How to Setup the Star TSP100IIIW Wi-Fi Printer for AirPOS on iPad

Star TSP100 IIIW WiFi Printer Configuration.

Straight out of the box this printer when powered up exists on it's own network and is not connected to the internet. The first task is to get the printer configured on to your own Local Area Network (LAN).

Connecting with WPS

WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) is a standard for making easy connections between wireless networking devices. Depending on the manufacturer, buttons that have been displayed as "AOSS", "Easy wireless start","Rakuraku wireless start", "JumpStart" etc. may also be handled equivalently to WPS.

If your router supports WPS, connecting with WPS is quick and convenient.

If WPS cannot be used you can connect your Windows device to your printer using 'AP Mode' (Access Point Mode also called Ad-Hoc mode). In AP mode, the printer becomes a simple network access point and devices such as wireless LAN tablets can connect directly to the printer. If WPS cannot be used, first connect in AP mode to configure wireless LAN settings for the printer in order to allow the printer to connect to your wireless LAN network.

Connecting your printer with WPS

  • Press and hold the PAIR button until the LED (blue) button of the printer blinks (see diagram below).

Press the WPS button of the access point or router.

When a network connection is established the LED of the printer will stop blinking and stay lit. You can print out the connection details by turning the printer off and then while holding down the feed button switch it on again. The printer will perform a self print with it's IP Address (see below).

There is a dedicated Application, TSP100III Utility (futurePRNT), which is very useful for setting up this printer. You can download this App from the following link by clicking on it or copying and pasting it into a browser on your iPad. You can use this app to search for the network printer and connect to it, provided the printer is connected on your network.

http://www.starmicronics.com/support/default.aspx?printerCode=futurePRNT

Connecting with AP Mode

If WPS cannot be used you can connect your Windows device to your printer using 'AP Mode' (Access Point Mode also called Ad-Hoc mode). In AP mode, the printer becomes a simple network access point and devices such as wireless LAN tablets can connect directly to the printer.

You'll need to obtain the Mac address of the printer. This is printed at the top of a self print from the printer which you can get by switching the printer off and waiting for all the lights to go off. Next, while holding down the feed button turn the printer on again. It will self print with the Mac Address and IP Address as seen below.

Open a browser and type in the address entry field 169.254.1.1 (This is the factory default IP Address of the printer and the address after a factory reset). If the iPad can't find the 'TSP100III Network Utility' with that IP Address is may be necessary to change the IP Address of the iPad manually in the Wi-Fi settings. To do this open the Wi-Fi settings on the iPad and tap on the blue ' i ' in a circle to the right of your current network. Beside 'Configure Ip ' tap on 'Automatic' and select 'Manual'. At IP Address type in an IP that is close to but not the same as the printer's default IP Address such as 169.254.1.2

You may see a warning that the iPad is offline. Open a browser and type 169.254.1.1

This will open the 'TSP100III Network Utility'. You should see a screen like that below.

From the menu on the left side of the screen tap on 'login'.

Login with the default username 'root' and the password 'public'. A popup may appear to prompt you to change the password. Tap OK to change it or Cancel to leave it as it is. Now click on 'WLAN Settings' from the menu in the left panel of the screen.

Enter the name of your LAN network (SSID) and the security key (Password) as shown here and then tap on the 'Submit' button.

The 'Save' button in the left margin will flash red.

Now tap the flashing red 'Save' button on the left side.

Now tap the 'Execute' button as shown above to reboot your printer.

The printer will restart and self print it's settings with a new IP Address at the bottom of the self print.

Your printer is now connected to your network and it now remains for you to reconnect your iPad to your network from your Wi-Fi settings.

Now open the AirPOS POS and go into settings by clicking on the grey cogwheel icon at the top right of the screen. From the left navigation panel click on ‘Peripherals’ and then press the green ‘Add printer’ button. You'll see a popup to tell you that AirPOS is searching.

After a few moments you'll see your printer listed as 'TSP143 (STR_001)' with a Wi-Fi symbol to the right with the same IP Address you obtained from the self print. Tap on the green 'Test print' button.

You'll see an image of the test print appear on your screen with a button to 'Use this printer'. Tap on that button to save the printer in AirPOS and that's the setup complete.