HP SMART IS PRETTY STUPID

[GOlson]

I am having problems getting HP Smart on Windows 10 Dell desktop, 11 Dell laptops (3), Android (Samsung S22, iPhone (XR and 14) and iPad (mini and larger one) to find our HP OfficeJet Pro 6968. The printer is properly configured and on the same Wi-Fi network as all of the listed devices by HP Smart can't find it. I ended up tethering the printer to the Dell Windows 10 machine since they are next to each other and can print from it. The Dell laptops ended having to rely upon Direct connect rather than HP Smart. Haven't been able to get any of the IOS devices find it as I can't even find setting to configure the printer on them and when I try to print, it can't find even the Direct device. I've read countless similar reports and even tried logging into my and another user's HP account to see if that makes a difference which it does not. IF smart is what HP Smart is, I'd hate to see what HP Stupid was like. Thanks.

[GOlson]

Maybe I've stumbled upon what the issue might be and would be interested in others thoughts. We use this printer at a vacation home and last year it was working fine. But earlier this summer, we had family that had a problem with the cable router and had it replaced with one that now seems to use the same SSID for both 2.4 and 5 GHz and thus most of the devices might be connecting at 5. I've seen another post indicating a particular HP printer only being able to work on 2.4 I think the old router had the ability to designate different SSID's but the new one from Optimum doesn't seem to. Might this be part of the issue? If so, how do I work around this apparent lack of intelligence on the part of HP Smart?

[Nal_NR · Accepted solution]

Hi @GOlson,

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

I'd like to help!

You are right. HP printers only support 2.4 GHz not 5GHz (have SSID name for 2.4 ghz changed/named differently than the 5ghz)

I am afraid, you need to have the router with both options.

For further assistance, refer to this document

Hope this helps! 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!

[GOlson]

A little update that after I found what was happening HP seems to concur with. Turns out that when Optimum replaced our separate modem/router with a Ubee Gateway 5 that is both modem and router in the same box, they enabled their 'Smart Wi-Fi' which is intended to make both their 2.4 GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks seamless and accessible through one SSID. Problem is that the HP products and others like Sonos only work on 2.4 and devices that are bouncing back and forth between the 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi aren't able to connect or stay connected reliably. Solution was to get Optimum to separate the 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks by essentially turning off their Smart Wi-Fi (that's an oxymoron as well). The Optimum folks tend to look at you as if you have two heads and don't always understand the concept of having separate 2.4 and 5 GHz networks and thus might find it challenging to them to turn the feature off but it can be done. Once they did that, I was able to have most of the devices configured to use the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and was able to reliably and consistently keep everything in contact with both the HP printer and other 2.4 GHz devices. The 2.4 GHz also provides greater coverage than 5 GHz but at less speed but is more than adequate for most users needs. I then only configured streaming type of devices like our Roku to the 5GHz as it doesn't need to interact with the other 2.4 GHz devices.

[Nal_NR]

Hi @GOlson,

Glad to know it's resolved. We appreciate your time and patience with us. Do keep us posted if anything in the future.