To use Lightspeed Restaurant and any network hardware (such as receipt printers or payment terminals), your devices must have a robust and reliable connection to a network. As such, you can enable DHCP reservations to ensure that specific IPs are available for your devices.

What is DHCP and DHCP reservation?

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is the system by which your router will give each device on your local network a unique identifier: an IP address. A DHCP reservation (sometimes referred to as "IP reservation" or "Reserved IP" depending on your router) is a way of ensuring that all your devices keep that same identifier. For instance, when setting up receipt printers in Back Office, you may have connected them to Lightspeed Restaurant through your network by entering the printer's IP address. Using DHCP reservation, you can guarantee that the specific IP address assigned to the receipt printer doesn't change and that your device will stay connected to Lightspeed. For more information on networking best practices, check out Understanding basic networking.

Setting up DHCP reservations

1. Access your router's settings
2. Log in with your credentials
3. Make a DHCP reservation for your devices 
4. Reboot your router

1. Access your router's settings

To access your router settings, connect a computer to your network and type your Default Gateway IP address into your web browser's search bar. Note that a tablet will also work, but the responsiveness may be more reliable when using a computer.  

What is a Default Gateway IP Address? 

A default gateway is a bridge between your local network and the internet. A default gateway enables devices on one network to communicate with devices on another, transferring internal data from your local network to the internet and back again. 

How to find a default gateway on your router:

1. The default gateway address is usually printed on a sticker attached to your router. If you can't find your default gateway address there, you can select one of the options below for instructions on how to find it using a Mac, iPad, or PC.

How to find a default gateway on:

• 1. Click the Wi-Fi icon   on your menu bar at the top of the screen and select Network preferences from the drop-down menu.  
  2. Click Advanced at the bottom of the window.

     

  3. Select TCP/IP from the navigation menu. 
  4. Your router's Default Gateway IP address is listed beside Router.

     

  5. Once you have your Default Gateway IP, type this address into your web browser's search bar.  
• The steps below are for finding your default gateway on Windows 11. If you are on an earlier version of Windows, you can find alternative instructions here: Finding your default gateway address using Command Prompt.
  1. Click the Windows logo   on the taskbar at the bottom of your screen and select Settings.
  2. Select Network & Internet. 
  3. Click Advanced network settings.

     

  4. Select Hardware and connection properties, and find your default gateway listed beside "IPv4 default gateway."

     

  5. Once you have your default gateway IP, type this address into your web browser's search bar and hit Enter

  Finding your default gateway address using Command Prompt.

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
  2. In the box, type "cmd" and click OK to open the Command prompt.

     

  3. In the window that opens, type "ipconfig" and hit Enter to run the command. Your default gateway will be listed among the results as shown in the image below.

     

• 1. From your iPad home screen, open Settings.  
  2. Tap Wi-Fi  .
  3. Tap the info icon  beside the network to which you are connected. 

     

  4. Your gateway IP address is listed beside Router in the IPv4 Address section. Optionally, you can tap and hold the number and then Copy it when the option appears.

     

  5. Once you have your Default Gateway IP, enter the number into your web browser's search bar by either typing it in or Pasting it.
  6. Tap Go.  

2. Login with your credentials

After you type your Default Gateway IP address into your web browser's search bar and hit Enter, you will be brought to your router configuration page, where you can enter your router's admin credentials. 

Where to find your credentials

• • You can often find the default admin name and password on the sticker underneath your router, close to the Default Gateway address.
  • If you can't find them or don't have easy access to your router, you can search the internet for [Router model name] + Admin login. These instructions can vary depending on your router model and ISP.

3. Make a DHCP reservation for your devices

Depending on your router make and model, there are two possible ways that you can reserve an IP address:

1. Most current routers will provide you with a list of all connected devices. You will be brought to the details panel by clicking on a device. Here, you can change the device IP address and make a DHCP reservation.
2. If your device is older, you might have to complete the reservation process on your devices manually:
   • Navigate to your router's TCP/IP settings and add a DHCP reservation one at a time. 
   • Reserve the IP of each device by providing their MAC address. 

What's a MAC address?

A Media Access Control (MAC) address is a long string of alphanumeric characters that serve as a  permanent identifier for network devices. Here's where to find the MAC address for hardware devices using Lightspeed:

• Printers: The MAC address can be found on the same ticket from which you got the IP address when connecting the printer to Lightspeed. If you don't remember how to print this ticket, take a look at our About printing article.
• Payment terminals: You can find the MAC address on the configuration printout or in the network configuration screen, depending on the device.

4. Reboot your router

While most routers will automatically restart after you configure and save your changes, you might have to reboot your device manually. Once your router is back online, the DHCP reservation process is complete, and your devices will keep the same addresses.