Bluetooth DEVICES list in your iPad Settings (not the Shopify POS app setting.)

After you've connected the Bluetooth receipt printer with your iPad

When your printer is connected, don't forget to:

Connection problems

Sometimes you can solve connection problems by resetting the Bluetooth printer to its original manufactured state. If you're using model number 39449871, resetting will leave auto-connect enabled, although you will need to pair your devices again. On older models, you'll have to re-connect the printer manually or re-enableauto-connect after you've paired the printer with your iPad.

To reset the printer to its factory state:

  1. Turn off the printer.

  2. In your iPad's settings, tap Bluetooth to see your connected Bluetooth devices.

  3. Tap the i symbol to the right of the printer name, then tap Forget this device to remove the printer from your Bluetooth devices list.

  4. Find the reset button located on the back of the printer, and use a pen to press and hold down the button. While holding this button down, turn the printer back on. When the ERROR light starts to flash, you can release the button.

  5. Wait until the ERROR light stops flashing. To complete the reset, you must now turn off the printer a second time, wait 5 seconds, then turn the printer on once more.

The printer is now fully reset and ready to be paired with your iPad.

Limitations when using the Star Micronics TSP650II BTi Bluetooth receipt printer

Shopify POS has an exclusive, 1-to-1 relationship with the Star Micronics TSP650II BTi Bluetooth receipt printer, which means that:

  • you can't connect multiple iPads to the same Bluetooth printer

  • Shopify POS won't work with multiple Bluetooth printers at the same time.