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Troubleshooting

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Wells Riley edited this page Oct 26, 2026 · 12 revisions

Start with the panel on the front of AirWriter. Every pattern is on Status Lights.

Panel Section
Dim orange embers Dim orange embers Offline
Amber double ripple Amber double ripple Needs attention
Red flashes, then red pulse Red flashes, then a red pulse The last job failed
Blue double blink Blue rings Blue blinks or rings that won't stop Wi-Fi
White breathing White breathing, but nothing prints Printer missing

Quick check: press the Test Button. If the test page prints, the printer and cable are fine, and the problem is Wi-Fi or your phone.

Offline

Check, in order:

  1. Power. The printer's power light is on.
  2. SELECT. The SELECT light is on. If not, press SELECT.
  3. Paper. Loaded. Out of paper, the printer deselects itself.
  4. Cable. In AirWriter's printer port, pushed in at both ends.
  5. Cable type. A crossover. See Crossover cable.

The panel turns white within a few seconds of the printer being ready.

Still offline with the printer on and selected? Switch the printer off and on. This helps most after AirWriter has lost power with the printer on.

For a LaserWriter, check that it's on, warmed up and connected. It comes back online by itself.

Needs attention

A page is waiting on the printer. Check:

  • Paper. Out or misloaded.
  • A paper jam.
  • SELECT. Off.

Fix it and press SELECT. The page carries on where it stopped. After ten minutes of waiting, the job fails.

On a Mac, the queue may show printer is offline during the wait. Once the printer is ready, resume the job, or print again if the job is gone.

The last job failed

The page didn't finish. Common causes:

  • Wi-Fi. Your phone lost its connection, or the app closed, while sending. Print again from a spot with a better signal.
  • Ten minutes stuck. Fix the printer, then print again.
  • The page itself. Try another page, or another halftone.

The red clears after a minute, or with the next job. The next page starts clean.

Crossover cable

The ImageWriter needs a crossover cable, wired like Apple's 590-0552 ("System/Peripheral-8"). Many cables sold as ImageWriter II cables are straight-through, and with one of those the printer always shows as offline.

To check a cable, plug it into AirWriter's printer port and AppleTalk port and tap the test button. Green means crossover. See Test a cable.

With a multimeter in continuity mode, probe pin 1 on one plug and pin 2 on the other. A beep means crossover. A crossover connects:

End A End B
1 2
2 1
3 5
5 3
6 8
8 6
4 4
7 7

Avoid mini-DIN-8 cables made for S-Video or music gear. Some are missing wires.

Printer missing

Check, in order:

  1. Wi-Fi. Your phone or computer is on the same network as AirWriter, not a guest network.
  2. Panel. White or orange, not blue. Blue means AirWriter isn't on your Wi-Fi.
  3. Share over AirPrint. On, in the printer's settings under Printers on the settings page.
  4. AirPrint. On, under AirPrint.
  5. 4 printers or fewer. See Sharing.

Duplicate printer on an iPhone. After a restart, update or rename, an old entry can linger for up to an hour, and jobs sent to it wait forever. Cancel the job, turn the phone's Wi-Fi off and on, and pick the printer again.

Mac. If a printer stops working after a rename or update, remove it in Printers & Scanners and add it again.

Printer not in the list

Check, in order:

  1. Power. The printer is on. An ImageWriter also needs paper, with SELECT on.
  2. Look for Printers. Press it under Printers.
  3. Add a Printer… For an original ImageWriter, or one that's switched off. Choose its model.
  4. LaserWriter. On, warmed up and connected. For a LaserWriter on your network, turn on Networked Macs under AppleTalk.
  5. Cable. For an ImageWriter, a crossover. See Crossover cable.

LaserWriter not responding. Wait a few minutes for it to warm up, or press Share Anyway on the notice. If it never responds, please open a GitHub issue with the model.

Vintage Macs

  • Printer not in the Chooser. Check the list of printers at the foot of AppleTalk on the settings page, and that the Mac's connection is switched on there.
  • Wrong driver. An ImageWriter needs AppleTalk ImageWriter, and a LaserWriter needs LaserWriter. Set AppleTalk to Active in the Chooser.
  • Printer busy. Another page is printing. Wait for it to finish.

See Vintage Macs (LocalTalk).

Wi-Fi

  • 2.4 GHz only. 5 GHz-only networks won't work.
  • Mesh Wi-Fi. After moving AirWriter or changing your mesh, unplug AirWriter and plug it back in.
  • Weak signal. Pages send slowly, or the phone waits. Move AirWriter or a mesh node closer.
  • Router restart. Blue rings while AirWriter reconnects on its own. Nothing to do.
  • Power cut. If Wi-Fi was still down when AirWriter started, the blue double blink shows. Once Wi-Fi is back, unplug AirWriter and plug it back in.
  • New password or router. Join the setup network again. See Setup.

Slow printing

The ImageWriter is slow. A full page of graphics takes a couple of minutes, with pauses while the printer catches up.

With more than one printer, a job waits while another printer is busy.

Factory reset

To start over, hold the test button for 8 seconds. See Factory reset.

This documentation is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0.

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