Envy 5546 and iMac stopped connecting - now solved by Apple

[Envy5546girl]

Thanks for reading this.  The scan facility stopped working a month or so ago.  It coincided with a change of router by BT in this area.  I had to put the new router code in and it connected to wifi ok with the blue light on.  The printer works and will print a test sheet and copy something.  However scan says offline.  About three weeks ago I spent hours on the internet searching and downloaded HP Smart the way to start scanning instead of the icon/app called HP Scan.  I could then scan using this app.  The (old) HP Scan app is still in the dock but will not work.  Today I have tried to scan and now the HP Smart app says printer offline too. I spent more time today searching and one forum said download driver so I got the HP Easy Start app.  Taking me through the set up it just whirrs and whirrs and says gathering device information.  I have also gone and deleted the printer from the Mac system preferences printers and scanners and when I try to put the Envy back on it says can't be found.  Please has anyone any idea how to resolve this?  Do you think it has anything to do with the new BT router or is that a coincidence?

25th April.  Now solved.  

After posting the question I continued to try and figure things out and spent literally 6 hours on Thursday on it.  I decided to see if it would work from my iPhone using wifi and it did.  I therefore reckoned that it was something to do with the iMac.  I got it to print through the USB cable but I wanted to use the wifi.  This meant I had to go through all the HP set up again as you can't have it set up to operate on both.  When I did this the HP message said it could not find a connection. In the end I decided to call Apple.  The man sorted it out in about 5 minutes!  The printer selected in Printers & Scanners was HP Envy 5540 series All-In-One.  He said the printer should be the 'Bonjour' one.  He went to the plus sign in Printers & Scanners and another window opens listing printers.  Opposite HP Envy 5540 series under the column 'kind' it says Bonjour Multifunction.  This is the one he selected.  In Printers & Scanners it then appears under the 'kind' heading as HP Envy 5540 series-Air Print.  This is the printer to select and I can now print wirelessly from the iMac to the HP Envy 4456.  I can also print using the USB cable by selecting the original printer listed in Printers & Scanners which he has kept on there for that purpose should it ever be needed.  

This is not what I read in any of the searching and HP information when I was trying to sort out the problem.  HP indicated that if you had set up the printer for USB and then wanted to use wifi you would have to reset it all and do away with the ability to use the USB.  However this way you don't need to do that you can have both options available each set up as a different printer.  

[Kumar0307]

Hi @Envy5546girl

Welcome to the HP Support Community. I understand you are not able to scan from your MAC. I'd be happy to assist you.

• This seems like a connectivity issue between the devices.
• Try making a standalone copy and check if that works. By this, we can conclude if this is a hardware or a driver issue.

Let's try the below steps to see if that helps - 

  

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. 

• Make sure the printer and the MAC are connected to the same wireless network.
• This printer supports only 2.4GHz network. So, the PC should be on the 2.4GHz network.
• If you have a Dual-band router and both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks share the same name/SSID, the printer will not be able to connect to the network. In this case, contact your Internet service provider to assign different names to both the networks.
• Also, check with your Internet service provider if your router is able to forward 'Bonjour packets'.
• 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 the option key on your keyboard and click the WiFi icon to get detailed information.
• You can press and hold option-click the WiFi icon and then use shift-command-5 to take the screenshot and share it in your next post. Press the space bar when the icon turns into a camera.

Perform a ping test to check the connectivity:

1. Obtain the IP address of the printer by clicking on the Wireless icon on the printer
2. On the MAC Go to Spotlight > search for Network utility > select Ping tab > enter the IP address of the printer in the box
3. Check the second box that says Send only > 10 pings
4. Click on ping > Check the results at the end if any packets are lost
5. Note: There should be 0% packet loss, share the results in your next post.

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! 

[Envy5546girl]

Thank you for your comprehensive reply.  I did not see it until now as it went into Spam.  I have sorted out the problem by telephoning Apple and have written the process in my original post.  Thanks again.

[Kumar0307]

@Envy5546girl

Glad to know that the issue is now resolved. Feel free to contact us with any concerns related to HP products.

Happy to help!