Zebra DS4608 and DS4678 setup: USB, cradle and Bluetooth

This guide covers both scanners of the Zebra DS4600 family. The corded DS4608 works as soon as you plug it in. The cordless DS4678 needs its battery, a charge and a Bluetooth link, either to its cradle or straight to a PC, tablet or phone. Follow the steps for your model, then test a scan.

Before you start

Both models read 1D and 2D bar codes on paper and on phone screens. Out of the box they act as a USB keyboard (Zebra calls this USB HID Keyboard). Whatever you scan is typed where the cursor is, so you need no driver or special software.

You change settings by scanning programming bar codes from the PRG, on paper or on screen (zoom in until the bars are sharp). Settings survive power-off. The SR in our part numbers stands for the standard range imager. The HD and DPE versions are set up the same way.

Connect the DS4608 by USB

1. Push the cable's modular connector into the port on the back of the scanner until it clicks. Tug gently to check that it is locked.
2. Plug the USB connector into your PC or a USB hub.
3. The scanner sounds its power-up beeps (low, medium, high). It detects the USB host by itself and starts as a USB keyboard.
4. If Windows asks about the new device, accept its own keyboard driver.

The PC powers the scanner. An external power supply is only needed if the host does not supply power over the cable.

Set up the stand for hands-free scanning

1. Unscrew the wing nut from the bottom of the scanner cup.
2. Fit the bottom of the gooseneck into the opening on top of the stand base.
3. Tighten the wing nut under the base to hold the cup and neck in place, then bend the neck to the angle you want.
4. Optional: fix the base to the counter with two wood screws or double-sided tape (not supplied).

Put the front of the scanner into the cup. A sensor switches it to hands-free (presentation) mode: the LED stays green and the scanner reads any bar code you hold in front of it. Take it out and it returns to trigger mode.

Connect the DS4678 cradle

1. Plug the USB cable into the interface port under the CR8178-SC cradle and press the cable into the cable groove.
2. Plug the other end into the PC. The cradle LED lights green.

The cradle runs on power from the USB port. An external power supply on a suitable Zebra cable gives the fastest charging. If you use one, always unplug the power supply before you unplug the host cable.

Insert the battery, then charge and pair

The battery is packed separately in the box.

1. Turn the knob of the battery cover counterclockwise with a coin and lift the cover off.
2. Slide the battery in and push until it clicks. Refit the cover and lock it clockwise with the coin.
3. Insert the scanner into the cradle top first, so that the latch on the cradle meets the scanner, then push the handle down until it clicks.
4. The scanner boots and pairs with the cradle. A low/high beep confirms the Bluetooth link.

The cradle LED is steady amber while a flat battery pre-charges, blinks amber while charging and turns steady green when the battery is full. A very flat battery can take several minutes before the scanner shows any sign of life. Zebra recommends a full charge before first use.

From empty, Zebra quotes 7 h 45 min on a standard USB port, 3 h on a BC 1.2 USB port and 2 h 15 min with the external 12 V power supply. The battery charges only between 0 and 40 °C.

Instead of inserting the scanner, you can scan the pairing bar code on the cradle. A high/low/high/low beep confirms that the scanner read it, and a low/high beep follows when the link is up. Wait for it before you scan anything else.

By default one cradle serves one scanner, and pairing a new DS4678 disconnects the previous one. Up to seven scanners can share a cradle once the first one scans Multipoint-to-Point Mode (PRG section "Modes of Operation"). Zebra states that only the CR8178-SC and CR8178-PC cradles work with the DS4678.

Or pair the DS4678 directly by Bluetooth

Without the cradle as a receiver, the DS4678 connects to a PC, tablet or phone as a Bluetooth keyboard (HID). The cradle still charges it.

1. In the PRG chapter "Radio Communications", section "Keyboard Emulation (HID)", scan HID Bluetooth Classic. The radio restarts, which takes a few seconds.
2. On the PC, tablet or phone, open the Bluetooth settings and search for new devices.
3. Select the scanner. It appears as the model name followed by its serial number.
4. Wait for the low/high connection beep, open a text field and test a scan.

By default the scanner is in General Discoverable Mode. For connections started from a mobile device, the PRG also offers Limited Discoverable Mode (section "Discoverable Mode"): the scanner then stays visible for 30 seconds while its green LEDs flash; pull the trigger for another 30 seconds. On Windows and Android, Zebra's Scan-To-Connect utility shows a pairing bar code on the screen, so the scanner pairs in one step.

To go back to the cradle, scan Cradle Bluetooth Classic (section "Radio Communications Host Types") and insert the scanner into the cradle.

Test a scan, then set Enter and keyboard layout

1. Open Notepad or any empty text field and click into it.
2. Aim the dot at a bar code, pull the trigger and hold it until the scanner beeps.
3. The LED flashes green and the data appears as typed text.

By default the scanner sends no Enter after the data, and it assumes a US English keyboard. The DS4600 PRGs list the same country keyboard types and the same Enter and Tab bar codes as the DS2208 PRG, so our walkthroughs apply unchanged: keyboard layout for Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Finnish, Polish and Czech PCs and Enter or Tab after each scan. Only the places in the guides differ:

The DS2208 appendices for numeric bar codes and ASCII values are chapters "Numeric Barcodes" and "ASCII Character Sets" here. The country keyboard type covers USB keyboard connections, including the DS4678 through its cradle. For a direct Bluetooth link the PRG does not say whether it applies. That mode has its own Numeric Keypad Emulation and Quick Keypad Emulation (Radio) settings, both on by default.

DS4678 range and what happens out of range

The DS4678 has a Class 1 Bluetooth radio. Zebra quotes at least 100 m in open air with line of sight. Walls, shelving and other radios reduce this.

• When the link drops, the scanner tries to reconnect for 30 seconds while its green LED blinks.
• If that fails, it sounds a long low/long high beep and the LED turns red. Pull the trigger to try again.
• Bar codes scanned while it reconnects are not sent. You hear the transmission error beep.

If staff regularly leave the range, scan Out of Range Batch Mode (section "Batch Mode"). The scanner then stores bar codes while disconnected and sends them when it is back in range. Zebra's formula gives room for roughly 3,800 EAN-13 codes. In a store with busy Wi-Fi, see the PRG section "Wi-Fi Friendly Options" and set every scanner before you pair it.

Fine-tune with 123Scan

For more than one or two settings, use Zebra's free 123Scan utility for Windows. Connect the DS4608 by its USB cable, or the DS4678 through its USB-connected cradle. 123Scan then lets you:

• change settings in a wizard, such as suffixes, beeper and symbologies
• save them as a file for further scanners, or print them as one programming bar code
• view scanned data, update firmware and, on the DS4678, read the battery statistics