HP printer issues

[Fred Claus]

I have two clients and a friend all with the same issue. They have older model HP printers (4-5 years old). They seem to work fine when plugged into via a USB cable. When run off a wifi network to print it's intermittent. I have removed the printer and reinstalled which has worked, but only for a short time. Then it happens all over again.

Does anyone know a solution or am I correct in saying the wifi card is going and they just need a newer model printer?

 

[glennd]

You'll need to ensure the printer has a reserved ip in the router/dhcp server. When Windows sets up a wifi printer, it's tied to the ip address. If that changes then the printer "goes offline".

 

[Fred Claus]

You'll need to ensure the printer has a reserved ip in the router/dhcp server. When Windows sets up a wifi printer, it's tied to the ip address. If that changes then the printer "goes offline".

Is it normal for this to happen every couple days?

 

[glennd]

Is it normal for this to happen every couple days?

Normal? no. If the router is flaky, who knows. Might be worth asking the customer if they've noticed other weird things going on with network connectivity or internet dropping out etc. If not then I would say you have printer flakiness which comes back to your original idea of the printer wifi card failing. If the printer is dropping off the network, a reserved ip would at least ensure it gets the same ip when it comes back online. That might be a reasonable short term solution. If it's interfering with business operations then I would recommend a new printer.

So in fact I'd probably agree with your original plan

 

[Metanis]

Is it normal for this to happen every couple days?

If the router has a short DHCP lease interval then yes. Printer goes to "sleep", loses it's IP lease, gets a different IP the next time they wake it up.

 

[Fred Claus]

I will check that out thanks CB. I was not aware of the channel issues when it comes to printers. I will see if that works. Just curious though, we set it to channel 6 only? Shouldn't there be a scan done to find out what's the least congested channel in the area? Is it something with Channel six that works?

 

[Haole Boy]

IIRC, HP had an update that was supposed improve connectivity for their printers. Not sure if it was just for the specific printer model I was working on.

Also, if possible, connect the printer to the router via an ethernet cable. I have found this to be a much more reliable connection than wireless.

Hope this helps,

Harry Z

 

[HCHTech]

Just to tag on, here; check to see if there is a firmware update for the printer as well.

 

[Diggs]

As I tell my customers, WiFi connection for printing is the shakiest/flakiest way to connect a printer with WiFi direct being the absolute worse. Seems after every storm around here (with power flickers) I get calls about not being able to print. Obviously USB is best with Ethernet connection of the printer to the router being a close second that allows others to print. Hence I don't recommend any printers that do not have an Ethernet port.

 

[SlickMinnow]

Windows 10 computers? Were these rigs stable for some time and then got weird?

+1 @Diggs comment. My experience with wifi printers has been unstable at best. Also per @glennd, address reservations on the router/dhcp server are a must if using DHCP precisely due to the issue mentioned by @Metanis

If that does not settle things, you might see if you are running into an SMB version mismatch. I've seen some of the older printers do not support SMB 2 while Win10 by default does not support SMB 1. Often there is a firmware patch for the printer to update it (sometimes these patches come with other 'features' as well - like making your printer refuse to work with non-genuine HP toner), but just as often (for me) you might have to decide if you want to lower the SMB version on Win10 to support v1. (it's found in Windows features). As with most things, there are merits to either approach.

All that said, if it were me, I'd try the DHCP reservation first with a real cable to the printer if at all possible. After that, I'd remove and reinstall the printer on the client computers to make sure the settings matched the new reservations and such.

Good luck and let us know.