• ×
    Information
    Windows update impacting certain printer icons and names. Microsoft is working on a solution.
    Click here to learn more
    Information
    Need Windows 11 help?
    Check documents on compatibility, FAQs, upgrade information and available fixes.
    Windows 11 Support Center.
  • post a message
  • ×
    Information
    Windows update impacting certain printer icons and names. Microsoft is working on a solution.
    Click here to learn more
    Information
    Need Windows 11 help?
    Check documents on compatibility, FAQs, upgrade information and available fixes.
    Windows 11 Support Center.
  • post a message
Guidelines
Experiencing 'Printer Blocked' or 'Printer Error' message? Click here for more information.
Check some of the most frequent questions about Instant Ink: HP INSTANT INK, HP+ PLANS: INK AND TONER.


Check out our Black or Color Ink Not Printing, Other Print Quality Issues info about: Print quality and Cartridge Issues.
HP Recommended
MFP M476dw
macOS 10.13 High Sierra

How frustrating to have to switch the printer off and on again every time I want to print.

I'0ve installed the smart app and it can find the printer but shows it as offline - event when it is online....

 

Screen Shot 2020-07-08 at 11.53.08.png

 

Screen Shot 2020-07-08 at 11.55.51.png

 

Any help would be most appreciated....

Steve

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
HP Recommended

I tried using the IP method to manual - and I'm not sure if I was doing this correctly - but the ip options were all three digits... my ip was 10 100 139 165 so the only option I had was to leave the first number as 010

 

That just threw an error and the printer couldn't connect.

 

I have limited options for the power saving - the longest I can have the printer stay awake is 1 hour.... so that didn't really help - I don't print a huge amount so it could easily be three or four hours before prints so I was back to the on/off/on option again!

 

But then - having run all the reinstall from the HP app the other day, I decided to uninstall the printer and then install it again.... and to my surprise, the printer has been a couple of days happily printing whenever I ask it to!

 

I honestly don't know what fixed the issue... but if this process of using the HP East Start to install the printer and then uninstalling and reinstalling helps anyone else that that will be a small victory.

 

I've been around computers and their peripherals for years and they still evade comprehension.

 

I appreciate everyone's help and advice with this - the important thing is my issue seems to have been resolved (for now!!)

View solution in original post

5 REPLIES 5
HP Recommended

The error message is indicating that the software installation is not complete.  So that issue needs to be resolved first.

 

 Did you install the drivers from the CD that came with this printer, or did you download and use HP Easy Start from the HP Support page?  If you used drivers on the CD, you may need to un-install the printer on your Mac and reinstall it using HP Easy Start downloaded from the Support page  (the CD was built in 2014, the download is dated May 2020).   

 

Next, according to the Manual specs and the Getting Starting flyer, on the Mac both the driver and a Utility Setup Assistant should have been installed; so was the Assistant installed?  Is the screen image you posted showing the error message from the newest (downloaded) Easy Start or the Assistant?  If especially the Assistant is not there, you may need to bypass Easy Start/Assistant altogether by removing the printer and re-adding it to your Mac by using the System Preferences/Printers & Scanners dialog:  The + sign bottom-left will prompt the Mac to locate the printer on the network and install the software (this method is also described in the Getting Started sheet).    The point here is to be confident that you have a properly installed driver and that the error message shown can be disregarded (possibly because the Assistant is missing even though the driver is OK, or you installed an old version).

 

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-color-laserjet-pro-mfp-m476-series/5245583/model...

 

After confirming the installation is working properly,  open the Assistant if you have that or the EWS (Embedded Web Server) by entering the printer IP address in a browser window (it may be called automatically in the Mac printer panel under Options).  Look for Auto-off, and make sure it is configured to the maximum time or, better yet, disabled.  In the EWS, this may be included with the Eco-Mode settings; again, see if there is an option to disable this altogether.   (This is all covered in chapter 8 in the manual.)   HP printers equipped with these power-saving features sometimes result in the network link being dropped.  I can give you suggestions for for how to resolve that, but first verify/try the above and report back before we go any further.  Also, more info on your network, how you are connecting, etc. will be needed.

HP Recommended

Hi - I've gone through the steps and things seem to be working fine - of course, I will have a wait a while until the printer goes to sleep to test again, but evrytrhing appears to be correct.

 

The only issue I did have is that the Auto Off has a maximum time delay of 1 hour... there is no option to disable, although there is a second option which is the shut down and that is set to off....

 

Previously the issue has been that the machine would go to sleep and could not be awoken with a new document being sent to print - and whilst it could be awoken by hitting the power button, the driver could not then connect - event pausing and restarting the print job did nothing - the only option was to manually shut down and then restart - the driver would then find the printer and documents in the queue would be printed - thankfully I can reach the printer from my desk!

 

I will know tomorrow if the issue is resolved and will report back - thank you for your prompt and very complete response.

HP Recommended

Take a look at the forum question from a day or two ago re "disable autoshutdown m255dw" and scroll down the thread to the end.  What I discovered is that on my printer (and apparently a helluva lot of others), when the printer goes to sleep (for power saving), the network connection goes to sleep as well.

 

HP's answer to this is one of the following:  (1) check there is sufficient power (when it sleeps, it drops to only 1 watt) by plugging into an AC outlet directly rather than a surge protector, etc. etc.  Personally I find this ludicrous, but it is theoretically possible.  And HP's (2) answer is power saving cannot be disabled at all; it's required by a govt eco standard.

 

My solution in that thread (using a static IP, changing the printer's IP method to Manual rather than DHCP) ensures that the connection remains active at all times.  On my network, that alone prevent the connection from going to sleep and solves the restart problem.  On yours, you may need to also be sure the "Delay" switch is on.  I have also found that the printer does not have to re-initialize as it does when it is woken up (taking minutes), because it never is fully asleep and doesn't require communicating with the DHCP server.

 

Good luck.

HP Recommended

I tried using the IP method to manual - and I'm not sure if I was doing this correctly - but the ip options were all three digits... my ip was 10 100 139 165 so the only option I had was to leave the first number as 010

 

That just threw an error and the printer couldn't connect.

 

I have limited options for the power saving - the longest I can have the printer stay awake is 1 hour.... so that didn't really help - I don't print a huge amount so it could easily be three or four hours before prints so I was back to the on/off/on option again!

 

But then - having run all the reinstall from the HP app the other day, I decided to uninstall the printer and then install it again.... and to my surprise, the printer has been a couple of days happily printing whenever I ask it to!

 

I honestly don't know what fixed the issue... but if this process of using the HP East Start to install the printer and then uninstalling and reinstalling helps anyone else that that will be a small victory.

 

I've been around computers and their peripherals for years and they still evade comprehension.

 

I appreciate everyone's help and advice with this - the important thing is my issue seems to have been resolved (for now!!)

HP Recommended

Congrats,  all seems good now.   I assume you set the printer IP address to "Manual" using the the EWS browser page as shown below.  The IP address you input (and yes, a leading zero was correct) looks like one automatically retrieved by the printer from your router (aka gateway) and shown on the printer panel.  That address is unusual for how DHCP address ranges are configured, but as long as it works, you're good.  However just fyi . . .

 

Screenshot_20200711_112615.png

. . . sometimes the address also needs to be configured as a "static" (aka "reserved") address in the router.  Your setup via EWS has the printer now asking for that same address from the router each time it initiates a new connection.  However, if that address was "leased" (i.e., it expires at some interval set in the router) by the router's DHCP server from its pool of addresses (DHCP manages the addresses of the devices on your network), it is possible that the address you used could get assigned to another device.   This is unlikely if you only have a few devices and most are always connected and the address range is larger than the number of devices that connect, but can easily happen with a larger number of devices which are also getting "leased" addresses from DHCP.  So, if the latter is true of your network, or you find that the printer network connection once again goes to sleep when the printer does, check your router manual for how to set up the printer address as static (or reserved).  That will unequivocally keep both router and printer pegged to the address you configure.  Don't mess with this now but keep this note; if the printer (connection) starts going to sleep again, this will probably be your solution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

† The opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the authors, not of HP. By using this site, you accept the <a href="https://www8.hp.com/us/en/terms-of-use.html" class="udrlinesmall">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="/t5/custom/page/page-id/hp.rulespage" class="udrlinesmall"> Rules of Participation</a>.