MacOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Will Not Print to or Add New Printer HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus

[Murty72]

My MacBook Air (A1466) stopped printing when it was updated to MacOS High Sierra  10.13.6 a few months back. When I would try to print, the document would show up in the printer queue, sit at 41% complete for anywhere from 5-10 minutes, then disappear. The printer, an HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus, never even lit up.

I perused both the Apple and HP forums for several weeks. I checked the following:

1) The printer is on the latest firmware

2) The driver software is the most current version on the MacBook (re-installed HP Easy Start)

I reset the print system within High Sierra, which was mentioned in both Apple and HP support forums. This removed all my printers. Now when I try to put them back, this is what happens:

1) The printer, which is on my home network, shows up as the only nearby printer

2) Start the Add process

3) It ends with the error message "Cannot communicate with the printer at this time"

This happens independent of the access mode:  whether I select the webserver on the printer, the HP drivers, or the AirPrint options. I took my MacBook to my friend's house and tried to connect his printer. Same exact results.

I also tried using the HP Easy Start software to install the printer, the only difference is that running the process is automated via the software, but the same setting windows all pop open, and the same error message is the result.

I can print to this printer using AirPrint from my iPhone 7 and iPhone X.

And lastly, I noticed while entering this ticket, that my update history in the App Store is empty. I update this device whenever a new version of OS X or any software on the MacBook needs it. I do not wait, so the update to 10.13.6 was from whatever was the version immediately before it. I did not upgrade across multiple versions.

I know it seems that this seems like a laptop issue and not the printer, but I am getting no help from the Apple support forum and I was hoping someone from HP had come across this same issue...

[KrazyToad]

@Murty72

Welcome to HP Support Forums. A really great platform for posting all your questions and finding solutions.

I have gone through your Post and would like to help

Please update the printer Firmware and ensure 2.4 GHz Network is enabled in the Router. You can refer to the Router's User Guide .

Then Reset the Printer Network Settings  

1. On the printer control panel, touch (right arrow), touch Setup, and then touch Network.

2. Touch Restore Network Defaults, and then select Yes. A message appears stating that the network defaults have been restored

Next run the wireless setup wizard

1. Set up the printer hardware. See the getting started guide or the setup poster that came with your printer.

2. On the printer control panel, touch (right arrow), touch Setup, and then touch Network.

3. Touch Wireless, touch Wireless Setup Wizard, and then touch OK.

4. Follow the display instructions to complete the setup.

Let me know how it goes

Thank you and have a great day 😊

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the "Solution Accepted" on this Post and it will also help other community members with similar issue.
 

[Murty72]

@KrazyToad

I have always had this printer connected to my lan via hardwire.  All the devices on my network can see it:  windows PCs, Linux PCs, and iPhones.  The wifi feature has never been activated on this printer.  If you think that accessing the printer via wireless will resolve the issue, I will activate it and give it another try.  I will let you know how this goes.

[KrazyToad]

@Murty72

Please try connecting it wirelessly and let me know how it goes

Thank you 😊

[Murty72]

I have reset the network and set up the wireless access.  The printer is now attached to the lan via wifi, and has the same IP address.  I ran the steps to completely remove HP Easy Start from my laptop.  Then I downloaded HP Easy Start from the HP Support Software and Drivers page for my printer.

Running the Hp Easy Start I got through these steps:

1) It unzipped.

2) I ran HP Eash Start

3) It detected my printer, which I selected and clicked continue

4) It put up the message "Connecting to HP.com"

5) It downloaded and installed HP Easy Scan v1.9.2.3 and the software installed successfully

6) I skipped past the "register your device with HP" step, since it already is

7) I clicked on the blue "Add Device" button on the "Add and Verify your Device" step

😎 After a couple minutes, a popup appeared that said: "Cannof configure the device software.  Go back to the previous step and try to install the software again".

Every other device, my HP desktop windows 10, HP desktop Ubuntu Linux, HP Envy Laptop windoes 10, iPhone6, iPhone 7, and iPhone X can all still print to the printer - they did not notice it had switched to wifi access.

From the new HP Printer APP on Windows 10, I validated that the printer is on the latest firmware.  From HP Support Assistant, also on Windows 10, I did the same firmware validation.

[KrazyToad]

@Murty72

I suggest you repair disk permissions with Disk Utility

Permissions are file settings that affect the ability to read, write, or execute (open or run) the file. If a file's permissions are no longer set correctly, software that uses the file might not work correctly. 

1. From the Finder, select the “Go” menu, then choose “Utilities“.
2. Open “Terminal“.
3. Type the following command, then press “Enter“:
   diskutil resetUserPermissions / `id -u`

Some users may need to run the command with “sudo” in front of it:

sudo diskutil resetUserPermissions / `id -u`

The system will then verify and repair permissions.

Then try reinstall the driver and Add the printer as Airprint

Let me know how it goes

Thank you 😊

[Murty72]

same problem.  The installation fails with "Unable to communicate with the printer at this time."  Looking further into this, I see that the firmware on the printer updated to CLP1CN1829AR right about the same time the printer stopped working with my laptop.  And I also see that the last supported firmware is ~1828AR.

So this appears to be a firmware issue, not an Apple issue.  When is a fix for this coming out?  Or can I revert the printer back to ~1828AR?

Let me know.  I may have to purchase a new printer.  But at this time I am thinking HP would not be a good choice...

[senan6806]

@Murty72

It looks like you were interacting with @KrazyToad, but he is out for the day & I'll be glad to help you out. However, for an accurate solution, I would need more details:

What's the make and model of your WiFi router?

Do you have any antivirus software installed on your Mac?

Do you have a guest network enabled on your WiFi router?

Approximately how far is the printer located from the WiFi router?

Could you check for WiFi interference and also 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 touching the wireless icon on the printer display.

Let me know!

[Murty72]

@Senan6806

It looks like you were interacting with @KrazyToad, but he is out for the day & I'll be glad to help you out. However, for an accurate solution, I would need more details:

What's the make and model of your WiFi router?

• enGenius eap1750H Access Point connected to a Cisco RV042G router

Do you have any antivirus software installed on your Mac?

• Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition v9.7.7

Do you have a guest network enabled on your WiFi router?

• No.

Approximately how far is the printer located from the WiFi router?

• In the same room

Could you check for WiFi interference 

• I looked over the WiFi Interference document and there is nothing interfering with the printer  If you go back through the support message, you will see that this stopped working when the printer was hardwire connected to the LAN.  That has not changed just because I connected it via Wireless.

and also 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 touching the wireless icon on the printer display.

• The results of the ping test are:

            Ping has started…

            PING 192.168.1.153 (192.168.1.153): 56 data bytes

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=1.414 ms

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=3.061 ms

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=2.970 ms

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=3 ttl=255 time=1.094 ms

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=4 ttl=255 time=1.259 ms

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=5 ttl=255 time=3.119 ms

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=6 ttl=255 time=2.929 ms

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=7 ttl=255 time=1.027 ms

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=8 ttl=255 time=1.306 ms

            64 bytes from 192.168.1.153: icmp_seq=9 ttl=255 time=1.007 ms

            --- 192.168.1.153 ping statistics ---

            10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0.0% packet loss

            round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 1.007/1.919/3.119/0.908 ms

Let me know!

• Now you know.

[senan6806]

@Murty72

Thanks! It looks like there is no packet loss during ping test. It's possible that the wireless router is blocking or not able to forward multicast packet (Bonjour). Please contact your internet service provider or router manufacturer and check if the router is able to forward multicast packet. If the router is able to forward multicast packets then use the steps available here to troubleshoot the connectivity issue.