Wifi network status offline??

[levity0822]

hello, i have followed all instructions on HP site but have still not succeeded in connecting my C4580 wirelessly. i cannot access the printer's internal webpage, nor can i select hpsetup from the airport drop-down menu (as shown in youtube video). in fact when i print the network config page it says: "Network Status - Offline" and "Wireless Status - Disconnected". this despite the fact that that wifi is turned on (the blue light is on). also when i try to use the HP Setup Assistant to setup wireless printing it fails to configure IP settings.

 i'm running a MBP 15" with 10.5.8 installed.

any help would be greatly appreciated,

T 

[Wi-Fi-Guy]

Let's test the radio to make sure it's working:

1. Make sure the radio is on (is the Blue LED on?)
2. Press and release the cancel and power buttons at the same time.
3. In order, press the blue, green and grey buttons.
4. Change the menu until you see Connectivity Diagnostics Menu
5. Press OK twice

This should print a diagnostic report with a wireless survey at the bottom of the page listing all of the detected networks.  If the radio is working, at least one wireless network will be detected.  Also, list the name of the networks detected, the channel and the RSSI.  Also, tell me which one of your networks is yours.

[levity0822]

ok, thanks for replying. i successfully printed the diagnostic report. The radio appears to be working because it correctly detected my wifi network (I am using a Thompson Livebox mini). It is running on channel 6 with an RSSI of -52. 

at the end of the diagnostic report it gives error code "F 00100:  Wifi0".

is it possible to connect directly to the printer without the use of an Access Point? (i believe this is called adhoc mode). this would be my preferred option.

Thanks again for your help 

[Wi-Fi-Guy]

One issue I've noticed with the Livebox wireless-router is that it may require you to press the "1" button to put the Livebox into what they call "pairing-mode" when trying to connect devices to the Livebox wireless network.

When performing the SW setup for your C4580, you should do this just before you select the wireless network in the setup process.

There is an alternative method to get the C4580 connected to your wireless network without using the USB cable.  Here are the instructions:

1. Restore the network configuration on the C4580 to the factory defaults.  To do this, press the wireless button, scroll the menu until you see something similar to "Restore Network Settings".  Press OK
2. After a few moments, the radio should turn off.  When it does, enable the radio.
3. At this point, the printer's blue LED should be on and the printer should have created an ad-hoc network called hpsetup.
4. From your Mac, connect to the printer's hpsetup wireless ad-hoc network.
5. Verify the connection to the printer by opening the printer's internal web page.  You can do this by opening Safari, select Bookmarks then Show All Bookmarks.  On the left hand Safari pane, select Bonjour and on the right you should see your printer listed.  Double click on your printer and Safari should display the printer's internal web page.

At this point, your Mac and the printer are connected and you have two choices:  1) plan to use this ad-hoc connection for printing and finish up by installing the printer SW or 2) manually move the printer's connection to the Livebox network and then finish by installing the printer SW.

If you're planning to use the ad-hoc connection, you should move the ad-hoc channel from 6 to 1 or 11 (depending on which channel is unoccupied as shown on the diagnostic report that you printed earlier).  To do this, select Networking, then Wireless (802.11), then Advanced.  From this page, you can change the channel.  Don't forget to press Apply to enable the changes.

If you're planning to move the printer to the Livebox router, from the same Wireless (802.11), Advanced page, update the SSID to the Livebox's wireless network name, select Infrastructure, enable the correct encryption method and enter the key.  Finish by pressing the "1" button on your Livebox router and pressing Apply.

Wait a minute and test the connection by trying to access the printer's internal web page. 

If you make a mistake, you may lose connection to the C4580 and in which case you'll have to start over with step #1 above.

Finally, finish by installing the printer SW on your Mac.

[levity0822]

I succeeded in setting up adhoc mode, thanks a million

However infrastructure mode was more troublesome. i managed to access the config page using bonjour and followed your instructions on setting it up. but when i click on apply the page hangs . . . 

a question: what is the point of changing the channel from 6 to 1 or 11, since if i'm using ad-hoc mode i can't be connected to my home network and the printer at the same time anyway??

thank you again for your help 

[Wi-Fi-Guy]

It's normal for the browser to "hang" on the configuration page when you hit apply.  The reason is that the printer changed modes from the ad-hoc connection to the Mac to an infrastructure connection to your wireless-router.

I should have warned you.

After you hit apply, you could have changed the Mac's connection back to the home network.  This might be the preferred setup unless you intend to connect your Mac to the internet via a LAN cable to your wireless router.

The reason for changing channels of the ad-hoc connection from 6 to 11 was to optimize the performance of your wireless network.  You're right, you can't be connected to the printer's ad-hoc connection and your home wireless network simultaneously unless you add another radio to your Mac.