Constant reboot of printer

[Jay_Dallas]

Can anyone provide information why I constantly have to either reboot my printer, or reboot my laptop and printer in order to print a document? The printer is connected wirelessly to the wi-fi network. Every time I go to print a document, I receive an error message "Printer cannot be found." I open the dialog box and the printer status is "Offline." Sometime I can reboot just the printer and it will finally connect with my laptop and print. Sometimes I have to reboot both my laptop and the printer before it will print a document. Now I can't even print after rebooting both. I have no access to the wireless router so rebooting that is not an option. Any suggestions?

[TEJ1602]

@Jay_Dallas, Welcome to HP Support Community!

I see that you're experiencing printer offline issues. 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.  

Keep me posted. 

Please click “Accepted 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!

[Jay_Dallas]

Hi. So sorry for my delayed response. I will try and address your questions as best as possible:

1. I only use Bluetooth when I am on the phone. Otherwise, the AirPods stay in their case. Sometimes I listen to music/radio through a speaker so I guess I can stop using that and just listen through the speakers on my MacBook.

2. I have no idea what the router channel is. The router is located in the bedroom of the person who owns the house, and we (me and the other roommates) have no access to it. If we have an issue, we let him know and he will accommodate when he gets a chance.

3. Not really possible. The only way to move closer to the router is to physically move to a common-use room in the house. Since a lot of my communication is confidential in nature, I cannot risk being in a space where others can hear what I am discussing with a client.

4. There are no microwaves or fluorescent lighting around my immediate location.

1. Yes, the printer and MacBook are connected wirelessly to the same router.

2. Again, I have no idea as the router is located in a room of which I have no access.

3. I'm not exactly sure of the distance. I am in an upstairs bedroom and the router is in a room on the ground floor.

4. I'm not sure if an antivirus program is installed on my MacBook (an embarrassing admission on my part).

5. Below are the ping results:

Ping has started…

PING 192.168.1.130 (192.168.1.130): 56 data bytes

Request timeout for icmp_seq 0

Request timeout for icmp_seq 1

64 bytes from 192.168.1.130: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=2150.699 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.130: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=1171.033 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.130: icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=165.766 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.130: icmp_seq=3 ttl=255 time=100.417 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.130: icmp_seq=5 ttl=255 time=97.748 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.130: icmp_seq=6 ttl=255 time=103.594 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.130: icmp_seq=7 ttl=255 time=46.584 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.130: icmp_seq=8 ttl=255 time=90.214 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.130: icmp_seq=9 ttl=255 time=114.405 ms

--- 192.168.1.130 ping statistics ---

10 packets transmitted, 9 packets received, 10.0% packet loss

round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 46.584/448.940/2150.699/688.327 ms

I'm not sure if the screenshot will come in via this reply, or if you'll be able to determine anything:

 

Again, I have no idea of the specifics of the router, including whether or not it has Bonjour packets. All I know is the router is from Spectrum and supposedly it is brand new.

I know the information I'm providing is somewhat lacking. But due to circumstances beyond my control, it's the best I can provide. Just as a side note, I had to get my Vaio laptop out yesterday so I could email documents to my personal email, bring the email up on my Vaio and try to print the document. And even then, I had to reboot the printer before I was finally able to print. I don't have the time to spend an hour or more trying to get a 1-page document to print. Short of getting a cord to connect between the printer and my computer, I'm not sure what other options I have. I'm appreciative of any other assistance you can provide.

Jay

[TEJ1602]

@Jay_Dallas

Thank you for replying!

This clearly is a communication issue and requires the intervention of your ISP. The only way is to try different channels on the router or even updating its firmware.

Meanwhile, restart the devices and perform the ping test again-

1. Turn the printer off, and then wait 10 seconds.
2. Disconnect the printer power cord from the printer.
3. Turn off the computer or the device you are trying to print from.
4. Connect the printer power cord to the printer, and then turn on the printer.
5. Disconnect the power cord from your wireless router, and then wait 10 seconds.
6. Reconnect the power cord to the router. Wait until Internet service is restored. Internet service is interrupted while the router is off.
7. Turn on the computer.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

Please click “Accepted 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!

[Jay_Dallas]

Unfortunately I have to reemphasize that any activity involving the router is NOT POSSIBLE. It is in a room in which I have no access. The homeowner does not understand why I am the only person here (out of three people) having this issue, and he cannot take time from his schedule to tend to this issue on a daily basis. Unless there is another solution that does NOT involve the router, then I feel my only option is to purchase a connecting cord and plug the printer into my computer, and hope I do not have to reboot the printer after every second print job. I appreciate your trying to help with this issue.

[TEJ1602]

@Jay_Dallas

I'd recommend you reach out to the HP Support in your region for remote assistance.

Hope this helps!

Please click “Accepted 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