Printer will not connect to website

[Munchkin10]

I enrolled in Instant Ink.  NEVER AGAIN!  My printer will not connect to the HP SMart Portal for whatever reason, and now will not allow me to print anything.  Sure, my printer is probably almost 10 years old now.  But the wifi works, it is connected to my laptop.  I did all the troubleshooting steps.  My family has taken great care of this printer.  It was working perfectly until I started getting these printer errors.  The status is stuck in "contacting Printer" or "unable to connect to printer."  It's this website that is not allowing to print.  Pricewise, Instant Ink is a good deal.  But not if it's going to cause printer problems.  

[Pallipurath · Accepted solution]

Hi @Munchkin10 

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

Thank you for posting your query.

I understand that you are facing issues connecting with the printer. As you have been long‑time HP users have run into similar problems after enrolling in Instant Ink. What’s happening is that the printer firmware and HP Smart portal are tightly linked: if the printer can’t “phone home” to HP’s servers, it may block printing altogether, even though the hardware and Wi‑Fi are fine. I would request you to please follow the steps:

Refresh Web Services

• On the printer, press Wireless + Information together to print a Web Services page.
• Enter the printer’s IP address in a browser to open the Embedded Web Server (EWS).
• Go to Web Services → Remove Web Services.
• Restart the printer, then re‑enable Web Services.
• This forces a fresh handshake with HP’s servers.

Firmware Update

• Visit the HP Support site. https://support.hp.com/in-en/drivers 
• Search for your printer model and download the latest firmware update.
• Connect via USB if Wi‑Fi update fails.
• Updated firmware sometimes resolves “contacting printer” errors.

Re‑add Printer in HP Smart

• Open the HP Smart app.
• Remove the printer from the app.
• Add it back manually using Wi‑Fi or USB.
• This clears cached connection errors.

Last Resort: Factory Reset

• Hold down Wireless + Cancel for 5 seconds.
• The printer will reset to defaults.
• Reconnect to Wi‑Fi and re‑add it in HP Smart.
• If you don’t want Instant Ink anymore, skip re‑enrollment and use standard cartridges.

Hope this helps, Please revert if the issue persists.

Take care and have an amazing day!