ZQ610 won't hold BT connection to Android

M Miguel Melo 2 years 11 months ago
218 2 0

I have been trying to get the cordova plugin at cordova-plugin-zebra-printer 2.0.1 on npm - Libraries.io  to work with a ZQ610. I believe for this (and just about all cordova plugins that I could find for Zebra printers) your phone has to connect to the printer by Bluetooth (and not just on the same WLAN), right?

The problem is, if I pair the printer to my Android, after successful doing so the printer just seems to disappear from the phone connections after maybe a second (the bluetooth icon flashes on the LCD and then goes out). Interestingly enough, the Printer Setup app DOES connect to the printer (reportedly via Bluetooth)!

I have flashed the latest firmware (V85.20.15Z) and have tried explicitly switching off wifi as explained here - Zebra Printer does not maintain a Bluetooth connection but to no change. Printer Setup is OK, Android system BT connection disappears.

Have I got something completely wrong in my thought process? Thanks in advance for any help.

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2 Replies

V Vedsatx Saddvv

The problem is, if I pair the printer to my Android, after successful doing so the printer just seems to disappear from the phone connections after maybe a second (the Bluetooth icon flashes on the LCD and then goes out).There is a difference between "paired" and "connected" in Bluetooth. The paired simply means that the phone and the printer have exchanged the pairing info of the Bluetooth. The paired doesn't mean the Bluetooth is connected. That's the reason the Bluetooth icon on the printer flashes for a few seconds and then disappears after the pairing. The pairing is handled by the Android. A printer can pair with multiple Android phones.

For the connection, it's done through the application's by making a Bluetooth connection to the printer. A printer can only be connected to one Android phone. Depending on how application behaves, the Bluetooth icon on the printer may stay permanently or briefly. On Android, when the application is idle long enough or being sent to background, the Bluetooth connection might be relinguished. Therefore, we would see the Bluetooth icon on the printer disappears. On iOS, due to the reconnect feature, we would see the Bluetooth icon on the printer stay permanently.

For the headphone case, it's a different story. The headphone uses A2DP Bluetooth profile. For A2DP, the Bluetooth is always connected. Hope this helps.

D Dmitry Prokhorov

Hello Miguel,

I suppose your BT connection is ok as far as your Printer Setup app is able to communicate with your printer.

The fact your printer is not listed anymore in a list of available BT devices may mean it is already paired with your device and not available for pairing until you unpair current pairing. Bluetooth icon flashes may mean BT activity events and not BT connection/pairing status.

Dmitry Prokhorov
Software Engineer, Kutir Mobility
Posted on behalf of Zebra Technologies

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