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Archived This topic has been archived. Information and links in this thread may no longer be available or relevant. If you have a question create a new topic by clicking here and select the appropriate board.
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I purchased this printer a year ago and have been having the problem since day 1.  We had an old XP machine last year so I thought that was the problem and just used it with the USB cable.  But we've just purchased two new Windows 8 machines and own a Windows 7 also but still have the same problem.  I install and it sets up on the network without a problem but when I go to print something the next day I get the message that it can't print because the printer is offline. The printer homepage says everything if fine, the printer itself shows that it is connected and on, the Scan Doctor says everything is okay.  I have tried ALL the support suggestions:

 

Scan Doctor finds nothing wrong but won't print the test page

Print spooler is not turned off and I have restarted it

Pause or print offline boxes are not checked and made sure print queue was clear

IP address has not changed, also set up the static IP through the printers homepage and it worked for a couple of days before it stopped working as well.

Restarted the computer

Did a power recylce

Make sure it is the default printer

Verified that the firewall wasn't blocking the printer

Verify that everything is working from printer homepage (this is in fact the only place the printer will print from, test pages here print out fine)

I have completely uninstalled and reinstalled the software (the Windows 8 from the HP website) numerous times to no lasting effect including restoring defaults on the printer menu itself.

 

I have done every single HP suggested fix and the problem is still persistant and I am at my wits end here.  Yes, I can hook it up USB and use it on the one computer but that wasn't the point of buying a network capable computer.  I should be able to use it on all three of our computers over the network and have never been able to for more than a day. 

Any fixes that I haven't tried would be greatly appreciated.

 

14 REPLIES 14
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I hope I can help you because I know it is frustrating that your printer will not maintain a wireless connection.  I just want to ask some preliminary questions first just so I can have a firm grasp on this.  

  1. What is the main computer you use for troubleshooting all of this (Windows 7 or Windows 8)?  
  2. Is it that the printer is connected but it just shows offline on the computer (print queue area) or does it completely drop signal and you have to use the USB to Wireless installation to set it back up?  
  3. Do you use that method to get it connected or are you using the WPS button on the router or the PIN method?  
  4. Is your wireless light blinking constantly?
  5. Do you think you have an IP conflict that is kicking it off the network? 
  6. Do you have a packaged internet deal like Comcast?
  7. What model router do you have?
  8. Does ePrint work when it is connected?

 

Those are the basic questions I have for you now.  Answer them for me and hopefully I can help you take it to the next level.


Don't forgot to say thanks by giving "Kudos" if I helped solve your problem.

When a solution is found please mark the post that solves your issue.

Every problem has a solution!
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@VisionAiry wrote:

 

I hope I can help you because I know it is frustrating that your printer will not maintain a wireless connection.  I just want to ask some preliminary questions first just so I can have a firm grasp on this.  

  1. What is the main computer you use for troubleshooting all of this (Windows 7 or Windows 8)?  
  2. Is it that the printer is connected but it just shows offline on the computer (print queue area) or does it completely drop signal and you have to use the USB to Wireless installation to set it back up?  
  3. Do you use that method to get it connected or are you using the WPS button on the router or the PIN method?  
  4. Is your wireless light blinking constantly?
  5. Do you think you have an IP conflict that is kicking it off the network? 
  6. Do you have a packaged internet deal like Comcast?
  7. What model router do you have?
  8. Does ePrint work when it is connected?

 

Those are the basic questions I have for you now.  Answer them for me and hopefully I can help you take it to the next level.


Thank you so much for the help, it is greatly appreicated.

 

1. Windows 8

2. The computer webpage shows it connected and all ok, so does the HP Doctor and the printer display itself.  It only pops up with an offline message when I try to print something and it fails.  I have to resort to connecting via usb to get the item printed.

3. I just found out about the WPS button a couple of days ago and that seems to be helping it get back online and has kept it printing for now.

4. Wireless light never blinks when this problem arises.

5. No, since the IP is static and hasn't changed and we can't seem to locate any other conflicts but probably wouldn't know how to find a conflict anyway.

6. Yes, we have internet and phone through our local cable company but not cable.  We've never had a single problem with any other device (we have many) other than the printer though.

7. Belkin N300

8. As far as I know, at least the button is lit up but we rarely use the service.

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Interesting that the printer is connected but the computer is showing offline when you print after all of that.  Does this happen on all the computers too?  I am considering finding a way to set a standard tcp/ip port instead of a discovery port but if this happens on all of the computers then that is not the problem.  After all the work you have done, I assume it is on the right port anyway.


Try this for me first.  Search Devices and Printers on your Windows 8.  Then you should see your printer listed there.  At the top is Print Server Properties.  Select that and tell me what port the Deskjet has been set to by selecting the Ports tab.  You want to see your IP address there but it may say Discovery Port or a number of things.  I would not mess with the ports just yet but if you feel comfortable trying that it is up to you.  I am just trying to avoid troubleshooting just yet because I don't want you to have to repeat any steps you have done or do useless steps until I have all the information I need. Especially if you are already at your wits ends I do not want to upset you or anything since I would be upset too at this point. Before I can go forward here, tell me if this happens on all of your computers and what port the printer is saved to.

 

I really hope I can help!  


Don't forgot to say thanks by giving "Kudos" if I helped solve your problem.

When a solution is found please mark the post that solves your issue.

Every problem has a solution!
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Yes, it does happen on all computers that we have set the printer up on.  Funny thing is that when we first got the two new Windows 8 machines the printer was recongnized on both and printed from both without installing the software and without issue for days but I needed my scanner and the scanner wouldn't work unless I installed the printer software so I downloaded and installed the software from the Hp website and that is when all the problems began again.  Though they were the same problems we had before the 8 machines.

 

As for the port thing, this is what is listed for the printer: Port: CN1BQ441J205PJ  Description: HP network re-discovery port monitor

 

I don't know anything about ports so I don't feel comfortable messing with that, so I won't change anything there. But I do thank you for your help and the time you are taking with my problem.  It is greatly appreicated. 🙂

 

 

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I am happy to help because it really does concern me how it effects all of your computers.  I will be honest about the ports on Windows 8 - I could not recreate it so I won't have you do it and that seems fair.  I am sitting here looking at my Deskjet 3050A blink "Connected" and then "Not Connected."  It is very rare that I can provide support while simultaneously experiencing the same thing.  

 

Bear with me while I recreate all of this here.  It seems like it is my router causing my problem.  It has close to 15 different printers and random laptops jumping onto the network.  I am not sure if it is getting bogged down by network traffic but you have given me all the information about your situation that I need. With no firmware on the website I am going to rule out the drivers for now but that does not mean anything. I am just going to focus on my router for now.


Can you enable web services and ePrint with no problems or do you get a network connection error?  I would repeatedly get the message "The printer must be connected to the network," while the blue wireless light would blink on and off when I pressed the ePrint button.  Yesterday I got it to connect successfully and was able to setup ePrint but today it is back to being offline.  

 

Let me verify what is wrong with mine because I have really high hopes that this can be fixed.  Granted, it is one of the cheapest printers HP makes but I just think I am over-looking something here.  When you set the static IP in the embedded web server (printer's homepage) did you set the preferred DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and the alternate DNS server to  8.8.4.4?  That is what I have set mine too.  I would like to share a picture with you and you let me know if your Network page looks like mine.  Thank you for your patience.  


Don't forgot to say thanks by giving "Kudos" if I helped solve your problem.

When a solution is found please mark the post that solves your issue.

Every problem has a solution!
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I am happy to help because it really does concern me how it effects all of your computers.  I will be honest about the ports on Windows 8 - I could not recreate it so I won't have you do it and that seems fair.  I am sitting here looking at my Deskjet 3050A blink "Connected" and then "Not Connected."  It is very rare that I can provide support while simultaneously experiencing the same thing.  

 

Bear with me while I recreate all of this here.  It seems like it is my router causing my problem.  It has close to 15 different printers and random laptops jumping onto the network.  I am not sure if it is getting bogged down by network traffic but you have given me all the information about your situation that I need. With no firmware on the website I am going to rule out the drivers for now but that does not mean anything. I am just going to focus on my router for now.


Can you enable web services and ePrint with no problems or do you get a network connection error?  I would repeatedly get the message "The printer must be connected to the network," while the blue wireless light would blink on and off when I pressed the ePrint button.  Yesterday I got it to connect successfully and was able to setup ePrint but today it is back to being offline.  

 

Let me verify what is wrong with mine because I have really high hopes that this can be fixed.  Granted, it is one of the cheapest printers HP makes but I just think I am over-looking something here.  When you set the static IP in the embedded web server (printer's homepage) did you set the preferred DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and the alternate DNS server to  8.8.4.4?  That is what I have set mine too.  I would like to share a picture with you and you let me know if your Network page looks like mine.  Thank you for your patience.  


Don't forgot to say thanks by giving "Kudos" if I helped solve your problem.

When a solution is found please mark the post that solves your issue.

Every problem has a solution!
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These settings are the same ones I used for every person that ever called in needing to set a static IP:

 

Deskjet 3050a EWS.PNG


Don't forgot to say thanks by giving "Kudos" if I helped solve your problem.

When a solution is found please mark the post that solves your issue.

Every problem has a solution!
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Can you enable web services and ePrint with no problems or do you get a network connection error? Yes, I can use them with zero problems.  The only time I had a problem was when I let the printer homepage set the static ip itself and when I did  that it killed my e-print completely and the only way I could get it working again was to reset the printer back to default and unistall and reistall the software. I didn't set the static myself but rather let the printer homepage do it: tools >utilities>satic ip. I don't know how to set it manually.  The first time I did it it worked for about a week and then quit working and I had to uninstall and reinstall.  Then next couple of times I let the utility set the static it killed my e-print and this time it held again for about a week  but as I turn the printer on now I see that the static didn't hold this time either since I just had to update the IP.

 

When you set the static IP in the embedded web server (printer's homepage) did you set the preferred DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and the alternate DNS server to  8.8.4.4?

Actually, I didn't set anything the utilities option just set it all itself and I didn't see a page like that at all, that I can recall.  I am a bit afraid to go messing around with a manual set when I don't know what I am doing there.  This is what the page I got when setting the static via the printer homepage said:

 

Use Static IP

Why use a static IP address?

To enable the printer to always use the same IP address, set a static IP address. After setting a static IP address, the embedded Web server (EWS) is always displayed using this IP address, and you can bookmark pages in the EWS using the Web browser's Bookmark or Favorites feature.

Caution: If other people are using the EWS, changing the IP address can disrupt their connection.

Click the button below to set a static IP address.

 

Set Static IP Address (button)

 

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I know the reluctance you must be feeling.  I was certain I would have to take control of everyone's computer when I did this over the phone.  After a few times of guiding people on how to do it, I realized it is quite simple and, despite the warnings, the only thing you could mess up (if you look at my screenshot) is you accidentally set a different IP address for the printer and that can be easily changed back.

 

When you say you used the printer's utility, you found a place in the homepage of the printer that sets the static IP for you?  Then do not be afraid to navigate to the page I shared above simply to double-check that network tab with the network address (IP) displayed in it represents similarities to mine.  I noticed instead you can also print a network configuration page to confirm those same seeings. For example, make sure everything on paper is the same as it is on the webpage I shared.  

 

To print a network configuration page, from the front of the printer, press the Wireless button and option #3 is Print Reports.  The second button will print "Configuration" if you press it.  You are not required to do anything you are afraid to do, this just allows you to compare and that is all I ask.  I will be totally honest here, it took me 4 attempts to get my Deskjet 3050a to print that page while maintaining a connection. The pages kept printing off "Disconnected" and was getting frustrating. Let me know if that happens to you too.  I really hope there is something wrong with my router and not my printer or we're both in for the long run.  Just know I am going through the same thing you are and I do not know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

 

Your link you included seems to be from your printer's EWS (192.168.2.8) and I would have to be on your network to see that page.  So when you print that network configuration page, look halfway down the page and confirm your IPv4 settings are close to mine.  A common default gateway is 192.168.1.1 and since your printer's IP address seems to be 192.168.2.8 just make sure your default gateway is 192.168.2.1 (I believe that is what it should be but I rarely see the 2 in the third space and that is why I ask you to compare).  

 

If at any time I get too ahead of you or my directions lose you please let me know. I will do my best to keep this as simple as possible and refrain from repeating steps.  Sometimes when I get into week 2 or more of troubleshooting I may suggest something accidentally that you have already done so bear with me.  I will continue to recreate every step I do to fix my printer before I suggest it to you.


Don't forgot to say thanks by giving "Kudos" if I helped solve your problem.

When a solution is found please mark the post that solves your issue.

Every problem has a solution!
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