HP LaserJet MFP M426fdw - firewall issue.

[Ward_Horsfall]

Hi,

I have having an issue with Scanning on my HP LaserJet MFP M426fdw on Windows 10 x64. I have all the latest updates installed. The printer is on the local network via DHCP.

When I try to run the "HP Scan" app I gett the error. Saying scanner communication can not be established. If I disable the antivirus software (firewall) then all is good. However for security reasons I would rather be able to configure the firewall in the antivirus product (Bitdefender Total Security 2016) and add the relevent exceptions required.

So does anybody know what they are so I can add them to my exception list?

Thanks,

Ward.

[neenjah]

Hi Ward,

Did you ever find a solution to your problem? I have the same setup: Windows 10 x64 Home Edition, MFP M426fdw (hard wired to the network), and Bitdefender Total Security 2017.

Like you, I cannot run the "HP Scan" unless I disable the Bitdefender firewall. I've tried to "allow" the HP Scan application via Bitdefender with no success.

Bitdefender Tech Support says to update to Total Security 2018, but I doubt that this will fix the issue.

I believe there must be another application component that HP Scan is relying on that is the cause of the issue.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris.

[neenjah]

Here's a workaround for anyone who is interested. Scanning via the HP Smart application works with BitDefender. The HP Scan desktop app has a lot more options, but for basic scanning the HP Smart application will suffice.

[MFP477]

I don't know if you fixed the problem by now or decided to install alternative software but I'll offer the following.  I have a different setup to yours but do use HP Scan.  I had the same symtoms you had also.  My antivirus software has a kind of monitor on it which allows me to see what applications and IP addresses are attempting to access my firewall from the internet and on my local network.  It also displays what IP addresses and port numbers my applications are trying to write to.  I can configure the the firewall to remain up but allow exceptions for specific port numbers for all addresses or a specific address.  For HP Scan I found I had to make firewall exceptions for a number of ports [TCP port 80, TCP port 161, TCP port 8289, UDP port 427].  If your using DHCP your printer IP address might bounce around a bit so you might need to allow your computer to talk to any IP address with these specific port numbers. Alternatively give your printer a fixed IP address.  Some of these port numbers I may have added to get other things to work like the install processes or firmware upgrades.  I also have other port exceptions for other purposes on my setup.  The upshot of this is to see if your firewall has some type of functionality that allows you to see what is being rejected as it is doing it or shortly after.  Also, see if you can adjust your firewall to provide an exception to the various rejections.  It took me a bit of trial and error to get it right.  Finally regarding the selection of port numbers I used as a guide, the HP document -"HP Printers - Network Scanner Connection Error (Mac)" [Page 2], "Step 4 Check third-party firwall software settings" - this is for a Mac but a) There is likely to be a Windows version also, and b) The port numbers relate to a HP printer so I suspect the same ports are used regardless of the OS used.  Good luck!