Can't Turn Off SSID Broadcast - Color LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw

[Ashton1]

Hi all,

I've just purchased the Color LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw and set everything up just fine but it's broadcasting a "setup" SSID and I can't find a way to turn it off. SSID being broadcast is "HP-Setup>af-M2777 LaserJet". I'm unable to connect to it from any device. My phone, iPad and laptop all just sit there attempting to connect until I cancel it.

I've seen plenty of other people reporting the same fault here in the forums but none of their fixes are working for me.

First, here's what I've done to save some time here:

1. Confirmed the SSID is definitely coming from the printer by turning it off, watching the SSID disappear from the available networks list, then turn it back on and watching it reappear. Also, the SSID name being the printer model is an obvious giveaway.
2.  Read through all other forum posts I could find and tried the steps suggested which include those below, power cycling after each change and confirming the change was applied successfully in the web interface.
3. Disabled Bonjour
4. Disabled AirPrint
5. Disabled WiFi Direct
6. Disabled eSCL (AirPrint-Scan)
7. Confirmed the printer is connected to my home WiFi
8. Confirmed the printer does printer over said WiFi, both before and after the above troubleshooting
9. Tried a factory reset on the printer and repeated all steps above

Why HP thought it would be a good idea for their printers to broadcast an unsecured network by default I honestly don't know. The fact that I can't turn it off is driving me insane!

[MKazi]

@Ashton1

Welcome to HP Support Forums. 🙂 I came across your post and would like to help.

I understand that you have an HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw printer. I read that it is broadcasting a "setup" SSID. You would like to turn it off. The SSID being broadcast is "HP-Setup>af-M2777 LaserJet". You're unable to connect to it from any device. Your phone, iPad and laptop are all unable to connect. I appreciate the steps you have performed and have certainly done a good job.You've done a remarkable job performing the steps. 

I would like to know the following information to assist you better:

• Are you using Wireless Direct or a wifi network to connect the printer?
• Have you tried to power off the wireless direct and checked?

Meanwhile, I did some research and found that the broadcast might happen if the wireless direct is on. I suggest you to turn off the wireless direct by following the below steps:

Locate the printer's IP address by following the below steps and open the EWS (Embedded Web Server) of the printer on your computer. 

• In the EWS page, click on the Networking tab. Network administrators can use this tab to control network-related settings for the product when it is connected to an IP-based network. It also allows the network administrator to set up Wireless Direct functionality. This tab does not appear if the product is directly connected to a computer. You may turn off Wireless direct.

I sincerely hope this fixes the issue. Keep me posted. Cheers! 🙂

[SamLabrador]

No soution yet. Exact Same issue here.

Went to Web interface. Wifi direct is clearly off. 

But the Printer continues to broadcast:

HP-Setup>d4-M277 Laserjet

It is an unsecured broadcast signal. I am unable to obtain an ip adress through this broadcast signal. While I am not a hacker this seems a pretty basic security problem.

Any other suggestions? Giving you a kudo for trying, though.

[DavidSMP]

Hi @SamLabrador,

I reviewed your response completely. You've done a remarkable job of troubleshooting and have shown great resilience to try and get the issue resolved. Kudos to on that score. 🙂

I will send you a private message to perform an  NVRAM reset and a super NVRAM reset that completely resets the printer to factory defaults. Please keep checking your forum private messages. Then try to connect the printer to the network. It should do the trick for you.Please perform the NVRAM reset first and check again. If that does not work, please perform the super NVRAM reset.

If it does not, please contact HP phone support to get the printer replaced via this link: http://hp.com/contacthp Please select the country and type the product# of the unit. Then follow the on-screen instructions to contact Hp phone support.

Hope this helps. Let me know how this goes. I genuinely hope the issue gets resolved without hassles and the unit works great.

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care now and have a superb week ahead. 🙂

[Ashton1]

Hi, thanks for your help but I already listed the troubleshooting steps I've taken to resolve this issue.

The instructions you've given all relate to step #5; I've already confirmed WiFi Direct is disabled.

I've also since reset the NVRAM, confirmed WiFi Direct is still off and I'm still seeing the SSID in the list.

I've since returned the printer I originally had the issues with as it had print problems when duplexing. I was given another which had the same problems of not being able to turn the SSID off... it was also DOA with scanning problems so it got returned too.

I'm now on my third and final version of this printer and it STILL has the same **bleep** problems. I've been through all the same troubleshooting steps and I cannot turn it off. Why HP would think it's a great idea for every owner of these machines to broadcast an unsecured network I have no idea. **bleep**.

I'm guessing by the fact that there are so many unresolved threads about this, it can't be fixed. If that's the case, I'm done with HP - I won't be trying a fourth one.

[sabretooth04]

Just for grins, reboot your computer to make sure you are not seeing a ghost SSID.

[Ashton1]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately I've inadvertently done this already.

I see it on the phone, ipad, laptop, desktop, watch etc etc and both the desktop and laptop have been restarted several times since I picked up the first of these printers.

[SamLabrador]

This SSID broadcast is a real problem. It is possible to "connect" through the unauthorised SSID to the printer but no IP address is immediately DHCP-ed from (or past) the HP printer to the connected device when the HP printer is connected to a network router distributing IP addresses.

Clearly this requires an HP firmware upgrade to fix. Resetting to factory default just reinitializes the whole process.

We had accidental success.

I wish to stress that resetting the NVram just reinitializes the whole broken process; it is not a solution.

Asigning the printer a fixed IP address and implementing https ended up as a work around for us. But I am not sure why the SSID stopped broadcasting.

We had a tech report the SSID broadcast disappeared after printing via USB while connected to the Wi-Fi network. But either accidental success is not a solution.

It seems additional action from HP is needed beyond turning "off" Wi-Fi direct. WiFi direct appears to have security problems.

In the interim, we've stopped allowing HP printers with Wi-Fi direct on the network.

[DavidSMP]

Hi @SamLabrador,

I reviewed the post comprehensively.  Great effort and excellent troubleshooting to try and resolve the issue. Hats of to you on that score.:)

At this time the best course of action would be to contact Hp phone support via this link: www.hp.com/contacthp/

Please select the country and follow the on-screen instructions. They will be happy to assist you immediately. If the unit is under warranty repair services is taken care of by the manufacturer’s warranty.

Hope this helps. Let me know how this goes. I genuinely hope the issue gets resolved without hassles and the unit works great.

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care now and have a superb week ahead. 🙂

[Ashton1]

Ok, great. So that's 3 from 3 that do this and HP has no solution.

For anyone struggling with the same problem in the future, the solution is simple:

1. Contact HP with the details provided above and they'll give you a DOA letter that authorises you to get your money back

2. Buy something that isn't a HP.