A waiter handset is not syncing
Waiter handsets talk to a Hub tablet over the restaurant’s own Wi-Fi. When orders stop moving, the question is which end has lost the other.
Check both ends
Section titled “Check both ends”This device’s settings → LAN connectivity → Check now, on each device.
On the Hub you should see the listening port, that it is Visible to waiters on Wi‑Fi (mDNS), and a count of connected waiter devices with when each was last seen. A Hub that says Hub server is not listening, or shows No waiter heartbeats in the last 45 seconds, is the problem.
On the handset you should see Connected to hub …. Looking for hub… or Not connected to hub means it cannot find one.
The usual causes, in order
Section titled “The usual causes, in order”- Two Hubs. Another active Hub already exists for this location. Only one Hub per LAN is recommended. Handsets cannot tell which to talk to. Set all but one tablet to Solo or Worker under Devices.
- Different networks. A handset on the guest Wi-Fi and a Hub on the staff Wi-Fi cannot see each other, even though both have internet. Put them on the same network.
- Client isolation. Many venue routers stop devices talking to each other by default. It looks exactly like a missing Hub. This is a router setting, and it has to be off for Hub mode to work at all.
- The Hub is asleep or closed. A Hub tablet that has locked or had the app swiped away is not a Hub. Leave it awake, on charge, and on the Hub screen.
- The device cannot do discovery. This device cannot discover a hub (NSD/mDNS unavailable). That hardware cannot participate. Run it as Solo instead.
While it is disconnected
Section titled “While it is disconnected”A handset in Worker mode that cannot reach its Hub falls back to working on its own where it can. Orders it takes queue on the device and upload when it reconnects — see Offline behaviour and An order will not sync.
What you lose immediately is the shared picture: two staff may seat the same table because neither can see what the other just did. On a busy service, fix the network before carrying on.
Do you need a Hub at all?
Section titled “Do you need a Hub at all?”If every device has reliable internet, Solo mode is simpler and has none of these failure modes — each device talks to the server directly. Hub mode earns its complexity in venues where the internet is unreliable but the local Wi-Fi is solid. See Device modes: Solo, Hub and Waiter.