Network communication issues between printer and Mac

[Jeroen_Tomse]

My printer connects perfectly well to my Windows PC via wireless.

However, the same printer and my Mac fail to connect correctly (using the same network).

In HP Utility "Retrieving Information" fails or I get a message "Unable to communicate with the selected device. It may have been turned off or otherwise disconnected."

In System Preferences/Printers & Scanners I get messages like "Unable to verify the printer on your Network" once I have reset printing system.

My printer says "No Computer Found" when trying to scan a document.

Typing in the IP address of my printer in Safari opens up a page HP Embedded Web Server but the page remains blank. 

I have read quite a few posts on this forum and have tried many things like rebooting etc. but nothing helped. I read somewhere that creating a new Location under Network would be the solution but I did not help either.

Thank you in advance to those who can help. 

[TEJ1602]

@Jeroen_Tomse, Welcome to HP Support Community!

To be able to assist you better, I would like to know the following:

• Are the printer and PC connected to the same network?
• Is your router dual-band enabled i.e., both 2.4GHz and 5GHz?
• What is the distance between the router and the printer?
• Is there any antivirus software installed on your computer?
• 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 for further assistance.

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!

[Jeroen_Tomse]

Thanks for your message TEJ1602.

It's interesting that you mention antivirus software. I was thinking that a security feature would prevent my Mac from communicating with my printer. The odd thing is that everything works perfectly well between my "old" Windows pc and my printer (both on the same network).

Here are the answers to your questions:

- printer and Mac are connected to the same network

- don't know if my router is dual-band enabled. How do I find out? It's an AT&T BGW210 installed in 2018.

- Distance between printer and Mac is less than 10 feet.

- As far as I know there is no antivirus software installed on my Mac. I never installed any anyway.

- Sorry I don't find Network Utility? How can I access it?

Here is a screenshot of my Wi-Fi status: 

The printer is in the list... When I click on it it requires a password.

Regarding my provider being able to forward Bonjour packets, I assume yes since everything works well between my Windows pc and my printer.

Hope this helps.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

[TEJ1602]

@Jeroen_Tomse

Thanks for replying!

The Network Utility can be searched using the spotlight on your Mac.

And, Bonjour is a feature of Mac and iOS devices, Windows PC working does not justify the forwarding of bonjour packets.

Keep me posted for further assistance.

[Jeroen_Tomse]

Thanks for your quick reply!

I have more information for you:

- My internet service provider AT&T confirmed that my router supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz

- They also confirmed that it can forward the Apple Bonjour packets

- Here is a print screen of the ping results using the printer IP address:

Let me know if that helps.

Thank you in advance.

Kind Regards

[TEJ1602]

@Jeroen_Tomse

Thanks for replying!

• Make sure the 2.4 GHZ and 5GHZ networks are separate with different names.
• If you are using a mesh router make sure the ISP router is set up in bridge mode.
• Update firmware on the router and printer.
• 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. You can contact your ISP for help.

Keep me posted.