Can't connect to 4100 deskjet printer

[d_myke]

Hey guys. Just got a 4120e deskjet printer. Tried all I can to connect through wifi, but it just doesn't work.

Tried on a Windows PC (Windows 11) and a Mac. Android phone and iPhone. None works. I've got the HP Smart app on all platforms. 

Connected via USB, and it works well. Also tried wifi direct on the Windows PC, and it worked.

So, connecting via the HP Smart app. I put the printer into setup mode (X and wifi button for a few secs). The printer is seen on the app. I click setup. It selects the printer and moves to the next stage (connecting to the printer). This is where it gets stuck every single time. After a while, I get a message that the system could not connect to the printer - check distance and all.

I've come to notice that at the stage where the app is "connecting to the printer", the PC/Mac disconnects from my router, and tries to connect to "HP_Direct...". Is this normal? This leads me to guess the printer is on wifi direct mode. Is there anyway I can disable the wifi direct mode?

If that's not the problem, what then? Pls help 

[Jim_WiFi]

Hi D_myke,

Yes, when using HP Smart on Windows to perform printer Wi-Fi setup, it is normal for the PC to briefly connect to the printers WiFi Direct interface. This is how the credentials for your router are shared with the printer.  In the normal case this happens quickly and the PC returns to your normal WiFi network (and the printer uses these newly received credentials to also connect to your network)

It sounds like something is going wrong here.  Have you tried performing WiFi setup using HP Smart on either Android or iOS? On those platforms Bluetooth Low Energy is used to transfer the WiFi credentials to the printer.  Perhaps this will bypass the problem that you are seeing.

If that still doesn't work, we may be facing an interoperability issue between the printer and your WiFi router.  In this case, can you share the make and model of your router, as well as the security mode (WPA2, WPA3, etc)?

[d_myke]

Thanks for the reply. I've tried connecting the printer to my phones (Android and iOS), no luck.

My router is a tp-link Archer C60. It's on WPA2

Fwiw, also tried connecting using my phone's hotspot (switched off the router). I tried 2.4gz and 5gz. Tried with WPA2 and with no password (open network).

Nothing works. 

[Jim_WiFi · Accepted solution]

Hi D_myke,

Thanks for confirming that you've tried HP Smart on a few platforms.  This printer should be compatible with that router and with the other modes that you tried.

One other thing that is worth trying it making sure that your printer firmware is the latest.  You can check the current version by printing the Info page (just press the I button), the firmware version is in the upper right corner near the serial number.  The version will have 4 numbers in it, something like 21nn or 22mm, the first two are the year 2021 or 2022 and the nn or mm will be a week number.

For your printer you can download the latest firmware version here: https://support.hp.com/sg-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-deskjet-4100e-all-in-one-series/2100187845/model...   It comes as a firmware update utility that you can run on Windows or Mac.

In order to apply this update, you will have to either temporarily connect the printer with a USB cable.  OR connect the PC directly to the printer's Wi-Fi Direct network (DIRECT-xy-HP Deskjet 4100..) and then run the update utility.

If your current firmware version is significantly older than 2208, it would be worth updating and trying Wi-Fi setup again.  You may be experiencing a bug that has already been corrected in the latest release.

[d_myke]

Hello. So, I updated the printer firmware. It was previously on ...2138..

However, still could not connect. Got the HP Easy Start programme on my PC. Was prompted to connect the USB while setting up the wireless network. Did this, and it still did not work.

Was then given the option of getting HP Smart (which I already had, or a full suite of software  (can't quite recall the name right now) for the 4100 printer. Got the latter 

Setup here also prompted me to connect the printer via USB while setting up the wireless network. Did this. Got a prompt that my network settings were being transferred to the system. Also got a prompt that I had network sharing turned off. Turned this one.

Tl:dr My printer now connects to ALL my devices wirelessly.

Thanks for your time