This guide helps you resolve issues related to network setup and settings that can impact Lightspeed Restaurant. Often there is a simple fix you can perform yourself without a technician.

We recommend troubleshooting your network if:

• POS devices cannot connect to hardware
• Payments don't process or apply to orders correctly
• Orders don't sync to the Back Office or other POS devices
• Internet or Wi-Fi connections drop

Start here

First steps

Start troubleshooting with these basic steps that will fix most common issues in minutes: check power and network, restart, update, inspect cables, and move hardware closer.

If issues persist beyond these steps, work through the rest of this article to continue troubleshooting. 

Check power and network

The first step for any tech troubleshooting is to make sure everything is still plugged in and turned on. As obvious as it may seem, this simple check can save you lots of headaches.

1. Look for status and power lights on each device where available. All devices that require power should be connected and switched on.
2. Ensure your POS device(s) are on the same network as your hardware.

Restart your devices

Some network issues can be solved by rebooting your hardware, which refreshes their connection to your network.

1. Turn off your iPad or iPhone, payment terminals, printers, and other hardware. 
2. Wait 10 seconds.
3. Turn everything back on.

Update your software

Newer app and system updates can include fixes for network and stability issues. Update your POS devices to get the benefits of these improvements.

• Restaurant POS app: Open the App Store > tap your profile icon (top right) > App Updates. If the Restaurant POS app is listed, tap Update next to it.
• iPadOS or iOS: Open the Settings app > General > Software Update and follow the prompts. OS updates can take up to 30 minutes per device to install once downloaded.

Inspect Ethernet cables

Faulty Ethernet cables can also disrupt your network. Inspect all cables linked to printers, payment terminals, routers, and other POS and network hardware. 

• Check each Ethernet cable for damage.
• Unplug the cables, then plug them back in securely until they click.
• Replace suspect cables with ones you know are working.

Move hardware closer

Wireless hardware, such as Bluetooth payment terminals and Wi-Fi printers, must be located within a certain effective range. If they're too far, connection problems can arise.

1. Move Bluetooth and Wi-Fi hardware as described below.
   • Bluetooth hardware: Within about 10 meters (33 feet) of the POS device it's connected to.
   • Wi-Fi hardware: Within about 45 meters (148 feet) of your router or an access point.
2. Test the connection strength of POS devices and, if necessary, move them closer to a router or access point.

Physical barriers (thick walls, metal surfaces, kitchen equipment) can degrade wireless signals. Connect hardware via Ethernet whenever possible for maximum stability.

Testing on another network

If issues persist after trying the steps above, test Lightspeed Restaurant on another network by connecting your POS devices, printers, payment terminals, and other hardware using one of these methods:

• Mobile hotspot: Connect everything to a mobile hotspot. If your hardware connects via network cable, you'll need a hotspot with an Ethernet port.
• Different router: Bring a new router into your business and connect it to your modem and hardware.
• Go offsite: Set up your POS device and affected hardware in a new physical location using a different router and internet service provider.

If everything works, you can definitively narrow the issue down to your network. Next steps are to check settings on your POS devices and evaluate your router setup.

Checking POS settings

Certain iPad and iPhone settings directly impact network connectivity and, by extension, your hardware. Configure them as required to fix issues between Lightspeed Restaurant and your printers, payment terminals, and other wireless hardware.

Wi-Fi settings

Navigate to the Settings app > Wi-Fi and tap the information icon (ⓘ) next to the network you use with Lightspeed Restaurant.

Lightspeed Restaurant permissions

Navigate to the Settings app > Apps > Restaurant.

Router setup

Where you place your router and how you configure its settings play a major role in the stability of your POS system. Follow these best practices to ensure a strong, reliable connection.

Physical placement

How and where you install your router can dramatically affect signal range and speed throughout your restaurant.

Network settings

Ensure your network settings meet the following requirements for maximum stability and hardware compatibility.

Handling an outage

If your network or internet service goes out, most basic order-taking functions will still work offline. But you'll still want to get back online quickly to use your hardware and process card payments.

1. Try connecting a different device to your network to see if the issue affects all devices or just one.
2. Visit your internet service provider's (ISP) mobile app or website to see if there is a service outage in your area.
3. Check the network cables and lines running to and from your modem and router.
4. Check the lights on your modem and router.

5. Reboot your modem and router.

   Rebooting takes your network offline for several minutes. If you have non-POS devices connected to your network (like cameras or sensors), do this after hours or check with your IT provider.

   1. Unplug the power cables for your modem and router.
   2. Wait 30 seconds.
   3. Reconnect the power cable to your modem and wait two to three minutes for the light on it to stabilize.
   4. Plug the power cable back into your router and wait two to three minutes for it to reconnect.
6. Contact your ISP or router manufacturer for further guidance.

Getting additional support

Review what issues our Support team can assist with, and learn when to work with a third party or local IT professional for advanced network troubleshooting.

Contacting Lightspeed Support

If you're having network issues, first try the troubleshooting steps in this article. Contact our Support team and we'll assess whether your issues are within the scope of how we can support you.

If we cannot directly assist, contacting a third party for additional support may be necessary. Depending on the issue, that might mean calling your ISP, an IT professional, or the manufacturer of hardware you've bought.

Our Support team can help with:

• Troubleshooting network connectivity for supported hardware
• Troubleshooting Unify, IgniteNet, and Zyxel network hardware purchased from Lightspeed
• Troubleshooting connectivity issues between Lightspeed and payment terminals

Our Support team cannot help with:

• Physically broken hardware
• Any issues (networking or otherwise) for hardware not supported by Lightspeed
• Connectivity issues originating from your internet service provider

Working with an IT professional

Share these requirements and diagnostic steps with your IT professional so they have the details needed to troubleshoot and resolve network issues affecting Lightspeed Restaurant.

• Network requirements: Make sure your network meets all of the technical detail of our networking requirements.
• Subnet matching: Verify that POS devices and hardware on your network all share the same subnet, typically the first three octets of a standard /24 IPv4 address. 
• Packet loss and ping tests: Ensure there is zero packet loss across the network. Use a tool like Fing to run LAN ping tests from each POS device. Access the diagnostic menu of each payment terminal and run a 30-second packet loss test to regional servers.

What's next?