Trouble connecting printer to wifi

[Jonasleyre]

I tried when I got the printer to connect to my wifi, but I can't manage it. Today I tried again. Have read all questions and answers on this site, but nothing helps. When I use the USB-cable it's not a problem. But the printer can't seem to ind any of my wifi's, 2,4 GHz or 5 GHz. What to do?

Jonas

[John_Getzke]

There are two potential issues you would need to clarify for us:

1. The printer can not see the SSID

2. The printer can see the SSID but you receive some kind of error when attempting to connect

I suspect you are describing problem #1 where the printer cannot see the SSID (Network Name) from your home router.  In many cases a home router will "stack" both the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz networks into a single SSID.  This breaks some wireless clients that can only handle 2.4 GHz connections.  The work around is to "Split" your SSID into two SSIDs, one for 2.4 GHz and one for 5.0 GHz.  Once the networks are split apart, the printer should be able to see and connect to the 2.4 GHz option.

Please clarify what the error message is if you are seeing problem #2 for more tips and suggestions.

[Jonasleyre]

Number 1 is correct. The printer can’t see the SSID. Both the computer and my mobilephone finds both 2,4 and 5 GHz. And the router is pretty close by as well. The SSID is different for 2,4 and 5 GHz.

On the computer and mobilephone lots of SSID (neighbours) appears. But none at the printer. I try to put wifi «on» at the system, but it turns back at «off» immediately. Is that how it is supposed to be?

[John_Getzke]

Thanks for the confirmation.  Sounds like the problem is isolated to the printer settings.

One way to tackle WiFi connections is to go through the Embedded Web Server instead of the printers control panel.  From the EWS you can enable and configure WiFi with more control and comfort than the printer control panel.  The tricky part is getting to the EWS is your printer does not have an Ethernet Cable port or an app that can access the EWS over USB.

A clue is that the WiFi feature turns off immediately after turning it on.  Walk us through the steps you are using to enable WiFi on the printer.  HP printers support two WiFi features, normal WiFi and WiFi Direct.  Normal WiFi is used to connect your printer to an existing home network.  WiFi Direct turns your printer into a hotspot and broadcasts its own SSID.  This feature is used for direct connections between a PC/mobile device and the printer.  It sounds like you want a normal WiFi connection and want to leave the WiFi Direct feature disabled.  Only one can be used at a time as your printer only has one WiFi network card.

Please confirm your printer model.  HP has guides for all models on the WiFi connection process that can help us better share the necessary steps.

[Jonasleyre]

Thank you, noe We’ve cole a couple of steps further. I turner og WiFi direct, and turned on normal WiFi, and IT found my WiFi. It is currently connected to my 5GHz WiFi.

But, while I can print directly from my mobilephone, the computer can’t find the printer when I pull out the USB-cable. I have two computers, and it is the same with both. I’ve done the HP smart-process, and I pull out the USB when it telle me to.

HP ColorLaserJet MFP M181fw

[John_Getzke · Accepted solution]

Glad to hear you are making progress.

The connection on your PC is looking for a USB connection. Now that you migrated over to WiFi you will need to either reisntall the HP software on the PC to refresh the current printer queue or install a new/2nd printer queue for the network connection.  The PC isnt smart enough to automatically migrate from one connection to another.

Before you attempt to reinstall the printer over the network, try to PING the IPv4 Address of the printer from one of the PCs.  This will confirm you are talking to the right device when it is time to reinstall the software.  The IPv4 address can be found by printing off a Configuration or Network Summary report from the Control Panel on the printer.  Your PCs wont be able to talk to the printer unless they know what IPv4 Address to talk to first.

[Jonasleyre]

Thank you, so much! Very quick respons, and perfectly explained to a novice. You’ve masse my day (probably year) 🙂