# Connect a receipt printer to an iPad Choose Bluetooth, network, or USB, pick a paper width, and pair a thermal receipt printer to an iPad without guesswork Source: https://getolet.com/resources/guides/connect-a-receipt-printer-to-an-ipad/ Updated: 2026-10-15 A receipt printer is the one piece of hardware almost every iPad till needs, and it is also the one people get stuck on. Most of the trouble comes from three decisions made in the wrong order: connection type, paper width, and pairing. Get those right first and the rest is a few taps. ## Choose how the printer connects There are three common ways a receipt printer reaches an iPad. - **Bluetooth.** Simplest for a single till that does not move. No network cable, no IP address to find, and it keeps working if the Wi-Fi drops. Apple only allows an app to talk to a Bluetooth printer that the manufacturer has registered with Apple's MFi program, so not every Bluetooth printer on the market will work with an iPad even though it pairs fine with a laptop. - **Network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).** The printer joins your shop network like any other device and the app finds it by IP address, usually over port 9100 for raw printing. This is the better choice for more than one register, since several tills can print to the same printer, and it survives a printer restart without needing to re-pair. - **USB.** Some printers connect by USB cable to a dock or a USB hub, but iPadOS support for USB printing is inconsistent across models and apps. Confirm your specific printer and app support it before buying, rather than assuming a USB cable is a safe fallback. If you are not sure, network is the safest general answer for a shop with more than one register, and Bluetooth is the safest answer for a single counter that never moves. ## Choose a paper width Thermal receipt printers come in two standard widths. - **80mm.** The common choice. It fits a logo, a full item list with prices lined up, and a barcode without cramming. Most countertop thermal printers ship in this width. - **58mm.** A narrower roll meant for short tickets, kitchen printers, or portable printers used away from a counter. Item names wrap onto extra lines more often, which makes a long receipt harder to read. Buy the paper width to match the printer, not the other way around. An 80mm printer loaded with 58mm paper will print correctly but waste most of the roll's width, and a 58mm printer cannot take 80mm paper at all. ## Pair the printer in iPadOS For a Bluetooth printer, pairing happens in iOS itself before any app gets involved. 1. Turn the printer on and put it in pairing mode, usually by holding a button until a light flashes; check the printer's manual for the exact steps, since this varies by model. 2. On the iPad, open **Settings > Bluetooth**. 3. Select the printer once it appears under **Other Devices**. 4. Wait for it to move into the **My Devices** list as paired. Once iOS shows the printer as paired, open your point of sale app and look for it under printer or device settings. A network printer skips this step entirely: put it on the same Wi-Fi as the iPad, and the app finds it by scanning the network or by an IP address you type in yourself. ## Common failure causes - **The iPad went to sleep.** Bluetooth drops when the screen locks on some models. Keep the screen awake during business hours if the printer disconnects between sales. - **The printer paired to the wrong device.** Bluetooth printers remember one paired device at a time on many models. If a second iPad or iPhone paired to it since, the first one will silently stop working. - **Bluetooth is off for the app.** If you turned down the Bluetooth prompt, OLET shows "Bluetooth is off for OLET. Turn it on in Settings to find printers." with an **Open settings** button. Turn Bluetooth on for OLET there, then scan again. - **The paper roll is in backwards.** Thermal paper only prints on one side, and a roll loaded the wrong way comes out blank. Reload it the other way round before assuming the printer is broken. - **The printer is on a different network.** For a network printer, a guest Wi-Fi network or a second router will hide the printer from the iPad even though both are technically online. ## If you use OLET OLET's register app supports both Bluetooth and network receipt printers, with a built in scan for each and a manual IP entry as a fallback. See [Set up a receipt printer](/resources/help/hardware/receipt-printers/) for the exact steps, including the cash drawer that hangs off the printer and the auto-print setting that applies to every device signed in to a register.