Lightspeed Retail is designed, built and tested to be used on computers running Apple's macOS operating system or Microsoft's Windows operating system. Because Lightspeed Retail is a web-based POS, every update is also diligently tested on the latest versions of the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox web browsers.
As for the Lightspeed Retail POS app, its intended to be used on iPads running Apple's iOS mobile operating system. To make sure Lightspeed Retail POS boasts the same caliber of quality and compatibility as its web-based counterpart, every new version also goes through a series of tests.
Along with the aforementioned tests, the performance of the supported hardware listed in this article is also carefully monitored. This ensures that our fleet of printers, barcode scanners, payment terminals, cash drawers and optional accessories works seamlessly with the latest available versions of Lightspeed Retail, Lightspeed Retail POS and the software they depend on:
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- macOS
- Windows
- iOS
For these reasons, we recommend staying up-to-date on all these fronts and using our supported hardware for your Lightspeed Retail setup. It's the best way to optimize the functioning of your Lightspeed Retail setup and get the most out of its features.
Computer and Mozilla Firefox compatibility
Supported
As previously mentioned, we recommend staying up-to-date with the latest available version of Mozilla Firefox and our Retail Support team can help you with the compatible computer operating systems listed below.
To learn how to update your Mozilla Firefox browser to the latest version, please visit Firefox Support.
| Mozilla Firefox | Operating System |
| Latest version recommended | Windows 7 or higher |
| Latest version recommended | Mac OS X 10.9 or higher |
Unsupported
Because Mozilla Firefox is no longer pushing updates to the below operating systems, our Retail Support team will no longer be supporting them as of May 1st 2018.
To remain up-to-date and continue with support, we recommend consulting an IT professional about updating your Windows operating system (if it's possible). To learn how to update the software on your Mac, please visit Apple Support.
For more information on Mozilla Firefox's compatibility, please visit Firefox Support.
| Mozilla Firefox | Operating System |
| Version 52 or lower | Windows XP and Vista |
| Version 48 or lower | Mac OS X 10.8 or lower |
Barcode scanners
| Manufacturer | Model | Photo |
| Honeywell |
|
 |
| Honeywell |
|
 |
| Zebra (US only) |
|
 |
| Zebra (US only) |
|
 |
Receipt printers
| Manufacturer | Model | Photo |
| Star Micronics |
|
 |
| Star Micronics |
|
|
| Star Micronics |
|
 |
| Star Micronics |
|
 |
| Star Micronics |  |
Cash drawers
| Manufacturer | Model | Photo |
| APG |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| APG (Canada only) |
|
 |
| Star Micronics |
|
 |
| Star Micronics (Europe only) |
|
 |
Label printers
| Manufacturer | Model | Photo |
| Zebra |
|
 |
| Zebra |
|
|
For more information on how to upgrade your hardware, please see our Purchasing hardware article.
Card swipers and payment terminals
Lightspeed Payments or our third-party payment processors will provide you with the encrypted card readers and payment terminals compatible with their services.
| Payment Processors | Model | Photo |
| Lightspeed Payments (US) |
|
 |
Note: this terminal is no longer available, but still supported for those who already have it. |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| Lightspeed Payments (Canada) |
|
|
| Vantiv triPOS (US) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cayan (US) |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| Element Express (US) |
|
|
| Mercury Payment Services (US) |
|
|
| Tyro (Australia) |
|
 |
|
 |
Optional accessories
Touchscreen display
A touchscreen display takes the place of your regular monitor and lets associates ring up sales quickly using touch input instead of a keyboard and mouse. You can choose between any touchscreens on the market that are compatible with your computer's operating system.
Customer Facing Display
Customer Facing Display (CFD) allows your customers to preview sales in real-time on a secondary iPad. This helps reduce errors and increase customer satisfaction in your shop.
Sharing the checkout experience with Customer Facing Display is made possible with the Lightspeed CFD desktop app. The Lightspeed CFD desktop app is designed for Retail POS merchants who have a desktop setup. In other words, it's designed for merchants who use Retail POS on a computer.
With a desktop setup, any secondary display that can connect to a computer is compatible. This is the recommended setup for optimal performance. If you're not using the Lightspeed CFD desktop app to connect your secondary display, however, any secondary display (e.g. monitor) or device (e.g iPad) with a web browser is compatible as well.
To help you understand which hardware is recommended or supported for Customer Facing Display, please see the following table:
| Retail POS setup | Secondary display | Lightspeed CFD compatibility | Setup instructions | |
| Recommended | Computer |
Monitor connected via wire (e.g. HDMI, VGA, etc.) |
Compatible with Lightspeed CFD desktop app | Connecting Customer Facing Display |
| Supported | Computer |
Monitor connected via wire (e.g. HDMI, VGA, etc.) Secondary device (iPad, tablet, etc.) |
Not compatible (connect without app) | Connecting Customer Facing Display without Lightspeed CFD |
| Recommended | iPad |
iPad |
Compatible with Lightspeed CFD iOS app | Connecting Customer Facing Display on your iPad |
For more information on Customer Facing Display, please see About Customer Facing Display for computers.
iPad and iOS compatibility
Our Retail POS app requires iPads to run on iOS 12.2 or higher to continue receiving Retail POS updates in the App Store. For a list of iPads that are compatible with iOS 12.2 or higher, please see the table below.
Need to update your iPad's iOS and/or the Retail POS app? Please see our Updating Retail POS article to learn how.
| iPad | Year | Model |
|
iPad (5th generation) |
2017 |
|
|
iPad (6th generation) |
2018 |
|
|
iPad (7th generation) |
2019 |
|
|
iPad Air |
2013 |
|
|
iPad Air 2 |
2014 |
|
|
iPad mini 2 |
2013 |
|
|
iPad mini 3 |
2014 |
|
|
iPad mini 4 |
2015 |
|
|
iPad Pro 9.7" (1st generation) |
2016 |
|
|
iPad Pro 10.5" (1st generation) |
2017 |
|
|
iPad Pro 11" (1st generation) |
2018 |
|
|
iPad Pro 12.9" (1st generation) |
2015 |
|
|
iPad Pro 12.9" (2nd generation) |
2017 |
|
|
iPad Pro 12.9" (3rd generation) |
2018 |
|
Unsure which iPad model you have? Please refer to Apple Support's Help article on the topic. Alternatively, you can simply check the model number engraved on the back cover of your iPad and cross-reference it with the table above
Barcode scanners
| Manufacturer | Model | Photo |
| Socket Mobile |  |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
| Zebra |
|
 |
For more information on how to upgrade your hardware, please see our Purchasing hardware article.
Receipt printers
| Manufacturer | Model | Photo |
| Star Micronics |
|
|
| Star Micronics |
|
|
| Star Micronics |
|
|
| Star Micronics |
|
|
| Star Micronics |
|
|
| Star Micronics |
|
 |
| Epson (Canada and US) |
|
 |
| Epson (Canada and US) |
|
 |
| Any manufacturer |
|
|
Cash drawers
| Manufacturer | Model | Photo |
| APG |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| APG (Canada only) |
|
|
| Star Micronics |
|
|
| Star Micronics (Europe only) |
|
|
Label printers
| Manufacturer | Model | Photo |
| Zebra |
|
|
For more information on how to upgrade your hardware, please see our Purchasing hardware article.
Card swipers and payment terminals
Lightspeed Payments or our third-party payment processors will provide you with the encrypted card readers and payment terminals compatible with their services.
| Payment Processors | Model | Photo |
| Lightspeed Payments (US) |
|
|
Note: this terminal is no longer available, but still supported for those who already have it. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Lightspeed Payments (Canada) |
|
|
| Vantiv triPOS (US) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cayan (US) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Element Express (US) |
|
|
|
 |
|
| Mercury Payment Services (US) |
|
|
|
|
|
| iZettle (The UK and the Netherlands) |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| Worldline (Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) |
|
 |
|
 |
|
| BNP Paribas (Belgium) |
|
 |
| Concardis (Switzerland) |
|
|
| Barclaycard (UK - beta) |
|
|
Optional accessories
Customer Facing Display
Customer Facing Display (CFD) allows your customers to preview sales in real-time on a secondary iPad. This helps reduce errors and increase customer satisfaction in your shop.
Sharing the checkout experience with Customer Facing Display is made possible with the Lightspeed CFD iOS app. The Lightspeed CFD iOS app is designed for Retail POS merchants who have an iPad setup. In other words, it's designed for merchants who use Retail POS on an iPad.
With an iPad setup, the only recommended and supported setup is to connect to a secondary iPad. The iPad models and iOS versions that are compatible with the Lightspeed CFD iOS app are the same as the ones with the Retail POS app.
To help you understand which hardware is recommended or supported for Customer Facing Display, please see the following table:
| Retail POS setup | Secondary display | Lightspeed CFD compatibility | Setup instructions | |
| Recommended | iPad |
iPad |
Compatible with Lightspeed CFD iOS app | Connecting Customer Facing Display on your iPad |
| Recommended | Computer |
Monitor connected via wire (e.g. HDMI, VGA, etc.) |
Compatible with Lightspeed CFD desktop app | Connecting Customer Facing Display |
| Supported | Computer |
Monitor connected via wire (e.g. HDMI, VGA, etc.) Secondary device (iPad, tablet, etc.) |
Not compatible (connect without app) | Connecting Customer Facing Display without Lightspeed CFD |
For more information on Customer Facing Display, please see About Customer Facing Display on your iPad.