My HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 becomes invisible to my iOS and Windows devices on my home network.

[pfrankli760]

My HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 becomes invisible to my iOS and Windows devices on my home network.  Powering the printer off and then back on makes it visible to my iOS and Windows devices and then I can print.  This happens very frequently.  The IP address for my printer remains the same all the time so not sure what the issue is here.

[Jay_G24]

Hi @pfrankli760,

I read your post and i understand you're facing printer offline issue, I'd like to help!

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.

I'd like to know the following to isolate the issue further-

1.) Are the printer and Mac connected to the same network?

2.) Is your router dual-band enabled i.e., both 2.4GHz and 5GHz? If yes, make sure the dual-band has different SSIDs for 2.4G and 5G networks.

3.) What is the distance between the router and the printer?

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. 

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

And, Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

Please click “Accept as 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

[evolve75]

Hello!

I am facing the same issue. The HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 is visible on my wireless network for about 10-15 minutes, and then is marked as offline on all the computers (Apple macOS Catalina - 10.15.7 with all patches applied), and on the mobile devices (Apple iPads and iPhones, on iOS14 with all update applied).

The only recourse is to power cycle the printer, after which it operates for about 10-15 minutes and then disappears again. This is extremely frustrating!!

Some details of the setup:

1. The printer is connected over Wi-Fi (5GHz with WPA) to the network and has a static IP assigned to it (as per recommendations on similar problem tickets elsewhere on this forum)
2. The router also has an IP reservation for the Wi-Fi interface's MAC address (as found from the printer's management web portal)
3. The printer firmware is up to date (version: WMP1CN2024AR)
4. Bonjour/AirPrint is turned on (this is for the mobile devices)
5. The computers have the latest printer driver
6. The printer's energy saver mode is set to 5 minutes
7. The printer is about 3 feet away from the router, with no obstructions
8. The computers are also near the router (5–7 feet away) without any obstructions
9. The router is using a Wi-Fi channel without any interference (every other wireless device in the house can connect without any problem)
10. The router is allowing Bonjour packets (I use this network discovery for other uses without issues)

A fix for this will really be appreciated! The printer hardware and software are both great, but having to power-cycle the device for almost every print-job is very frustrating.

Best Regards,

--

Anupam

[Kumar0307]

@evolve75, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

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. 

• Connect the printer to the 2.4GHz network and check if that helps. 
• Check with your Internet service provider if your router is able to forward 'Bonjour packets'.

Update the printer firmware

Click here to download and install the latest firmware from your MAC.

Click here to know different methods of updating printer firmware.

Also, check for any software updates on MAC

Click the Apple icon > About This Mac > Software Update and install any available update.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

Please click “Accept as 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!

Have a great day!