"bidirectional support" greyed out after firmware installation (002.2450A) on SmartTank 7005 (USB)

[TD7005]

Hi everybody,

having updated firmware on USB connected HP SmartTank 7005 using "HP Smart Tank 710-720-/7000-Serie – Drucker-Firmware-Update (version 002.2450A)" no bidirectional support is available anymore (greyed out).

Firmware version printer information panel shows "SAYAWLPP1N002.2313B.00".

I already tried a clean reinstallation (uninstall HP printer software, remove printer from devices, remove printer driver, restart computer) - didn't solve my problem anyhow.

As soon as I connect printer again (without installing any further software package) system recognizes printer and connects it without "bidirectional support".

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions on how to solve this issue.

Best regards

Taso

[Max3Aj]

@TD7005, Welcome to HP Support Community. 

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you. 

The bidirectional support setting being greyed out suggests the Windows Print Spooler or USB driver layer is no longer properly negotiating two-way communication with the printer after the update.

Here's what you can try:

Re-enable Bidirectional Support Manually (Advanced Steps)

Sometimes Windows doesn’t properly re-enable this feature after reinstalling the driver.

• Go to Control Panel > Devices and Printers.
• Right-click on your printer > Printer Properties (not "Properties").
• Go to the Ports tab.
• Ensure the correct USB port is selected (e.g., USB001) and try checking "Enable bidirectional support".
• If it's still greyed out, proceed to the next step.

Reinstall USB Printing Support Driver

• The USB printing class driver may have been improperly re-initialized.
• Open Device Manager.
• Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
• Look for USB Printing Support, right-click > Uninstall device.
• Disconnect the printer, restart your PC.
• Reconnect the printer, Windows should redetect and reinstall this class driver.

Try Connecting via Network Temporarily

Wi-Fi or Ethernet, try connecting via network instead of USB. This may bypass the communication limitation and allow you to regain full feature access, including bidirectional settings.

I hope this helps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Select "Yes" on the bottom left to say “Thanks” for helping! 

Max3Aj

HP Support 

[TD7005]

Hello Max3Aj,

many thanks for your answer, suggestions and detailed descriptions.

Unfortunately none of them solved the problem finally  😞

Manually re-enabling didn't work: checkbox couldn't be checked, remains greyed out.

Same result when forcing re-installation of the USB Printing Support Driver.

After connecting printer via Wi-Fi bi-directional communication to/from printer was possible, all printer information could be requested (i.E. ink levels) and settings (i.E. still mode) could be defined using this connection.

Funny fact: looking to Windows printer properties/ports "bi-directional support" was greyed out - and it could be enabled anyway.

So using Wi-Fi is a useful circumvention for me, but I would be glad, if there would be any chance to get back bi-directional support via USB too/again  😉

Thanks again for your help - and thanks in advance for any further idea...

Have a good day and take care.

Taso

[Max3Aj]

@TD7005, Thank you for your response,  

Thanks for the detailed update and glad to hear Wi-Fi communication is working.

Your experience strongly suggests that the 002.2450A firmware may have modified the USB communication stack, causing Windows to no longer detect bidirectional capabilities properly.

Here are a few more things you can try:

Manually install a specific HP driver instead of using the generic USB class driver (via Device Manager > Let me pick from a list).
Try the HP Universal Print Driver (UPD) in USB mode — it sometimes restores bidirectional support in edge cases.
(Advanced) You can try a registry tweak to manually set `EnableBidirectionalSupport = 1` under your printer's registry entry.

  

Max3Aj

HP Support 

[TD7005]

Hello Max3Aj,

thanks again for all your hints and tips.

Unfortunately testing all that stuff takes some time - and some other issues came up.

So all the test seem to have installed several "instances" of drives (detected by dism command) - and I had to find ways to get rid of them (i.e. "pnputil").

Currently I have a (hopefully) clean system (at least regarding the print drivers) - and will do the next tests.

So pleas keep fingers crossed - and I will come back as soon as I have some more results, regardless good or "bad" ones.

Best regards

Taso

[TD7005]

Hello again Max3Aj,

back - but with no "success" information  😞

Neither specific HP driver, nor HP UPD did convice USB  printer port to make bidirectional support available again.

In registry's printer definiions I couldn't find an entry "EnableDidirectionalSupport" , I olny could add "Enable BiDi" to the attributes (rundll32 printui.dll PrintUIEntry /Xs /n “printername" attributes +/-EnableBiDi)

But didn't solve the problem either.

In dirver "respoistory" I found:

Anything conspicuous/remarkable here?

For me now it really looks like that with firmware update printer is no more able/willing to support bidiretional function via USB - and can't convniced by any driver related actions.

Is there any chance to downgrade/fallback to the earlier firmware version?
Unfortunately I didn't make a note of the old version number (as I didn't expect such troubles).

Many thanks again for your patience and support.

Best regards

Jochen

[zoey7886]

@TD7005, Thank you for your detailed updates — and I completely understand how frustrating this must be after trying so many angles.

Based on everything you've tried, it does seem very likely that the recent firmware (002.2450A) has altered or removed USB bidirectional support at a hardware level. The fact that Wi-Fi works fine and registry tweaks, UPD, and clean reinstalls didn’t bring it back only strengthens that suspicion.

Unfortunately, HP firmware updates are generally one-way and can’t be downgraded by end users unless HP explicitly releases a rollback utility (which, in this case, doesn’t seem to be available publicly).

In the meantime, continuing with Wi-Fi seems to be the most reliable workaround.

Really appreciate your patience and persistence — feel free to reach out if anything changes or if new updates come through.

Hope this helps! 

Take care, and have an amazing day!  

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, Please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!  

Regards, 

[TD7005]

Hello Zoey7886,

many thanks fpr your answer - and yes, I already suspected that I have to live with Wi-Fi connection...

Perhaps another behaviour I just saw might lead to the basic problem:

while printing/scanning works fine, printer shows an error code "E9" when using the copy buttons - nevertheless copying works without problems.

I found a hint the firmware update might have failed and should be restarted - but running the firmware update exe again, this one says newest firmware installed and I found no was to re-install it again.

Any idea and hint on that?

Many thanks in advance for your friendly support given!

Best regards

Taso

[zoey7886 · Accepted solution]

Hi @TD7005, 

Thanks again for the detailed follow-up — and I really appreciate your patience through all of this.

The “E9” error showing up during copying, even though the function works, does suggest the firmware update might not have fully completed or initialized correctly. Unfortunately, if the firmware updater sees the latest version installed, it won’t let you reinstall or overwrite it without a rollback tool — which, as of now, HP hasn’t made available for this model.

At this point, the USB bidirectional issue along with the E9 error strongly points to a firmware-level bug. I’ll make sure to escalate this feedback internally so it reaches the right teams.

In the meantime, continuing with Wi-Fi is the best stable option. If a future firmware patch becomes available, we’ll definitely update the support page.

If our solution hit the spot, please click "Accepted Solution" to help others find the answer. And if you'd like to say thanks, select "Yes" on the bottom left as that would make our day!  

Take care, and have an incredible day ahead!  

Regards,  

[TD7005]

Hello Zoey7886,

many thanks to you and Max3Aj for all your efforts, tips and hints.

So I will/have to live with the Wi-Fi circumvention - to keep my fingers crossed to get this issue solved by the next firmware update, which hopefully will provided soon  😉

Take care and have a good time.

Regards

Taso