Computer says "looking for printer"

[DDH913]

Yesterday I set up my new HP ENVY 5055 and was able to print from my computer. This morning I went to print and it wouldn't print with the message "looking for printer". Both computer and printer have internet connection. 

[Kumar0307]

Hi @DDH913

Welcome to the HP Support Community. I'd be happy to assist you.

• Make sure the printer and the MAC are connected to the same wireless network.
• This printer supports only 2.4GHz network. So, the MAC should be on the 2.4GHz network.
• If you have a Dual-band router and both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks share the same name/SSID, the printer will not be able to connect to the network. In this case, contact your Internet service provider to assign different names to both the networks.
• Restart the wireless router, the printer, and the MAC.

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. 

Check the connectivity between the devices by a PING test

1. Obtain the IP address of the printer by clicking on the Wireless icon on the printer
2. On the MAC Go to Spotlight > search for Network utility > select Ping tab > enter the IP address of the printer in the box
3. Check the second box that says Send only > 10 pings
4. Click on ping > Check the results at the end if any packets are lost
5. Note: There should be 0% packet loss, share the results in your next post.

If you are trying to connect the printer via a USB cable, make sure the cable is directly connected between the MAC and the printer.

The use of a USB hub is not recommended. Also, make sure the cable is connected to a USB 2.0 port on your MAC.

Do you have an Anti-virus/firewall installed on the MAC?

• Check if the printer is getting recognized by your MAC:

1. From the Apple menu, choose About This Mac.
2. Click System Report.
3. Under the Hardware heading on the left side of the System Information window, click USB.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

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