RawBT Printer App: What It Is, How to Set It Up and Fix Common Problems

RawBT is an Android app that lets your phone or tablet print to thermal receipt printers. It works as a print service: it adds your printer to Android's Print menu, accepts files from the Share menu, and lets websites and POS apps send receipts to the printer with special rawbt: links. It's free to use, but the free version prints a short notice on each printout; a paid license removes it. Below you'll find what RawBT does, how to set it up, and how to fix the problems people search for most.

Disclosure: we make Raw Print, a different Android print app that also understands rawbt: links. This guide describes RawBT from its developer's published description (checked October 2026) and general Android behaviour. Menu names can change between RawBT versions, so follow the labels in your version of the app.

Baca dalam Bahasa Indonesia: Cara menggunakan aplikasi RawBT.

What RawBT does

Android doesn't know how to talk to receipt printers. Office printers get a built-in print service; thermal receipt printers don't. RawBT fills that gap. Its developer describes it as a standard Android print service that lets websites and apps print through both standard and custom methods.

In practice, RawBT gives you four ways to print:

• The Android Print menu: print from Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive and other apps.
• Share, Send or Open with: send PDFs, pictures and text from a gallery, file manager or email.
• Links from websites: a web page opens a rawbt: link containing the receipt, and RawBT prints it.
• Intents from apps: Android apps hand print jobs to RawBT directly.

The name came from its first job: "Raw" data sent over "BT" (Bluetooth). It now supports USB and network printers too.

What RawBT isn't

• It isn't a Windows driver. You can't install RawBT on a PC to print from Windows programs. See is there RawBT for PC?
• It isn't a POS or billing app. It prints what other apps and websites send it. You still need POS software to create the bills.
• It isn't a printer brand. "RawBT printer" usually means any receipt printer set up to print through RawBT.

How to set up RawBT step by step

These steps cover a typical Bluetooth receipt printer. USB and network printers differ only in the connection step.

1. Prepare the printer

Load thermal paper with the coated side facing the print head, switch the printer on, and print a self-test page (hold Feed while switching on). The self-test shows the printer's Bluetooth name, IP address or other interface details. Note them.

2. Install RawBT

Install RawBT inkless print service from Google Play. Avoid APK files from other websites: they don't update automatically and may be modified. More on that in RawBT APK and Premium.

3. Choose how the printer connects

Open RawBT's settings and pick the connection method:

• Bluetooth: pair the printer in Android's Bluetooth settings first if RawBT doesn't find it (PIN 0000 or 1234), then select it in RawBT.
• USB: connect the printer with an OTG adapter and allow RawBT to access the USB device.
• Network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet): enter the printer's IP address from the self-test page. RawBT uses port 9100.

4. Set paper width, character table and graphics mode

• Paper width: 58 mm or 80 mm, to match your roll.
• Character table (code page): pick the one that matches your language, otherwise accented letters print as symbols.
• Graphics command: RawBT's developer recommends choosing the graphics command rather than guessing from the printer model. GS v 0 works on most printers, ESC * on Epson-compatible ones, and ESC X on Star-compatible ones. If logos print as noise or not at all, try another option.

5. Print a test

Use RawBT's test print. Check that the full width is used, that text in your language prints correctly, and that the picture looks right. Then try printing from your POS.

How web POS systems use RawBT

Many browser-based POS and billing systems were built around RawBT, because a browser can't open a Bluetooth connection to most receipt printers on its own. The POS builds the receipt and then opens a link like this:

// Plain text receipt
window.location.href = "rawbt:" + encodeURIComponent(receiptText);

// Raw ESC/POS bytes, base64-encoded
window.location.href = "rawbt:base64," + base64Bytes;

Android passes the link to whichever app handles rawbt:, and that app prints it without a dialog. Some systems use a Chrome intent:// link that names RawBT's package instead, which only RawBT can receive. We explain the whole approach in why your web POS needs a printing engine, and developers building hybrid apps can read thermal printing from Ionic and Cordova.

Fixing common RawBT problems

The receipt splits into two pages on a POS58 printer

This happens when a receipt goes through Android's Print menu with a fixed page size. Android lays the receipt out on pages of that size, so a long receipt breaks in the middle, often with a gap or a cut. To fix it:

• In the print preview, choose a receipt roll paper size (58 mm) instead of A4, Letter or a short label size.
• In the POS, reduce page margins and avoid CSS page breaks in the receipt template.
• If the POS supports it, print through a rawbt: link instead of the Print menu. Links send the receipt as one continuous job.

RawBT stops or closes in the background

Android's battery saving closes background apps, especially on Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Realme, Huawei and Samsung phones. When that happens, the next print from your POS goes nowhere. To keep RawBT running:

• Open Settings › Apps › RawBT › Battery and choose Unrestricted (or "No restrictions").
• On Xiaomi and similar phones, allow Autostart and lock the app in the recent apps screen.
• Keep the printer connection open if your RawBT version offers that option, so it doesn't reconnect for every receipt.

Strange symbols instead of letters

The character table doesn't match the text. Change the code page in RawBT's settings. For languages your printer doesn't support at all, print the text as a picture.

Logos and QR codes print as noise

Switch the graphics command (step 4), or lower the sending speed if your printer is a budget model with a small buffer.

Bluetooth printer not found

Check that the printer is on and not connected to another phone, allow Bluetooth (Nearby devices) and Location permissions, and pair it again in Android settings. More fixes in thermal printer not printing.

Connecting RawBT to a Wi-Fi printer

The printer must join your Wi-Fi network first, usually with the manufacturer's setup tool or web page. Then enter its IP address in RawBT. If the address changes after a router restart, reserve a fixed IP for the printer in your router.

RawBT free vs licensed

The free version works fully but prints a notice on every printout. According to its developer, the paid license only removes that notice: speed, print quality and possible errors are the same, and the license doesn't include support. Pricing, buying and the risks of "premium APK" downloads are covered in RawBT Premium: what it unlocks.

Alternatives to RawBT

If the notice on receipts bothers you, or your phone keeps closing RawBT, other Android print services handle the same printers. Raw Print is free with no notice and no ads, and accepts the same rawbt: links, so most web POS pages print without code changes. It supports Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE and USB printers, but not network printers or cat-style photo printers, so RawBT remains the better choice for those. Compare all the options in the best RawBT alternatives and RawBT vs ESC POS Bluetooth Print Service.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• RawBT app description (developer 402D), as published on APKMirror
• RawBT listing on Google Play

RawBT is a product of its developer, 402D. Raw Print is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by RawBT or 402D.