What are the troubleshooting steps for a USB printer?

[speedos]

My USB receipt printer was working just fine and suddenly it stopped.  I restarted the software, the app, and the printer, and nothing. I deleted and re-added the Square POS app. I've even tried a new printer, and nothing works. When I try setting up a new printer station in the app, no printers are listed as connected--it simply says "station disabled."  I'm not sure what else to try at this point, and I have not been able to get Square support over the phone nor have they responded to my email inquiry. 

[Chad]

Hello @speedos, this sounds very odd. Judging by all of the troubleshooting steps you've listed it could be one of three things. 

1. The USB hub that the accessories plug into might have been compromised. This would explain why both printers are not working. 
2. The Square Stand is having trouble connecting to the USB hub. If your iPad is still charging this likely isn't the case. 
3. There could be a glitch that's causing the printer to not be recognized. 

I recommend reaching out directly to our Support Team if you haven't already. They will be able to look into the last one on their end. Or they can set you up with a new USB hub. 

If you have any other please let me know! 😀

[speedos]

We considered that the USB hub is not working, however the printers are getting power, and when we unplug/replug from the hub, they come back on and push a little paper out, so they definitely respond to the USB hub.  The Square Stand is recognized by the iPad and the iPad is charging. 

I have e-mailed support twice since last Wednesday (rec'd no response to either message) and spent over an hour on the phone with support yesterday and nothing was resolved.   Next step is to stop using Square altogether, as we are a busy bar and asking customers to sign the iPad during peak service does not work in a busy setting.  We were about to start switching over the ten other businesses we own to Square, but obviously are no longer considering that. In short, Square sucks. 

[Chad]

@speedos, I'm really sorry to hear about this. While you were on the phone yesterday the Support Team should have requested you to send screen shots, so we could have the Engineering Team take a look at this. Did you not receive an email like this after the call? 

[speedos]

Yes, i sent screen shots and explained it again via e-mail.  It's been 48 hours and I've gotten nothing back. Such unbelievably bad service. 

[jakemace]

I'm curious if you've found a solution to this. We're having what seems to be the same problem.

[Helen]

@jakemace I'm sorry that you're also experiencing this problem with your printer. I recommend starting with these printer troubleshooting steps. Then if the printer still isn't working go ahead and call our CS team directly so they can escalate this to our engineers to investigate for you.

[Starsky]

We are having the same issue with two of our stands.  One stand was working fine so on a hunch I took the usb hub from that stand to the other two and what do you know, everything works fine.  Though my printer and card reader were getting power they were not able to communicate through the hub. With the new hub everything works fine.  So my take away is that these hubs are garbage!  I know I know it could be a sign of a bigger problem with the square stand.  I have read that remark going back to issues in 2016 having the same problem.  Everything points to these hubs as being garbage and nothing seems to have been fixed about them.

Yes I have done the updates to the software

Yes I have made sure all of the connections were fine
Yes I have removed the software and reinstalled and still the issue is there

-Yet I switch the usb hub from a working stand and everything is good.  

The issue is the hub plain and simple!

[Tom]

Really sorry to hear about the connection issues that you've been encountering @Starsky.

I went to check on this and I do see that an Advocate is actively working with our Engineering Team to resolve this issue. They will be in touch with you directly via email as soon as any other updates come through. Please keep an eye on your inbox for next steps or more details. Apologies again for the trouble, and thanks for your patience.

[GlassJudy]

I had the exact same problem where my printer suddenly stopped working, and everything I did pointed to the hub being bad.  I got a hold of a Square tech and did the following in order:

1. Power down the printer
2. Delete the printer station from your Square app
3. Power down the Square hardware (I'm using the register)
4. Power the hardware back up
5. Power the printer back up
6. Create a new printer station

After following these steps, my printer worked perfectly and has been working for about a month now.  Apparently a new software update did not finish completely and messed up communication with the printer.

Good luck, I hope this helps.

[Molten]

Same issue here.  I ordered a brand new stand and hardware and the USB port keeps disconnecting, won’t read the printer or open the drawer.  

🤬

[ashc]

Hi @Molten and welcome to the Community!

So sorry this is happening to you! It definitely shouldn't be doing that.

Have you tried @GlassJudy 's tips above? 

[Molten]

I have tried everything and feel like I’ve wasted a LOT of money on this new stand and package.  I have to try to find the time to contact square in person but that’s not always easy when running a business.  You guys know.