Printer and Scanner not working

[Maritsai]

The HP Deskjet 2720 (all-in-one) is by far THE worst HP product I have had. I've had it for about 2 years now and it has worked on average about 25% of the time since I bought it. I am using a HP PC (the irony), running Windows 11 and I also had these issues before the upgrade, whilst using Windows 10. 

I frequently experience one or more of these issues:

- HP Smart says Printer Offline. The printer is and always has been connected via USB and is switched on. HOW is it offline?

- My PC cannot find my printer on its list of printers nor can it find it under "show available printers". To reiterate, the printer is and always has been connected via USB and is switched on. HOW is this possible? 

- On the odd occasion that I am able to print, I find that I am unable to scan because HP Smart "couldn't connect to scanner". Again, printer is connected via USB and switched on. HOW can it print yet not scan from and ALL IN ONE PRINTER?

- On some occasions both the scanner and printer work and that's like a magical day, because it works properly SO RARELY. 

Here are the various solutions I have tried over time, some of which have been successful on various occasions, none of which work now:  

- I have tried restarting and/or stop/starting the print spooler through the services.nsc function; this does not work. 

- I have tried turning the PC and printer on/off; this does not work. 

- I have disconnected/reconnected the USB cable; this does not work. 

- I have checked the drivers and all are ok; this hasn't made it work. 

- I have uninstalled/deleted anything to do with the printer and reinstalled it; this does not work. 

I basically have a printer/scanner that only works when it wants to and can stop working without any notice or warning. - I just have to post it here and hope that someone responds. 

[Anand_Andy]

Hi @Maritsai,

Welcome to the HP Support Community

I understand you are facing an issue with your HP DeskJet 2720 All-In-One Printer. Not to worry I will help you to get a resolution to resolve the issue.

After reading the complete description I have a few steps which could help you resolve your connectivity issue.

To assist better:

• Are you using a standard 6Ft USB cable?
• Is sleep mode enabled on your printer?
• Was there any firmware update on the printer?
• Which application do you use when you try to scan?

While you respond to that, Let's perform a power drain: 

• With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
• Remove USB cable, if present.
• Wait for 2-3 minutes, press and hold the power button on your printer for about 30 seconds to remove any additional charge.
• Now plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector or an extension cord (This is important) and then plug back the power cord to the printer.
• Turn on the printer and wait till warm-up period finishes and the printer is idle

Update the printer firmware:

• Click here to download and install the latest printer firmware from your product
• Click here to know different methods of updating printer firmware.

if the issue persists, then Use HP Print and Scan Doctor to check connectivity

Download a special version of HP Print and Scan Doctor specifically created to help with printer offline conditions.

1. Download HP Print and Scan Doctor.
2. Run HPPSdr.exe from the download location on your computer.
3. Once HP Print and Scan Doctor opens, click Start, and then select your printer.
   • If your printer in not in the list, turn it off and on, and then click Retry.
   • If there is a connection problem, follow the instructions in HP Print and Scan Doctor.
4. If a screen prompts you to turn on printer updates, click Yes.
5. If a screen prompts you to make your printer the default printer, click Yes.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

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!

[Maritsai]

Thanks for your reply. Here are the answers to your questions: 

• Are you using a standard 6Ft USB cable? YES
• Is sleep mode enabled on your printer? Not that I am aware of
• Was there any firmware update on the printer? No
• Which application do you use when you try to scan? HP Smart

I have tried the solutions you have suggested and these have still not repaired the problem; instead they have downloaded more of HP's crappy software onto my computer.

To be clear: my computer is unable to detect my scanner, which is connected via a USB cable; it is (on occasion) able to print successfully. This is a persistent intermittent problem where either the printer or scanner, or both, do not function and cannot be detected by the computer or HP Smart.  

I have run HP Print and Scan 3 times now, each time I've had: 

- Recommended updates fixed for the printer (surely there can't be THAT many updates available in the space of less than 1 hour) 

- Found 3 different issues with the scanner: Device Manager, HP Scan and Device Manager (again). I am now stuck in a loop of having to restart my PC, to then re-run HP Print & Scan Doctor, for it to then find different problems, send me on quest to find and download more software, and visit websites that don't exist or just show me a spinning wheel. Meanwhile, the scanner may as well not exist. 

I am sure you will agree that this is utterly unacceptable and I effectively may as well just have bought a HP PRINTER and not a so-called "all-in-one" product. 

I have also tried connecting to the printer wirelessly, as you so boldly advertise that it can scan and print from anywhere. I'll give you one guess as to whether that actually worked. 

What other solutions do you propose here?

[Anand_Andy]

@Maritsai,

Thank you for your response, I really appreciate your efforts. As the issue still persists, I'm sending out a private message to assist you with the next course of action. 

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Community profile Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it or simply click on this link.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.

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!