Solution to My printer keeps waking me up at 3am doing something

[rcfaillejr]

My HP printer was waking me up at 3am every night doing something. I searched the web and forum without seeing a satisfactory answer. I looked at my scheduled shutdown and startup schedule which was 10pm and 7am so all looked good. I checked every other setting in case something was buried in one of the submenus. Nothing was amiss and could not find anything dealing with routine maintenance as the  have told multiple people. At the end of my going through all of the submenus, I noticed that my printer time was the equivalent of being several time zones different from my own. I synchronized the printer time with my time and the problem is now solved. No more middle of the night wakeups.

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @rcfaillejr 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

Thank you for sharing that experience—it’s incredibly helpful and insightful. A printer unexpectedly powering on in the middle of the night can be both disruptive and puzzling, especially when all scheduled settings appear correct.

What you discovered is a subtle but impactful detail: the printer’s internal clock being set to a different time zone. Even if the shutdown/startup schedule looks fine, the printer may interpret those times based on its own internal clock, not your local time.

 

Why This Happens

• Many HP printers rely on their internal time settings to execute maintenance routines, updates, or scheduled power cycles.
• If the printer’s time zone is misaligned, these actions may occur at unintended hours—like 3am instead of during the day.

 

How to Fix It

To prevent this from happening again, here’s how to manually synchronize your printer’s time:

Access the Embedded Web Server (EWS)

• Find your printer’s IP address from the control panel or HP App.
• Enter it into a browser to open the EWS.

Navigate to Time Settings

• Go to Settings > Preferences > Date & Time.
• Set the correct time zone and local time manually.

Save and Restart

• Confirm the changes and restart the printer to apply the new schedule accurately.

For more guidance, you can refer to:
HP Printer Time and Date Settings

Your solution is a great reminder that even small configuration details can have a big impact. Let me know if you’d like help accessing the EWS or adjusting other settings.

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye