Photosmart Plus Wireless Connection Issue

[dcat]

I have a B209 Photosmart Plus wireless printer.  It is connected to an I-Mac using USB and works fine.

I'm trying however to connect a MacBook laptop over my Airport Extreme router wirelessly.  I've installed the latest HP software for Snow Leopard OS 10.6 on both computers, but I cannot get the MacBook to print over the wireless network.  It keeps on insisting that i connect it via USB.

Does anyone have a solution or suggestion on this?

Thanks.

[PrintDoc]

Just to be clear, you are trying to share a USB-connected printer, right?

A much more straightforward approach would be to connect the printer to the wireless network so that all can share its printing AND scanning (sharing printers only shares the print function).

Am I missing something, here?

[dcat]

The printer is a Wireless Photosmart Plus B209a, purchased in October, '09.  

I have an I-Mac and a MacBook (laptop), both running Snow Leopard OS 10-6.  

The HP Setup Assistant software (version 10.3, compatible with Snow Leopard and downloaded from HP support site) forces you to connect the printer via USB for set up and then seems to allow you to change to a wireless connection, but I can't figure out how.  As of now, the printer is set up and works on both computers, but only by USB connection.  The CD which came with the computer is not compatible with Snow Leopard, so you have to download the correct drivers from HP's site, hence no CD.

The Instruction manual which came with the printer says the following:

CHANGE THE HP PHOTOSMART FROM A USB CONNECTION TO A NETWORK CONNECTION

If you first install the HP Photosmart with a USB connection, you can later change to a wireless network connection.  If you already understand how to connect to a network, you can use the general directions below.

To change a USB connection to an integrated wireless WLAN 802.11 connection:

1. Unplug the USB connection from the back of the product.

2 Insert the product CD (which is the incompatible version to Snow Leopard, hence I can't use) in the computer CD-ROM drive.

3. Select "ADD A DEVICE", and then follow the onscreen instructions for a wireless network installation.

OK, so having messed around with this for quite some time, without success, I guess I'm probably going to give up and when I need to print something from my MacBook, I'll just have to connect it to the printer via USB and forget doing it wirelessly, which would have been very convenient.  It may be that I'm just not savvy enough to figure this out.

My router by the way is a fairly new Airport Extreme Router.

Thanks for your reply to my query.

[PrintDoc · Accepted solution]

OK, let's use the WPS feature of both your printer and router to get it connected.

FIrst, start the WPS process from the front panel of your printer. Then:

open the Apple Airport Utility
select your wireless router
select Manual Setup
select Add Wireless Clients ... from the Base Station menu
Select First Attempt then press Continue.
You have to start the Apple Add Wireless Client process within two minutes of starting the printer's WPS pushbutton method. Actually, order doesn't matter ... you can start the Add Wireless Clients process on the the Apple router first then start the printer's WPS pushbutton method.

Now your printer will be connected to your router. Now all you have to do is install the printer in System Preferences, Print & Fax by clicking the "+" button. Find the instance of your printer with 'Bonjour" next to it and click Add.

You do not need the software now since Snow Leopard has both print & scan drivers built-in. Scan from Preview or Image Capture apps. Scanning from the front panel of the printer does not yet work.

[dcat]

Thanks for your help.  I'm all set now.

[pvmantim]

I have tried the method described by yourself (and by HP) on numerous occasions and still cannot get my HP Photosmart Plus to connect to my Airport Extreme.  When I use the 2-minute WPS Push button on the printer, my airport never finds it.

I have also tried the manual set-up on-line without any success.  I've had this printer for 4 months now, and have exhausted every option I can find to be able to print wirelessly.  For now, I'm still stuck having to to by my desk and plug in the USB.

If you have any other suggestions, I would really appreciate them.

Thanks!

Tim

[PrintDoc]

Print a Wireless Network Test from the front of the printer (Setup > Network area).  It will self-test the printer's radio and report to you.

Here are some basics to check:

1. Is the radio on (blue light illuminated)?

2. Are there any funny settings on the router (not broadcasting SSID, MAC filtering, set to 802.11n only, etc)?

3. What encryption are you using on your AE (WEP, WPA, WPA2, none)?

[pvmantim]

Thanks SO much for the quick response!

For the basic checks:

1. Yes, the blue light is on

2. I don't see any funny settings on the router...   though I'm not exactly sure how to be sure of this other than looking through the settings in my airport utility

3. Wireless security on the Airport Extreme is listed as : "WPA/WPA2 Personal"

The test report says "Your HP printer cannot find your access point.  Check that your access point is powered on.  Check that your HP printer network name (SSID) matches your access point network name (SSID) exactly.

It passed the "wireless on" and "Wireless working", but FAILED the "Network Name (SSID) Found"

Under configuration on the test page, it says that the Network Name (SSID) is "hpsetup"

Thanks again, and please let me know if you have any suggestions from here.

[PrintDoc]

Open Airport Utility (Applications > Utilities folder) , choose the AE and click Manual Setup.  On the Wireless page, what is the Radio Mode set to?  It should include 802.11g somewhere in the setting.

I would also recommend setting the 2.4GHz to channel 11.

On the same page, Wireless Network Options button, make sure "Create a closed network" is not checked.

[pvmantim]

Thanks,

Radio Mode is set to Automatic (listed as 802.11a/n - 802.11b/g/n)

I'm not sure how to set 2.4GHz to channel 11 and do not see a box labeled "Create a closed network"