The printer cannot be found in the network

[leokir]

I have two identlical printers (HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus) in my work and home. I move my laptop computer between the two locations. When I move it at home most of the time the computer cannot find the printer and I have to install it as new printer and delete the old one.

Is there a way to avoid this?

[MKazi]

@leokir

Let me take a moment to thank you for posting on the HP Support Forums. 

I understand that you have an HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One Printer. I read that when you move your laptop between your work and home, the laptop does not detect the hone printer. You have to reinstall it to make it work. I appreciate the steps you have performed and have certainly done a good job.

This might happen if the printer's IP address is lost. I suggest let us assign a static IP address to the printer. The following steps will help:

• Please locate the IP address of the printer. You may touch the wireless icon/button on the printer to view the IP address. The printer will show a valid IP address only if it is connected to the network.
• Otherwise to view the IP address, print a network configuration page by following the below steps:

•  On the report, find the IP Address, subnet mask, and Default Gateway for your active (connected) network connection type. If your report has separate numbers for IPv4 and IPv6, then use the numbers listed in the IPv4 section.
• From your laptop connected to your network, find the URL(s) for Embedded Web Server (EWS) on the report and enter the URL into your Internet browser. If the webpage appears blank, use a different Internet browser. 

Figure : Example of the URL for the EWS

• Click the Network or Networking tab, and then open the section or page for your network type: wired or wireless.

• Click Manual IP.

  • If you see a Suggest a Manual IP Address button, click Manual IP address, and the Manual IP addresses are automatically filled out for you.

  • If your page does not have a button to suggest a manual IP address, type the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway using the numbers shown in the report you printed.

Figure : Example of setting up a Manual IP configuration

• Write these new numbers on a piece of paper. You might need to use them later when adding a second printer device.

• Click Apply, and then wait until the changes are confirmed.

Then follow these steps to add a TCP/IP port:

• Search Windows for devices, and then select Devices and Printers in the list of results.

• Right-click the name of your printer, and then select Printer Properties.

  The Properties window opens.

• Click the Ports tab, and then click Add Port.

• Select Standard TCP/IP Port, and then click New Port.

Figure : Creating a new TCP/IP Port

• Type the printer’s IP address that you wrote down earlier, and then click Next.

• Select the new Standard TCP/IP Port from the list, and then click OK.

I sincerely hope this fixes the issue. Let me know how it goes. Cheers! 🙂