iMac cannot find printer

[Padrejb]

I have a new iMac running OS 10.15.4

I cannot get the computer to find my printer. I have a new MacBook Pro also running 10.15.4 that found the printer and set it up for print/fax/scan without difficulty. (Also 2 iPads, a windows HP laptop, and an iPhone that print without difficulty.) The iMac will print using the IP address of the printer, but when I try to run HP Smart 3.6 I keep getting the message that there is no printer to be found. I have tried resetting the wireless network, restarting the printer and the computer, all to no  avail.  Any help or counsel would be much appreciated.

[asmita6658]

Hi @Padrejb

Welcome to the HP Support Community. I'd be happy to assist you with the printer connectivity issue. 

Let's try the below steps to see if that helps -

1.) Remove All Barriers: Certain building materials can get in the way of weaker signals like Bluetooth. Metal, bulletproof glass, concrete, and plaster are particularly bad, and marble, plaster and brick aren’t great easy. So if you’re really struggling with interference, your first step should be to move your Bluetooth devices away from these materials. That means no brick walls between you and your devices, and definitely no metal desks!

2.) Change Router Channel: If you have an Apple router and you’re constantly getting interference with your WiFi, try rebooting it. Upon restart, the station will search for a new channel. Specifically, a different channel than the one your Bluetooth devices is using to communicate. If you don’t have an Apple router, you may need to instead go into your router settings and try changing the channel manually. Experiment with different channels to see which one works best.

3.) Move Closer to Your Router: If you often find that you’re getting interference when talking on a wireless headset while on a WiFi call (you’ll know because you’ll hear static), try moving closer to your router. This will give you a more robust WiFi connection, so the Bluetooth frequency can’t overpower it.

4.) Get Away From Microwaves and Fluorescent Lighting: Both emit frequencies of 2.4GHz, and moving away from them will distance you from the source.

I'd like to know the following to isolate the issue further-

1.) Are the printer and Mac connected to the same network?

2.) Is your router dual-band enabled i.e., both 2.4GHz and 5GHz? If yes, make sure the dual band has different SSIDs for 2.4G and 5G networks.

3.) What is the distance between the router and the printer?

4.) Is there an antivirus software installed on your Mac?

5.) Could you perform a ping test using the Mac Network Utility and let me know the results? Use the printer IP address to perform a ping test, the printer IP can be located by selecting the wireless icon on the printer display.

The wireless status menu on your Mac should also give us quite a lot of information that would help us identify the issue. You can press and hold option-click the WiFi icon and then use shift-command-5 to take the screenshot. Press the space bar when the icon turns into a camera. Share the ping test results and the screenshot with us.

Also, check with your Internet service provider if your router is able to forward 'Bonjour packets'.  Bonjour locates devices such as printers, other computers, and the services that those devices offer on a local network using multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) service records. The software comes built-in with Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems. 

Try rebooting the devices - 

1) Turn off the Router, Printer, and the Mac.

2) Wait for 60 seconds.

3) Turn on the Router first and wait for all the lights to stabilize.

4) Turn on the printer and allow it to configure itself.

5) Turn on the Mac. 

Update the Mac using these steps - How to update the software on your Mac

Also, try updating the printer's firmware - HP Printers - Updating or Upgrading Printer Firmware 

Try adding the printer us AirPrint - 

1.) Click the Apple menu, click System Preferences, and then click Print & Scan or Printers & Scanners.  

2.) Check if your printer name displays in the Printers list, If your printer is listed, click the printer name, click the minus sign to delete the printer.  

3.) If you see multiple printer queues for the same printer, remove all extra printers by selecting them one at a time, and then clicking the minus button at the bottom of the list.  

4.) Click the plus sign click Add Printer or Scanner, click the printer name.  

NOTE: Make sure that the printer Kind is Bonjour or Bonjour Multifunction, or USB. 

5.) Click the Use or Print Using menu, select AirPrint in the pop-up menu. Then click Add. Select AirPrint from the Use menu 

6.) Try to print.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Have a great day! 

[Padrejb]

I continue to be baffled.  The Mac and printer are side by side.  The router is about 15 feet away. There are no barriers, mo fluorescents, etc.  The printer and Mac are on the same WiFi network. (MacBook Pro, HP Laptop, iPad and iPhone also on this network and they all recognize the printer and work beautifully) McAfee Total Protection on all devices.  Ping works (10 packets sent, 10 received when I ping the IP address of the printer.  I have restarted everything in the recommended order.  No change -- the printer does not appear (except by my putting in the IP address) in the Mac's list of printers when I click the + sign, nor does eitherHP Smart or HP Easy Start find the printer.

[ShlomiL]

Hi,

have you tried to disable McAfee Total Protection on your Mac, to make sure it does not block the communications by any chance?

You may follow the below document from Mcafee, the steps should be similar but may vary for different versions:

How to enable and disable the McAfee Firewall

Also, from your printer select Setup > Self Diagnostics > Run Wireless Test.

Could you please attach a picture of the printed report?

It seems as something preventing Bonjour communication on your Mac, this can be network related (even if only affect some of the devices, or to the Mac environment itself.

Shlomi