My HP LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw WON'T print from my MacBook Air 99% of the time

[CamediaDoc]

I bought my printer (HP LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw) in Nov. 2017 but it's been very spotty in printing from my MacBook Air (and my Daughter's MacBook Air) wirelessly from the first day. 

I've been banging my head against the wall for the past 14 months because I literally spend 20-30 minutes minimum EACH and EVERY time I try to print something and then I give up in frustration and go to my old (but still reliable) printer.  I don't have that kind of time to waste on trying to print every time.  And, I'm not aware of any "HP Doctor" type of software for a Mac that I can use to resolve this issue.  So here's what happens in my experience.....

When I hit print from Word, Adobe Acrobat Reader, etc., I see a "warning" number on the printer in the dock at the bottom of my MacBook Air so I open up the printer's queue and I see a message that the computer is "looking for printer" and sometimes it finds the printer and sometimes it doesn't find the printer.  Some of the time, the status changes to "connected to printer" and it looks like it might print but usually nothing happens.  Other times, it CAN'T even connect to printer.  When it finally connects to the printer (on those rare occasions) and the status changes to "printing", it takes a very very long time IF it actually prints but usually NOTHING happens and it's like the printer and my computer timed out of their connection.  So I try again and again and again.  You get the point.  This is how I spend so much of my time and energy each and every single time to TRY to print stuff for work and school before getting frustrated and giving up.

I've also tried to connect the USB cord to the laptop but that does NOTHING whatsoever!!!  It's like the printer doesn't even exist and my MacBook Air doesn't even know it's there when I connect it via the USB.  This is in stark contrast to my old HP LaserJet 100 Color MFP 175nw which connects to my MacBook Air via USB in case if the wireless printing does not work.

I've deleted and reinstalled the printer from my MacBook Air numerous times.  I've disconnected and reconnected the printer from my WiFi network multiple times (I have to let you know that I have the "3-router" Orbi system at home whereby the Main Router is in a different room and 1 of the 2 Orbi satellites is in the same room as the printer in case if this is the cause of my problems, which I doubt given my detailed explanation with inability to print via USB, etc. above).  I've turned my MacBook Air laptop on and off several times but to no avail. 

I am so frustrated right now that I just want to trash this printer and get a new Non-HP Laser Printer!  I shouldn't have to feel like that when I paid close to $200 for a B&W laser printer.  This experience makes me feel like I never want to buy an HP printer again.

I would really appreciate help from an HP expert to resolve my issues.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Camediadoc

[John_Getzke]

Lets focus on connecting directly to the printer via USB  as that is the easiest connection scenario to troubleshoot.  Whatever we figure out on USB may help us with your network connection issues.

Many printers go to sleep by default after a certain period of time.  The M227 does have a Wake on USB feature but does not have a Wake on LAN feature.  

See the Power area of the product specifications:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c05266409

That means that when your printer is network connected you will need to walk over to the printer and press the power button to wake it up when it is in sleep mode if you want to print over the network (wired Ethernet or WiFi).  However, the printer should always wake up over USB.  Printers will take a few minutes (5-10) to wake up from sleep and become available for printing.  Any print jobs sent before the printer is fullly awake may prolong the process to recieve and print a print job.

When you install the printer do you see any error messages from the installation wizard?  There might be a big clue in that area if there are any difficulties.  After that the computer should have the proper drivers to print and perform the basic tasks.  Network connections can fluctuate as the printer pulls a different IP Address and the software on your Mac is not configured to search for the new IP.

What are you doing right now to get the printer to work?  If the only thing that works is reinstalling the printer then the problem may be driver or HP software related on the MAC.  What you are doing to get the printer to print the remaining 1% of the time is not clearly detailed in your post.

[CamediaDoc]

Hello John,

Thank you for your reply and assistance.  You are right about the sleep feature.  I've noticed that and as such, I usually wake the printer up by either touching the LCD panel or pressing the power button lightly / momentarily.  If I press the power button too hard or for more than a moment, then the printer turns off so then I have to turn it back on and wait for it to be ready to print.  

The other thing I do that has worked successfully on the remaining 1% of the time is to "pause the printer" on the printer queue window and then "resume the printer" after 1-2 seconds and that has gotten the printer to print that 1% of the time.  But this is not a consistent solution.  It's very sporadic when it works.

I've never had any error messages during or after installation of the printer.  Re-installation hasn't been the solution to my problem yet (even though I've tried multiple times).  In fact, the only error message I've received is the one that states "could not connect to printer" in those instances when the computer could not connect to the printer.  When it did connect to the printer but didn't print, there have never been any error messages.

As for the USB connection, whenever I've connected either my or my daughter's MacBook Air via the USB cord, nothing has happened to the printer - meaning, it stays asleep and does not automatically wake up.  Also, on my old HP 100 that I previously mentioned in my original post, there was a separate printer option listed for the USB connection than for the WiFi option so if for some reason the old HP 100 did not work via WiFi then we would choose the "other" printer listed and connect the USB cord and print that way.  However, this newer HP 227 does not have a 2nd printer listed for USB so I can't choose it that way.  I have to choose the only listing for it regardless of whether I want to print via USB or over the network.

Anything else you can suggest I try, I'd be willing to try.  Thank you for your time and assistance.