Printer disapppeared after extended wait time.

[eath]

I purchased an Envy 5055 after my Envy 5660 started having serious connectivity issues.  The printer would disappear from the available printers on all my computers.  I used this machine for 3 years with no issues, until about 1 year ago.  So off to buy a new machine, the 5055.  It worked great, for 3 months.  Then if it was more than a couple of hours since  I last printed, it would disappear as well.  I set a static IP .200.  I had been using the AT&T router, so I switched to the Netgear N6400 that I had used for the 3 years and that didn't help.  One site said to not have it too close, so I moved it to the opposite side of the room.  HP says to use the HP Print and Scan Doctor.  Well, it can't find the printer either.  You see, the router says the printer is connected on .200, the wifi light is steady blue on the printer and a wireless printout says the printer is connected on .200.  However, my phones HP print app can't see it, the Windows 10 computer says it is offline and the Doctor software says that no printers were detected. The Linux CUPS server says the printer is offline on the computer that has it setup as default, the laptop doesn't find any available printers on the network.  The MacOS machine is lost as a goose in the fog.  The ONLY way to get this backup up is to reboot the printer AND the router for EVERY print I need make.  This is COMPLETELY unacceptable.  My wife has resorted to turning off the printer between print jobs and waiting for it to restart if she needs to print, but sometimes it gets left on and rebooting the printer doesn't work.  She isn't comfortable rebooting the network router yet.  Is there anything that can keep this machine alive to do I need to switch to a wired printer?

[asmita6658]

Hi @eath

Welcome to the HP Support Community. I'd be happy to assist you with the connectivity issue. 

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.

If the printer has stable connectivity and if you still face the printer offline issues, 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?

4.) Is there any antivirus software installed on your Mac?

5.) What is the macOS version installed? 

6.) Could you perform a ping test using the Mac Network Utility and let me know the results? Use the printer IP address to perform a ping test, the printer IP can be located by selecting the wireless icon on the printer display.

The wireless status menu on your Mac should also give us quite a lot of information that would help us identify the issue. You can press and hold option-click the WiFi icon and then use shift-command-5 to take the screenshot. Press the space bar when the icon turns into a camera. Share the ping test results and the screenshot with us.

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. 

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! 

[eath]

Sorry I took so long.  I am not always available at home and my wife tends to turn the printer off (she is trained well). Ok, well the printer has been on overnight.  I have pressed the power button to wake up the screen.  My Mac could see the printer when I first turned it on Tuesday, but now, today, no response.  But I made some changes you listed. It is in the same room as the router, at the far opposite end of the room as the microwave (this is an apartment so I can only get it so far away).  The WIFI channel is the clearest I can find in this neighborhood.  The router is 10 feet from the printer.  I could get it closer but it would require a room redesign that will have to wait until the weekend.  The lights are all LED in the room.

Answer to your questions:

1 No, the Apple is on the 5G network and the Printer is on the 2.4 G network.  But the router allows both to see each other when they are properly connected.

2. Yes, the 5G and 2.4G have different network SSIDs

3. Approx 10-12 feet

4. No, it is straight install of High Sierra with Firefox.  This isn't my daily driver.

5. See above

6. No response on the ping test.

I've checked the router status as my Apple is not seeing the printer and the printer has completely disappeared from the network.  The wifi light is still steady blue.  The HP Configuration Page says "

Network Status: Ready

Firmware Revision: VERBASPP1N033.1925A.00

Hostname: HP5055

Serial Number: TH8BL7J020

Internet: Not connected (this is troubling.  Why isn't it trying to remedy this?)

802.11 Wireless

  Status: Connected (? not really)

 Comm... Mode: infrastructure

...

 Authentication Type: WPA2-PSK

 Encryption: Automatic (AES or TKIP)

IPv4

 IP Address: 192.168.0.200

Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1

 Domain Name: NOT SET

 Configuration Source : Manual

 Primary DNS Server: 192.168.0.1

Port 9100

 Status: Enabled

"

So the printer seems to think it is connected.  But as it says, it doesn't have internet because the NETGEAR R6400 says it isn't connected.  It shows up on attached devices but no IP is given because it isn't an active device.  So the printer seems to be disconnecting from the router for some reason, but doesn't realize it so it doesn't try to reconnect.

Ok.  I turned off the printer and turned it back on again (IT Crowd much?) and now the Mac sees it as does the router, phone, Windows 10, and Linux machines.  So, I guess the printer can't be left on but must be powered down if unused more than a couple of hours?  Is this maybe a feature?

And while I was typing this, the printer just rebooted.  The screen was off, and then it turned on and switcheed to the boot screen.  I quess it is downloading firmware?  I see what happens tomorrow.

[eath]

After the firmware update reboot, the blue wifi light is on, but it isn't connected to the internet.  The Apple can't ping the printer anymore.  The Apple is now trying to connect via WIFI direct but throws an error when trying to add the WIFI direct (AirPrint).  The Firmware is now ...2008A.00 but now it won't connect to the router. ..... GRRRRR!

Ok, after a full network crash, we are back up.  It is connected to .200.  Apple and friends see it.  I will leave it on tonight and see if it stays connected.