Help with Backfeed.

Backfeed finds printers by listening for them on your local network, and iOS needs your permission to do that. On a fresh install you’ll be asked once; if you said no, or nothing appears, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network and make sure Backfeed is switched on, then reopen the app and scan again.

Also check that your phone and the printer are on the same Wi-Fi network. On Mac there’s no Local Network prompt. If a printer still doesn’t appear there, it’s usually on a different network segment (see the next question).

Yes. Automatic discovery only reaches printers on the same network segment as your device. For anything else (a different subnet, a wired VLAN, a printer with a fixed address), use the + button and choose Add by IP, then type the printer’s IPv4 address.

Backfeed probes that exact address and adds the printer if it answers. If nothing’s there you’ll see “No printer answered at <address>” rather than a silent failure, so you know to double-check the address or the network path. You’ll need the printer to be reachable from your device’s network for local printing; for printing when you’re away entirely, that’s what Backfeed Cloud is for.

Backfeed can put it there. Tap + (Add Printer), follow Setting up a brand-new printer?, and choose Set up over Bluetooth. Turn the printer on and keep it close. It shows up over Bluetooth, you pick it, and Backfeed hands it your Wi-Fi name and password. The printer joins the network and appears in the app like any other printer.

This works with Zebra ZD printers that have Bluetooth, joining WPA2 personal networks, the common home and office kind. Some models don’t have Bluetooth; for those the same guide walks you through Ethernet, USB, or Zebra’s own setup app instead.

Import from Files (Finder on Mac) inside the app, use Open in Backfeed or Open With for a PDF or image, or drag-and-drop a file onto the Mac window. Backfeed opens one file at a time with a live preview sized to your label before anything prints.

Printing your own files needs the one-time Backfeed Local unlock or a Backfeed Cloud subscription. Finding, managing, calibrating and test-printing your printers stays free.

Connecting enrolls the printer with Backfeed Cloud so it can print from anywhere. Backfeed sets up a secure, outbound connection on the printer: it configures the printer to dial out to the relay and then restarts the printer so the change takes effect. The restart takes about two minutes, after which the printer reconnects on its own and is ready to print remotely. The app shows each step as it happens.

This only touches the cloud connection. Local printing is unaffected, and nothing about your labels or media changes. To undo it, open the printer and choose Disconnect from Cloud; that removes cloud access and restarts the printer once more. Connecting works with network-capable Zebra ZD printers and needs a Backfeed Cloud subscription (there’s a 14-day free trial).

Cloud printing runs against a key tied to your subscription, and it stays active until the expiry date Apple signs. If a renewal hasn’t gone through by then (a lapsed card, or a device that was offline over the renewal), cloud printing pauses on that date.

Nothing is lost. When the subscription renews, the app reactivates cloud access automatically in the background, and your printers, label sizes, and calibration are all still there. And your local printing (Backfeed Local, or printing on the same network) is never affected by a cloud lapse.

Backfeed Cloud is an App Store subscription, so it’s managed and cancelled through Apple. We never see or handle your payment details. In the app, open the Backfeed Cloud screen and tap Manage or Cancel Subscription; on iPhone and iPad that opens Apple’s subscription sheet, and on Mac it opens your App Store account subscriptions. You can also go to Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions on iOS, or the App Store menu on Mac.

Cancelling stops the next renewal; you keep access until the end of the period you’ve already paid for. Refunds for App Store purchases are requested from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. That’s Apple’s process for every App Store app, including this one.

Both the one-time Backfeed Local unlock and the Backfeed Cloud subscription are Universal Purchases: buy once and they work across your iPhone, iPad and Mac signed in to the same Apple ID. A subscription runs on your devices at the same time, so you don’t buy it twice.

If a purchase doesn’t appear on a new device, tap Restore Purchases on the paywall or the unlock sheet. For Backfeed Local that re-enables printing your own labels; for Backfeed Cloud, restoring also sets up this device’s own cloud key, so it can print remotely too.