M201dw web interface won't finish loading, appears broken

[vstujber]

The web interface for this printer won't load properly - in Firefox it takes several minutes for the base html text to show up, and much longer for the js, css and gif files to download, and even then, the page will keep loading forever. The web interface is unusable, and I have to resort to configuring the printer using the front panel.

I have tried viewing it in Firefox, IE9 and IE11. I have also done a remote firmware update to the latest available version.

[Dvortex]

Hello, @vstujber – Hope you are well 🙂
 

Thanks for your continued participation on the HP Forums! I’d like to help!

I understand that you are having trouble getting the printer EWS page to load. I’d suggest you perform a network power drain to try and fix the issue. Here are the steps:
 

1. Turn off all the devices connected on your network including the PC, Smartphones, printer, modem (if present) and router. Make sure all the devices in the network are turned off / unplugged.
2. Wait for 2-3 minutes.
3. Now turn on the modem if present. Wait till all the lights are steady and idle.
4. Then turn on the router. Again, wait for a couple of minutes so that the lights are all steady.
5. Then turn on the printer and other devices.

Now, check for the printer IP address. Ideally, it should be changed by now. Try accessing the EWS page and check.
 

Thanks, I will watch for your reply!

Good luck 🙂

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[vstujber]

As this is the company's main office, turning off all PCs, servers and network equipment is not an option. The printer is turned off every day. Why do you think that giving it a new ip address will change anything?

[Dvortex]

Hello, @vstujber

I have seen changing the IP address and performing a network power drain fixing similar issues. 

Since you cannot perform this steps let's try few other things first. First on the list is to update the firmware version. I see you have updated the remote firmware, but make sure it is correctly updated from here: http://hp.care/2qDg8gF Restart the printer once done.

Now, run a network diagnostic test as suggested below:

1. On the product control panel, press the OK button.

2. Open the Self Diagnostics menu.

3. Select Run Wireless Test to start the test. The product prints a test page that shows test results.

If the test passes, try to re-configure the wireless on your printer and then try accessing the EWS again.

Let me know if that helps! 

Cheers 🙂

Please click "Accepted Solution" on the post that solves your issue to help others find the solution. To show appreciation for my help, please click the "Thumbs Up Icon" below!

[vstujber]

Yes that is the firmware I installed. I will make it print a test page next week to make sure the new firmware is actually there (the networked updater just showed a smiley image), and I will run that test. I will also try temporarily changing the ip address. By the way, what is the Wireless test about? We do not use any wireless functions it might have; it's connected via network cable.

[Dvortex]

Hello, @vstujber

My bad, I thought it was connected via wireless 🙂

Try the other steps and let me know the result. I'll watch for your reply!

Please click "Accepted Solution" on the post that solves your issue to help others find the solution. To show appreciation for my help, please click the "Thumbs Up Icon" below!

[vstujber]

So far I have still been unsuccessful at getting the web interface to load properly.

I have updated the firmware to latest version and verified that it's installed by printing a status page.

I have run the wireless diagnostic test and it printed a result page. Nothing useful, wireless is turned off.

I have changed the ip address of the printer. Did not help.

I have clicked through all possible menus in the front panel. Did not find anything wrong.

[Dvortex]

Hello, @vstujber

Thanks for the update!

As a last resort, let's try to completely reset the printer. I am sending you a private message with the steps. Please check the mailbox icon at the top right corner of your screen to access your inbox.

Let me know if that helps!

Cheers 🙂

Please click "Accepted Solution" on the post that solves your issue to help others find the solution. To show appreciation for my help, please click the "Thumbs Up Icon" below!

[vstujber]

I have reset the printer by holding > and X while powering on. It did not resolve the problem.

I happened to have a notebook, a switch and some new cables at hand, so I tried connecting to the printer using that isolated network - and the web interface loaded immediately.

I will try replacing the cable and/or move the printer to another room to see if it's a cable issue. At the office, some of the short cables connecting pcs to wall sockets are faulty, so it's possible this one is bad too. The others fail 1gbit but have no trouble negotiating 100mbit. Maybe the network card in the printer is not as sophisticated. Printing using port 9100 works fine, though, maybe it uses a high tolerance UDP protocol.

I will also try and see what happens if I lower the link speed on the switch from 100mbit to 10mbit.

If this fails, maybe something on the network is interfering or confusing the printer. I will do the testing in august.

[vstujber · Accepted solution]

I have finally had a chance to experiment some more.

Replacing the short cable to the wall socket did not help, so the damage is either in the connectors or in the main cable.

Changing the link speed on the central managed switch to 10MBit fullduplex did work! Now there is no communication loss and I can access the web interface properly.

So in summary, the reason was a bad cable, causing packet loss. The printer's webserver seems to not know what TCP Retransmission is, bringing attention to the problem. Forcing the link speed down to 10MBit worked. The web UI does not have an Ethernet section to set this, but I was fortunately able to set this on the switch it's connected to.