Connect your printer using a wired connection
Prerequisites
- Connect the printer using a micro-USB cable. Make sure it is not being pushed by the rubber port cover
1. Install and launch Zebra Setup Utilities
All portable zebra printers and most stationery can be configured using Zebra Setup Utilities which is a windows application – it can be downloaded from Zebra's website:
https://www.zebra.com/us/en/support-downloads/printer-software/printer-setup-utilities.html
When you have downloaded the executable, right click the file, and select "Run as administrator". The installer should be run with all suggested settings, so a simple "Next-next-next" install. Once installed, you will see the Setup Utilities main screen once you run the application:
In this case, a printer was connected via USB cable to the PC during application startup, this printer is shown in the screen under "Printers" (marked blue in the picture above). If you printer was not connected during startup, you can install it by clicking "Install New Printer" which will let you select your printer from a list and install the right driver for it.
2. Configuration of wired network on Zebra printer
To configure Zebra Printer for wired/LAN network, the Zebra Setup Utilities application is used, the same way as when configuring for Wi-Fi use. First, select the desired printer is selected, then click "Configure Printer Connectivity":
In the next screen, select "Wired" under connectivity type, then click "Next":
You now have the option of either joining the printer to an external print server or registering it as its own print server. The latter is what's normally used for this type of printer, so this is shown here. Click the desired option, and then click "Next":
Most IT departments will have the company's devices run with DHCP IP designation, so again, this is what is shown here. Contact your IT department if in doubt, and if using static IP, they will also let you know which address to use. Select the right option for you, and then click "Next":
The next screen shows the configuration script that will be sent to the printer – click "next":
Here you have the option of either saving the script or sending it to the printer – select "Printer" in order to have it sent to the printer, then click "Finish".
You should now see the status lights flash on the printer, and the network symbol will change to green. It may take some seconds, so have a little patience, and perhaps restart the printer. If you encounter any problems with the printer not writing when you send the print command from the mobile device, check the Troubleshooting section below.
3. Troubleshooting / IP address verification for wired printers
If your print commands from your mobile device for some reason do not manifest themselves as a physical print from the designated wired printer, then a common issue is that they exist on different networks. The mobile device will, being mobile, be connected to a wireless network, which by nature is a different network than the wired network. There should be a link between the two networks for a print command from the mobile device to reach the printer.
You can verify this by sending a command to the printer that will return its IP address and compare this with the IP of the mobile device.
You can then pass these IP's on to your IT department and ask for them to ensure connectivity between the networks of the two IP addresses.
On the Setup main page, select the printer you want to verify, and click "Open Communication with Printer" (see below).
This will open the direct communication window where you can write commands in the top part of the window, and the printer will return a reply in the window below.
The command you need to send to the printer in order to return it's IP is: ! U1 getvar "internal_wired.ip.addr"
The command should be entered exactly as written above, it's case and space sensitive, so nothing should be changed – if so, the command won't be recognized, and no reply will come from the printer.
Often, the mobile device will be on a "192.168.xxx.xxx" network, which is a common range for Wireless Networks, and the printer may be on another range reserved for internal use, such as "10.10.xxx.xxx" – it goes without saying that these are different networks and as mentioned, there should be a link established so that a print command from the 192.168-network can reach the 10.10-network.
If you do not receive any IP address, it may also be that your IT department needs the MAC address of the printer to assign it an IP address – in that case, your MAC address can be viewed on the back of the printer.