Context:

Sometimes it can be necessary to demonstrate or test native AirPrint from Apple iOS devices, using the Wide Area Mobile Print feature, but without doing the full configuration.

The following guide describes a very simple method for configuring Wide Area Mobile Print with a single iOS device for AirPrint.

How to:

This guide assumes a working EveryonePrint server and gateway configuration.

1. Start by configuring a sub domain under Wide Area Mobile Print

2. Lookup the IP address of the EveryonePrint server hosting the gateway

3. Join the Apple iOS device on a WiFi network where it can access the EveryonePrint Gateway, and modify the iOS device WiFi networks settings manually

4. Set the DNS server to the IP address of the EveryonePrint Gateway server and Search domains to the subdomain created in Wide Area Mobile Print

5. It may be necessary to switch Airplane mode off/on on the iOS device to force it to lookup printers

6. Then simply go to any App like "Notes" app and press Print, the printers should now be listed.

If no printers appear, confirm that the Apple iOS device can successfully reach the EveryonePrint with gateway on the ports 53, 7910 and 9444, which can be done using for example a port scanner iOS App such as iNetTools, as explained in http://www.printsupportcenter.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004226705-iOS-Test-and-Verify-ports-from-Apple-device-to-server

Note:

Remember that you override the DNS settings on the mobile device, so all regular DNS lookup will fail; you need to revert back to original settings after the test (just clear the DNS and search domains, and DHCP server should automatically populate them again).