Printing diaster at event

[chamberphotography]

UPDATE: 4.10.1 has the workaround and is released to the app store. You should see it latest wednesday morning (or now)
Please let me know if this solves your issue.

You are amazing. It works perfectly! Thank you soo much.

[tim]

you are welcome!! Thanks for letting me know

[tim]

UPDATE #2: SoloLink 1.4.2 was released today with the same workaround.
If you use SoloLink please update.

[adirpm]

Thank you so much Tim!!

[conwayk63]

Hi Tim,

With the recent work around, there seems to be a connection issue with my printer, it connects for a few seconds and then loses connection whereas previously it stayed connected and managed to print, if you could please assist me with this thank you.

[tim]

Hi conwayk63,
Are you talking about SoloLink or Wifibooth?
Is this an AirPrint printer or something else like a printserver (printopia, other software etc)?
Also what is the wifi of the iPad connected to, and what is the wifi of the printer connected to?

[conwayk63]

Hi Tim,

My apologies for not stating which app I am using. The issue is with Wifibooth and my connection I'm trying is through O'print which is a clone for AirPrint. This app makes my printer AirPrint compatible.

I have used it successfully a few times before the recent update.

The Wifi of the ipad is connected to a Wifi rooter. My camera is connected to the same rooter as well as my laptop which holds the O'print application, my printer is connected via USB to the laptop which holds the O'print application.

Please if you can assist me, that will be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[tim]

Hi conwayk63,

No problem, I am happy to help you.
Can you please first try updating your iPad to iOS 13.2 (assuming you are running iOS 13 already) which was released yesterday, and Wifibooth 4.10.2 which was released today, and check the problem is still there?

If the problem continues after you do the updates, then please open the printer popover, and try turning off the last option at the bottom - "Show an error when printer cannot be contacted" (only shows when a printer is connected). Does this help?

[conwayk63]

Hi Tim,

Thank you so much for your assistance I will do all that you have mentioned and I shall let you know if it has worked, thank you.

[conwayk63]

Hi Tim,

I have updated my ios to 13.2 as well as Wifibooth to 4.10.2 and still the printer doesn't stay connected.

After taking a photo the following error pops up "Oh no! The printer didn't work. Please go get the photographer and tell him about it. Your pictures have been saved, so you can try again later." Despite disallowing the " Show an error when the printer cannot be contacted" in the printer popover menu.

I have tried using Sololink and the printer won't connect there either. My printer does however print through AirPirnt in other apps on this ipad.

Is there any way that I could get an older version of this app in the meantime?

[tim]

Hi conway,

Good news: I spent considerable time with this yesterday, and I think I found yet another iOS 13 bug that is likely to be causing this. Using an older version of the app wouldn't help, as if i'm right then the bug isn't in our app...

I submitted a beta version for review by Apple yesterday, which will hopefully be approved today. Once it is approved, I will send you a private message to try it out. Assuming that fixes the issue, I'll get it out to the app store asap.

UPDATE: sending you a PM now, beta is ready

[Polo5544]

I am having the same issue. I didn’t realize this until I set everything up for a Halloween party. AirPrint works from the iPad with no problem just not through Wifibooth. It keeps loosing the connection.

[tim]

Hi Polo and others,

Wifibooth 4.10.3 and SoloLink 1.4.4 were released this morning (Fri. Nov. 1) to address printing issues with print-servers like OPrint, Printopia, etc.
Please update. If you are using a 3rd-party print server like AirKonv, Printopia etc, and you are using iOS 13, then you need to add the printer as a "Manual AirPrint" (new option). See below.

There are 3 iOS 13 bugs that I hope Apple fixes soon, all of which impact headless printing (ie. what Wifibooth usually does: not showing iOS UI to do the print):

1) After creating the UIPrinter object, the printer can only be used once. After a moment, trying to use it again fails silently. Workaround implemented in Wifibooth 4.10.1
2) UIPrinter contactPrinter sometimes breaks and doesn't work. For this reason, Wifibooth no longer uses it and no longer warns you whether the printer is "connected" or not, as it has no way to know this reliably in iOS 13 anymore. Workaround implemented in Wifibooth 4.10.2, and SoloLink 1.4.4.
3) Using the normal headless printing method of printToPrinter fails 100% of the time for CUPSd printers like AirKonv, OPrint, Printopia etc even on iOS 13.2 which was released a few days ago. For this reason, the printing option "Manual AirPrint" was added. This breaks full autopilot but gets Wifibooth printing to these print servers again. Workaround implemented in Wifibooth 4.10.3. There's no workaround available for SoloLink.

I've filed issues with Apple but don't hold your breath, they have a hot dumpster fire on their hands... for example lots of businesses using iOS 13 cannot even read their email as the Mail app doesn't work properly...
On behalf of our team, we apologize that iOS 13 has been such a rough ride. I wish we could do more to help.

[conwayk63]

Hi Tim,

So I recently updated to ios 13.3.1 as well as updated Wifibooth to 4.11.5 and I seem to be having the same issues with regards to connecting to my printer through the manual AirPrint option which doesn't seem to be locating my printer.

I am using Oprint which is a third-party app that clones AirPrint so that my printer can be AirPrint compatible.

I have been able to successfully use the manual AirPrint option before but since doing the updates it no longer seems to be working.

I am not sure why it keeps on doing this but I am extremely frustrated.

If you could please assist, it will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Kind regards, Conway

[tim]

Hi Conway
Sorry to hear this.
I am unable to support third-party software because I do not know who wrote it or when it was last updated, nor can I see its source-code.

Which printer is this, and what is your wifi setup exactly?
If you open the Apple Photos app on the same iPad, are you able to print from it to OPrint?

[conwayk63]

Hi Tim,

That's not a problem, thank you for getting back to me.

I completely understand what you are saying that you cannot support third-party software.

My setup is as follows:

I have my DSLR Camera linked to a wifi router, my iPad linked to the same router as well as my laptop which has my Epson L805 Photo Printer linked to it via USB. The Oprint Software that I use is on my laptop that clones the printer and by doing so makes it Airprint compatible.

I suspect the problem could be with Ios as I tested it before doing the update of Wifbooth as well as Ios and it worked correctly. I did a test run on Saturday evening in which it worked correctly and did the update on Sunday morning after which it didn't work at all.

If you could please advise any possible solutions to the problem, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[tim]

Hi Conway,

If you open the Apple Photos app on the same iPad, are you able to print a photo from it to OPrint? (Ie NOT using wifibooth at all)

If yes, let me know.

If no, you need to find alternative hardware or software to OPrint that does the same thing. There are lots of alternatives, i can try to help you if you cannot find one.

[conwayk63]

Hi Tim,

I managed to print from Apple Photos to Oprint which worked just fine.

I then proceeded to try Wifibooth once again and it seems like all other issues have been resolved. I sincerely apologize for inconveniencing you but it seems like the problem has been resolved and the app is working correctly.

Thank you once again for your assistance, it is much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Conway

[tim]

No problem great to hear you are up and running!