Printing error - "unable to communicate with printer"

[Vinni72]

Hi,

I am unable to print from my computer.  Printing from iphone seems to work. I am able to select the printer, but it always gets stuck in the printing queue.  HP error screen appears "unable to communicate with printer". I have a very recent Lenovo X1 thinkpad with Windows 10.  I have tried to uninstall and reinstall the (right) software driver. Rebooting etc.  I have tried installing print and scan doctor, did not fix the issue.  

Please help, this is taking a lot of time.. 

[Jeet_singh]

Hi @Vinni72,

Thank you for posting on HP Support Forums. It is a great place to find the help you need, from other users, HP experts, and other support personnel. For you to have the best experience on the HP forum, you could also visit our HP Forums Guide for First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.

As I understand you are having printing issues on your HP Envy printer. Don't worry as I have a few steps to help you get through this concern,

Please perform a Hard Reset on the Printer and make sure that the printer is connected directly to the wall outlet.

* With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.

* Remove USB cable, if present.

* Wait for 2-3 minutes, press and hold the power button on your printer for about 30 seconds to remove any additional charge.

* Now plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector or an extension cord and then plug back the power cord to the printer.

* Turn on the printer and wait till warm-up period finishes and the printer is idle.

How is the printer connected (USB/Wired/Wireless)?

Please try the steps listed in the support document: Click here

If the issue persists, I would suggest you uninstall it from the root level and then install the full feature software.

Let's try the steps to uninstall the printer drivers:

1.) In Windows, search for and open Programs and features

2.) Select your HP Printer

3.) Select Uninstall

4.) In Windows, search for and open Devices and printers

5.) In the Devices and Printers windows look for your HP printer. If you see it listed right-click on it and choose 'Delete' or 'Remove Device'

6.) Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo.

7.) Type printui.exe /s and click Ok. (Note: there is a space in between “printui.exe” and “/s”)

8.) Click on the "Drivers" tab

9.) Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it Click on it and click Remove at the bottom

10.) Select Ok

11.) Select Apply and Ok on the Print Server Properties windows

12.) Close Devices and Printers

Next step would be to Restart the PC.

Now go ahead and install the full feature software from the support website, Click here: http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software13/COL61220/mp-147799-1/EN4520_72.exe

Please respond to this post with the result of your troubleshooting. I look forward to hearing from you. 

If you wish to help others looking for the same solution as you've found, mark the post as Accepted Solution.

If you wish to show appreciation for my effort, please click the Thumbs up icon at the bottom of my comment.

And I Hope you have a good day, Ahead.

Regards,

[Vinni72]

Dear Biswajeet,

thank you for your quick response.  i have tried all that, but the issue persists.  I am trying to connect wireless.

It shows up in the printing queue (and quickly shows "error") but I have no issue deleting the task from the printing queue.  When i look in devices and printers I can see the printer has been added but it seems to be in much lower 'contrast' than the other devices, as if it is not really 'active'.

When the printing fails I alwyas get the following error:

Probably unrelated but at the end of the installation process (activitation?) I am always immediately directed to sign up for instant ink but for some reason i have to fill out a UK address (I am on EU continent) so I am unable to.  I never see a 'installation complete' message or anything.

[Jeet_singh]

Hi @Vinni72,

Thanks for the update, I appreciate the time taken to troubleshoot. As I understand you are getting an error message on the printer. Don't worry as I have a few other steps to help you get through this concern,

Since the printer is not connecting to the network, I would suggest you follow the steps listed in the support document which should help to connect to the network: Here is the link.

Keep me posted,

If the information I've provided was helpful,

give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons,

that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.

[JPrentice]

Will this approach work with the OJ Pro x576dw MFP also?

[Troy64]

I've recently had the same problem with the HP envy 7640 all-in-one printer and finally fixed it. Head right to step 1 if you want. But I'll give a brief description of my problems in case anyone has had similar problems. I just kept uninstalling and reinstalling until I got it fixed with zero help from any hp sites. Nobody seemed to know what was really causing this.

The steps are similar to the other reply.. It turns out there was 3 copies of the software that somehow were causing the confusion with the printer. Hp updates and Hp print doctor somehow had installed 3 full versions of the software that seemed to all be trying communicate at the same time. When I tried to scan from the hp software, it would give me the "cannot communicate" nonsense. I would uninstall drivers and remove the printer and even used the "extended scan" software. It would work once, but as soon as I turned off my pc and tried anything the next day... no scan, just "cannot communicate" again.

Even the dialogue box on the printer itself would say the same thing. After several attempts over many weeks, I was able to get the dialogue on the printer to display properly, even though it wouldn't scan. BUT this time, there were three complete, duplicate versions of the connection choices. USB/ ETHERNET/ SCAN TO PDF... ETC... Each set was complete, but there were 3 versions. At that point I was able to follow the following steps and remove the software, do a semi-full reset, and reinstall.

Not only did the align cartridge dialogue keep coming up when I turned on the printer, but when I attempted a scan, the printer sounded horrible. Like it was grinding and struggling to scan. I'm guessing that all 3 instances of the software were fighting to perform the same tasks, but I could only control one of them. Sounds strange. But even the scan function sounded smooth and much quieter after following these steps and eliminating the multiple copies. If I hadn't gotten the printer to a state where all 3 copies were visible on the printer dialogue screen, I wouldn't have figured it out and tried the following. I was literally so frustrated I was about to give up and buy a new printer the very next day. I really hope this helps some of you guys.

These steps are for my model and hope they help others. 

Step 1:

Start by unplugging all cables and power cords. Wait about 30 seconds and reattach all the cords.

THEN...

Do a semi-full reset on your printer.  DO NOT do a full reset. On your printers screen push the back button 4 times or 5 times to get to the support menu. The back button is hidden until you change screens so FIRST, hit the copy button once to make it visible. You will push the Back Button once and it will disappear again, but it's still functional and if you hit the same spot 4 or 5 times the support menu will appear.

Step 2: Now in case I'm forgetting anything look up how to do a semi-full reset, but as I remember it....

From support screen, scroll to RESETS MENU and click ok button

Step 3:

Scroll past language and past partial reset to the SEMI-FULL RESET and click ok.

Step 4:

Wait... Do not do anything else, and the screen will go blank for a little while. At some point it will shut off if I remember and you will have to turn it back on but give some time before turning it back on.

Step 5:
Follow setup for language and time etc...

*AT SOME POINT* In the setup process it will ask you to create a username/password for hp account again or use existing one... SKIP THIS STEP FOR NOW. Because if you have multiple copies of the software you will get stuck in and endless loop like I did.

STEP 6:

GO TO CONTROL PANEL ON PC, and under devices/printers find and remove all instances of your model printer... if there is multiple/separate for fax or any copies for it, click REMOVE DEVICE for all of them.

Step 7:

Right click on start menu on pc and goto APPS AND FEATURES. Scroll down to hp printer basic software.. Uninstall this. I can't remember if I also uninstalled drivers somewhere at this point. I feel like I did but don't remember 100% if I did that separately or not.

Step 8:

Turn off your printer. Unplug all cables, AGAIN. Remove your Ethernet and USB cables from the printer... AND *MAKE SURE TO REMOVE THE USB FROM PC* AS WELL. This step is actually important. I don't understand it exactly but it frees the port from the printer completely and is necessary.

Step 9:

Go to hp website for the correct software AND DO NOT USE THE ORIGINAL DISC that came with your printer to do this. If there is a "FULL FEATURE" version of your software and drivers... download that one.

Step 10:

Reconnect all cables and turn your printer back on. REINSTALL the newly downloaded software. It should work properly if you had the same issue I did that caused this.

OF COURSE.. you will have to go through the original Hp setup and account signup... 

This was another unbelielvable nightmare for me though when I first started... The verification "I'm not a robot" nonsense kept looping and looping on me because of my multiple software being on the pc. I actually at one point went through about 50 different pictures of "pick the photos with cars" or "fire hydrants" and it would never end.

After cleaning up the multiple versions of the software... 1 attempt and it worked. I was about to go insane with that one.

GOOD LUCK!