Pair the Zebra ZQ320 Plus over Bluetooth: Android, iPhone, PC

The ZQ320 Plus prints from phones, tablets and PCs over Bluetooth, with both Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy. Pair it once and the printer remembers the pairing. Android phones with NFC can pair with a single tap.

Before you start

Keep the phone within about 10 m of the printer. The blue Bluetooth light on the printer tells you the state:

There is no Bluetooth PIN to type. Modern phones and PCs pair with Secure Simple Pairing: you confirm that the same code shows on both screens, or the devices pair without a code. On Zebra's sample configuration report, the printer's Bluetooth name (Friendly Name) is its serial number. The Bluetooth address is also printed as a barcode on a label on the printer.

Pair an Android phone with Print Touch

1. Turn on NFC and Bluetooth on the phone and open the Zebra Printer Setup Utility.
2. Hold the phone's NFC area against the Print Touch icon on the side of the printer, within about 7.6 cm.
3. When the app asks, tap Pair. If Bluetooth was off, tap Allow first.
4. The printer dashboard opens. A printer that was paired before connects automatically.

Zebra notes that some Android phones don't support Print Touch pairing. Use the next step instead.

Pair an Android phone in the app or in Settings

1. In the app tap Connect New Printer, then Bluetooth.
2. If Android asks for location or nearby devices permission, allow it while using the app.
3. On the Enable Bluetooth Pairing Mode screen, hold FEED on the printer for 5 seconds until the Bluetooth light flashes. Then tap Search Printers and choose your printer by its Bluetooth name.
4. Tap Pair at the pairing code prompt. The dashboard opens.

You can also pair in Android itself: Settings › Connected devices › Pair new device, tap the printer and confirm that the code matches. The exact menu names vary slightly by phone brand.

Pair an iPhone or iPad

On iOS, the first pairing must be done in the system settings. Until then the app can't find the printer.

1. Open Settings › Bluetooth and turn Bluetooth on.
2. Tap the printer in the list of devices and confirm the pairing code.
3. Open the Zebra Printer Setup Utility, tap Connect New Printer, then Bluetooth, and choose the printer.

The ZQ320 Plus is certified Made for iPhone, so iOS apps can print to it over Bluetooth. Zebra's iOS app doesn't offer Print Touch, so NFC tap-to-pair is for Android.

Pair a Windows 11 PC

1. Open Settings › Bluetooth & devices and make sure Bluetooth is on.
2. Choose Add device, then Bluetooth, pick the printer's Bluetooth name and confirm the pairing. If the printer doesn't appear, put it in pairing mode as described under common pairing problems below.
3. Open More Bluetooth settings and the COM Ports tab. Note the Outgoing port listed for the printer, for example COM5.
4. Install the ZDesigner driver and select that COM port as the printer port.

Zebra's Windows 11 Bluetooth setup article shows each screen. Driver basics are in Install the ZDesigner driver on Windows 11.

Test the connection

With the printer connected, the Bluetooth light is solid. In the app, open Actions and tap Print Test Label or Print Configuration Label. The light blinks quickly while data arrives. Then print from your own app.

Reconnecting and sleep mode

The printer bonds with each paired device: it stores the pairing, so devices stay paired after a power cycle or a dropped connection. There is no need to pair again each time.

• After 20 minutes without use the printer sleeps. The Bluetooth model wakes by itself when a device connects over Bluetooth. A brief press on POWER also wakes it.
• Windows may report a printing error for a few seconds while the printer wakes up. Wait before you send the job again.
• On iPhone, force-quitting the Zebra app after a Bluetooth connection means you have to find and connect the printer again next time. The app's Enable Reconnect setting decides whether the printer reconnects after a restart; set it to iOS only so an iPhone reconnects automatically after a restart.

Zebra's video below explains the difference between sleep mode and the inactivity time-out on the ZQ300 Plus series.

Video: Zebra Technologies

Common pairing problems

• The printer doesn't appear in the list. On Link-OS 6 and later firmware, which the ZQ320 Plus runs, the printer is not discoverable by default. Zebra's app guide says to hold FEED for 5 seconds until the Bluetooth light flashes every second. The printer then stays discoverable for 2 minutes or until a device pairs.
• It was paired with another phone. Remove it from the Bluetooth list on the old device (on iPhone: Info icon, then Forget This Device), then pair again.
• Print Touch does nothing. Check that NFC is on and hold the phone closer to the icon. The NFC area is often near one corner of the phone.
• The app shows an error while connecting. Zebra notes that some combinations take up to 75 seconds. Wait before you try again.
• Still no connection. Print a configuration report and check under Bluetooth that Enabled reads on. More fixes are in ZQ320 Plus troubleshooting.