iPad wireless access to HP 6500a Plus

[NewtM]

I have an HP 6500a that I wish to use in our real estate office. It is USB connected to a desktop PC and that works fine. I want to be able to find it and print to it from my iPad 2. 

The office has two wireless access points.

  One is on the secure corporate which uses WPA2 Enterprise with Microsoft Protected Encrypted Authentication Protocol (PEAP). When I try to log into that AP the printer says that it does not understand the authentication or encryption.

  The other AP is advertised as an "open" AP, however, one has to run a browser session and give an agent username and password to gain access. I know of no way to do the browser session from the printer.

  It has been suggested to me that I should be able to set up the printer as a "standalone WiFi host". I don't know what that means or if it can be done in the 6500a setup.

- Newt -

[PrintDoc]

It does not sound like you will be able to connect the printer to either of those wifi networks.

If you turn the wirless radio on (Setup > Network menu), use your iPad to look for a network name beginning with "hp" and connect to it.  You will then have your iPad connected directly to the printer.

This will work fine while the printer is also connected via USB to a PC.

[NewtM]

All I see is the two wireless APs in the office. Is there something else I have to do to get the printerto advertise itself as an AP?

- Newt -

[PrintDoc]

Oh, sorry, yes, enable the printer's wireless radio.  Either click the button on the front of the printer or go to Setup > Network > Wireless > On on the front panel.

[NewtM]

It's on. I can see the printer through my wireless router at home. I can't gain access to the wireless routers at the office because one requires PEAP and the other requires a session login. Is there a way to make the printer broadcast itself as an AP?

- Newt -

[PrintDoc]

I am confused.  Is the printer at home sometimes and other times in your office?  I thought the problem was that neither the printer nor the iPad could join the office networks.

[NewtM]

The goal is to use the printer at the office. Since I couldn't  get it to work at the office, I took it home to make sure that the iPad and the printer liked each other there. it worked fine on my home wireless router.

At the office my iPad will conect to both the PEAP based secure network and the "open" network that requires a username password log-in. The printer connects to neither.

- Newt -

[PrintDoc]

OK, I understand, thanks.

When you take it back to the office, the printer is still looking for your home router.  To put it back so it broadcasts its own network, on the front of the printer: Setup > Network > Restore Network Defaults.

Now, connect to the network beginning with "hp" with your iPad.