Greyed out scan button on the HP Color Laserjet Pro MFP 4302

[PedroAvz]

I have an issue with HP Color Laserjet Pro MFP 4302. I have tried everything and keeps the issue

When i try to Scan sometimes the actual 'Scan' button that will start the scan will be greyed out and the only way of fixing this will be to restart the printer. After restarting the 'Scan' option will become usable and will allow you to scan documents but eventually in a few scans it will be grayed out again. I scan quite a lot so it becomes annoying to restart the printer constantly throughout the day when this issue happens.

I tried updating the frimware, its on the last version, i tried to perform a factory reset and same issue, and the network is fine because i have other devices and they work fine.

To scan i use the integrated screen because its more practical than with the SMART HP app because we have to scan a lot.

[Dragon-Fur]

@PedroAvz 

Welcome to the HP English Community --

I cannot help directly -- I've never used this model series.

I can provide some information for the general model series -- whether YOUR model supports Scan setup in the way described is not something I can answer.

A good general reference --

Open

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4302 - User Guide

My first "guess"about why it works for a while and then does not work later is that the printer is not staying connected to your network as expected.

The solution is either easy or complicated depending on how the printer is connected AND how your network is configured.

Printer connection to the network is important but not addressed here.

Next,

Where you are sending / saving the scan content is another important aspect of a successful scan operation.

For example, the setup for

Scan to Network folder

is different from

Scan to Email

The following addresses Scan to Network Folder

 HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301, 4302, 4303 - Set up and Scan to Network Folder

For Scan to Email

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301, 4302, 4303 - Set up and Scan to Email  

General Example - EWS - Scan to Network Folder - Quick Set setup / configuration

EWS_9135_Quick_Sets_Network_Folder_OneDrive_4

General Example - EWS - Scan to Network Folder - Default Job Options

EWS_9135_Scan_to_Network_Folder_Default_Job_Options_3

General Examples - EWS - Scan to Email - Quick Sets and Defaults

EWS_9135_Quick_Sets_Email_PDF_1-2_3EWS_9135_Quick_Sets_Email_PDF_3_3EWS_9135_Quick_Sets_Email_PDF_4-5_3EWS_9135_Scan_to_Email_Default_Options_8

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References / Resources

HP Printer Home Page - References and Resources

Learn about your Printer - Solve Problems

“Things that are your printer”

When the website support page opens, Select (as available) a Category > Topic > Subtopic

NOTE: Content depends on device type and Operating System

Categories: Warranty Check, Alerts, Troubleshooting, Ink & Paper, HP Software & Drivers / Firmware Updates, Setup & User Guides, Product Specifications, Account & Registration, Warranty & Repair

Open 

 Product Home - Printers

 Enter the device type and model name of your HP product

OR

 Select a saved product from HP Account Dashboard

OR

• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4302fdn Printer
• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4302fdw Printer
• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4302dw Printer

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Click Yes to say Thank You for the help !

Question / Concern Answered, Click my Post "Accept as Solution"

[PedroAvz]

Hi @Dragon-Fur

My printer is connected to network by a ethernet cable, i use the scan to a network folder.

I have everything well configured, and its the same as you show on the screenshots, the connection is fine, i spent 8 hours making ping to the machine and the final report was 0% lost, so i think its not about the network, do you have other things in mind that cause the issue?

Thank you!

[Dragon-Fur]

@PedroAvz 

You are welcome.

The "works now" but "not later" seems to hint at a connection issue.

True - Ethernet generally provides a more stable network environment.

One of the three models in this series:

• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4302fdw Printer

Number of Simultaneous Users (local + network)

3-10 Users

Network Capabilities

Yes, via built-in 10/100Base-Tx Ethernet, Gigabit; Auto-crossover Ethernet; Authentication via 802.1x; 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5)

In addition to a strong and stable network - including that updated, correctly configured router - the printer depends on the destination to be available when needed to accept scan content.  Should the destination fail to respond -- or fail to respond quickly enough - the connection might break and not recover.  Does this alone explain a "works now" but a gray button condition later?  Perhaps not. 

I will post back if I think of anything else that might help.

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References / Resources

HP Printer Home Page - References and Resources

Learn about your Printer - Solve Problems

“Things that are your printer”

When the website support page opens, Select (as available) a Category > Topic > Subtopic

NOTE: Content depends on device type and Operating System

Categories: Warranty Check, Alerts, Troubleshooting, Ink & Paper, HP Software & Drivers / Firmware Updates, Setup & User Guides, Product Specifications, Account & Registration, Warranty & Repair

Open 

 Product Home - Printers

 Enter the device type and model name of your HP product

OR

 Select a saved product from HP Account Dashboard

OR

• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4302fdn Printer
• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4302fdw Printer
• HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4302dw Printer

Thank you for participating in the HP Community --

Real people who own, use, and support HP devices.

Click Yes to say Thank You for the help !

Question / Concern Answered, Click my Post "Accept as Solution"

[PedroAvz]

@Dragon-Fur

When you talk about "the printer depends on the destination to be available when needed to accept scan content" is a server that its always on, so it should be always on and in case not the printer then stays on greyed button till the printer is restarted?

[Dragon-Fur]

@PedroAvz 

I would not challenge your knowledge of your network -- I accept that your network is not overloaded and that the destination is available at the times needed.  The comments are meant as "could be" observations only.  Smiling.

That said, "something" is disrupting the ability of the printer to maintain its connection to the Scan feature.

Another non-challenge idea:

If the printer is connected to other than a standard wall socket where the amount of power needed is always available, a scan or other operation that is resource intensive might fail.  For example, if the printer were connected to a "too small" surge protector, that device might limit the amount of power to the printer.  True - not enough power when needed can cause more than just a loss of connection to a specific feature (Scan).  Don't read too much into the comment -- just worth a check.

No - I do not have a solution at the moment.

Perhaps another Expert will have something to add.

Just because I've not thought of it does not mean there is not a solution for your situation.

What else?

Sure - could be a printer based issue.

"What the printer knows" is generally available in EWS in Event log.

Unfortunately, there is sometimes little to be gained directly from the log -- the designation number is useful to HP but not mere mortals like ourselves.  Should you contact HP Support, and if the log includes errors,  include an Error number in your description of the issue(s) you are facing.

HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201, 4202, 4203, MFP 4301, 4302, 4303 - F0.XX.XX.XX and C1.XX.XX.XX errors tr... 

Open your Browser > Type / enter the Printer IP address into URL / Address bar

Section General > Event Log

Example - Different Printer - Similar EWS structure -

EWS - General > Event Log

EWS_9135_General_Event_Log_1

===============================================

About Support...

If you have not done so, perhaps contact HP Support - Submit a case request. 

Attach an description of your setup and a description of the issue as you understand it.

Start here:

 HP Support virtual repair center

Printers

 Contact HP Support – Printer Support

HP Support  HP World-Wide Support

In-Warranty Products – Case submission for Warranty Repair

Select your region and follow the prompts

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Real people who own, use, and support HP devices.

Click Yes to say Thank You for the help !

Question / Concern Answered, Click my Post "Accept as Solution"

[PedroAvz]

@Dragon-Fur

Thank you for your response! I appreciate your suggestions and understand that they are just possible observations. I'll keep them in mind while troubleshooting. Smiling as well!

I checked the Event Log and there are these errors:

My frimware version is 

Version Frimware: 6.17.5.34-202412122146, that apparently is the newest, are these errors related to my issue or it might be something else?

Could you please advise on what these codes indicate and potential solutions?
F0.02.02.03 (Error)

F0.03.09.05 (Error)

C2.F4.17.06 (Critical)

F0.01.04.0D (Warning)

Thank you for your support!

[Dragon-Fur]

@PedroAvz 

Sure, errors might be "something" related.

I cannot read them beyond the document(s) provided for the various printer models.

Story Time

When I first purchased my OfficeJet Pro 9135e (early 2024) -- and after so much extensive setup (of course) - the printer started an endless looping circus of firmware errors.  Firmware was current. 

Nothing worked, the printer was constantly in one state or another - and although nothing "should have been wrong", the situation was devolving into a pile of rubbish.

Evidence notwithstanding, I remained convinced that the issue was not hardware.

I ended up running a Factory Reset on the printer.

Ugh.

That actually Fixed it -

When the printer came back (rebooted), I was able to issue an "update" to the firmware -- No, it should not have needed it, but the action completed and the printer finally believed the firmware was OK and fully installed.  ??

Of course, all the hours of work to configure the various printer settings (including all new Quick Sets) had to be redone from scratch to make sure that "something I'd done" was not the cause of the whole fiasco. 

Turned out (later) that the printer model became famous for initial lies and issues about it's firmware state. 

Factory reset was one of the recommendations, in fact.

Meh.

Honestly, your Laser Printer is miles away from my OfficeJet Pro 9135e.

The printers share an EWS format style -- but the hardware is dissimilar.

At the moment I am out of ideas.

================================================

Reference and FYI only

Open your Browser > Type / enter the Printer IP address into URL / Address bar

Section General > Restore Default Settings > Restore Network Settings OR Restore All Factory Defaults

EWS > General > Restore Default Settings > Factory

EWS_9135_Restore_All_Factory_Defaults_3

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Real people who own, use, and support HP devices.

Click Yes to say Thank You for the help !

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[PedroAvz]

@Dragon-Fur

Wow, I’ve had similar experiences with HP printers, and it’s true— a factory reset usually works. When I ran out of ideas, I did a factory reset on the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4302, but the issue remained the same. I’ve been running a network test for hours, and while some packets are lost, it’s not enough to completely disconnect the printer. I’ll wait and see, but if it happens again, I guess I’ll have to reset the printer once more.

By the way, I called HP phone support twice, and they tried everything, but the printer keeps having the same issue. So, I’m starting to think it might be a problem with this model.

Thank you for trying to help me and for all your support!

[Dragon-Fur]

@PedroAvz 

You are most welcome.

I am sorry I did not uncover the magic to actually solve issue.

I hope it's something odd but not due to hardware.

In my opinion, broken hardware is most irritating even as it is sometimes easier to fix.

Good Luck - let us know what you find.

- Easter Eggs -

Make sure you are running a manual / static IP address on the printer - losing full connection due to changes in the IP address (DHCP) is usually catastrophic and I've not heard of a "partial" loss -- just good to tie any loose ends.

An SMB error would generally result in a hard fail.

If you are feeding that Quick Set through a Windows computer with a mounted (mapped) NAS attached -

AND / OR

If the NAS used to be an older model, for example, one that only needed SMB1,

Make sure the SMB connection type is updated on the NAS -

Double check the setting in EWS.

Sample

Open your Browser > Type / enter the Printer IP address into URL / Address bar

Section Network > Network Security > Tab SMB > Select SMB 2 and SMB 3

The following example is for an older OfficeJet Pro 9025 that uses the original EWS format.

The example does show the IP address connection for the Profile (now staged as Quick Sets)

and

The example shows the various permissions on the Windows side .

True, this is not related directly to a straight connection from printer to network folder on a file storage box out on the network -- the settings can impact the results if a scan operation is sent / managed though computer.

EWS_9025_Scan_to_Network_Folder_16

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