Can't print from Mac but can via email

[JimS2281]

I have an HP OfficeJet 5740 e-All-in-One printer - Model B9S76A. It used to work fine but now I cannot print to it using the Mac Print option. The Mac claims that it is not connected to the wireless network, but the printer shows a Very Good connection. Also, I can print by sending an email to the printer. So, I don't see how it can be a network connection problem. Could it be a Mac problem?

[KrazyToad]

@JimS2281

I understand your concerns and I would like to help. We need to check few details first and we could try adding the printer as Airprint

- Do you have any Anti-virus software installed on your MAC? If you do, please deactivate it for now.

- Ensure the printer and the MAC are connected to the same wireless network.
-Note:- This printer supports only 2.4GHz network. Do not connect it to 5 GHz Network incase your Router supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz
- If you have a Dual-band router and both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks share the same name/SSID, then 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.

Please check with your Internet service provider if your router is able to forward 'Bonjour packets'. This is very important

Bonjour locates devices such as printers, other computers, and the services that those devices offer on a local network using multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) service records. The software comes built-in with Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems.

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 or by printing a Network Configuration Page

Next ensure your Mac and Printer have the latest updates

Printer Firmware: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c02919168

Mac update: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT2015

After checking all those details and if the Ping Test is successful, Remove and Re-add the printer using Airprint. AirPrint is an Apple technology that helps you create full-quality printed output without the need to download or install drivers.

1.) Click the Apple menu, click System Preferences, and then click Print & Scan or Printers & Scanners.
2.) Check if your printer name displays in the Printers list, If your printer is listed, click the printer name, click the minus sign to delete the printer.

3.) If you see multiple printer queues for the same printer, remove all extra printers by selecting them one at a time, and then clicking the minus button  at the bottom of the list.

4.) Click the plus sign , click Add Printer or Scanner, click the printer name.

5.) Click the Use or Print Using menu, select AirPrint or Secure AirPrint in the pop-up menu. Then click Add.

6.) Try to print

Let me know how it goes😊

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.

[JimS2281]

First, I want to thank you for your timely and comprehensive response.

I deactivated the anti-virus (Avira) and tried to print. I was still not able to print. I was still able to print via email.

The router is dual-band but I had previously assigned different SSIDs for 2.4GHz and 5 GHz. The printer and the Mac are both connected to 2.4

I logged in to the router IP addr but I do not see anything about enabling or disabling Bonjour packets. I tried to determine if Spectrum supports Bonjour but I could not figure out how to get that question answered. Since Bonjour was released in 2002, I am assuming that Spectrum supports it. The printer Network Configuration page shows Bonjour Status Enabled.

I couldn't find a Mac Network Utility so I used Terminal ping against the IPv4 IP Address from the printer Network Configuration page - no packets received - 100% packet loss.

I could not figure out how to update the printer firmware. I couldn't find a local printer menu option to directly update the firmware at the printer. And, I can't update it from the Mac because I can't communicate to the printer over wireless (the firmware update app could not find the printer). I can't use an ethernet connection because my Mac does not have an ethernet port and the update web page says specifically that USB cannot be used. The Network Configuration page says that my firmware revision level is NPM5CN2022AR and the downloaded firmware file is named OJ5740_2022A.dmg so I suspect that my printer's firmware is up to date.

I looked for the web page you mentioned (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT2015) but it was not found. I did find https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201465 which seems to indicate that Apple wants to use AirPrint. Apple's support page (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201311) seems to indicate that the 5740 printer does support AirPrint. So, I assume that updates to AirPrint come with any updates to MacOS.

When I look at Printers & Scanners in System Preferences, my printer shows a green dot with Idle, Last Used. When I print to it, it shows a yellow dot In use, Last Used and the printer queue shows Printing - The printer is not responding. Then I hit the X to cancel it, it disappears and the Printers & Scanners goes back to green dot with Idle, Last Used. When I click Options & Supplies in Printers & Scanners and click Supply Levels, it says Information Not Available. (I know there's plenty of ink because I recently replaced the cartridges. In the Printers & Scanners, the Kind field shows HP OfficeJet 5740 series-AirPrint.

I think if I remove the printer and try to add it again, I will not be able to add it because I can't seem to communicate from the Mac to the printer over wireless (see the firmware update issue).

I'm lost as to what to do.

[KrazyToad]

Thanks for keeping me posted

I suggest you restore the printer back to factory settings and then run the wireless setup Wizard again

1. Tap Setup > Printer Maintenance > Restore > Restore Factory Defaults > Restore.

1. From the printer control panel, touch (Wireless). 2. Touch ( Settings . 3. Touch Wireless Settings. 4. Touch Wireless Setup Wizard. 5. Follow the display instructions to complete the setup.

Next run the  Terminal Ping and check if it's connected

Keep me posted

[JimS2281]

Again, thank you for your support.

I noticed that the current time on the printer was 5 hours later than the current time so I changed it and tried to print but it still didn't work.

I restored the printer to factory defaults as suggested (this changed to printer email address and I also discovered later that I had to update the printer claim code for my instant ink account - but no matter)

I setup wireless on the printer and tried to print (didn't work)

I tried ping and surprisingly, ping worked!

So, I decided to remove the printer from the Mac and I attempted to add it again. The add menu found the printer so I was able to add it. This time printing worked! (By the way, the default protocol was Secure AirPrint.)

We have a second Mac that had been having the same problem so we deleted and added the printer and this Mac started printing successfully also (although the print took maybe 20 seconds to print - which seems a little long).

Now, the bad news.

It seems like the connection from the Mac to the printer drops after awhile (approximately 30 minutes to an hour). Ping stopped working and printing stopped working. The whole time, the printer shows a Very Good wireless connection. Turning the printer off and on sometimes restores Mac connectivity temporarily.

So, for some reason, the Mac seems to lose connectivity to the printer after awhile. Mac connectivity remains fine for everything else - email, web, iCloud, backup, Mac app store, etc.

Why would the Mac drop connectivity after awhile? Or, is it the printer dropping connectivity to the Mac after awhile?

[KrazyToad]

@JimS2281

I suggest you assign a Manual IP Address and check of that helps

1) Obtain the IP address of the printer – You can print a Network Configuration page to obtain the IP address.

2) Type the IP address on your web browser to obtain the printer EWS page on your computer.

3) Go to "Network" tab - General - Select "Network protocols" - Select "Enable IPv4 only" (or similar) - Apply the settings.

4) Go to the “Network” tab – Click on “Wireless (802.11) – Then click on “Network address (IPv4)

5) Click Manual IP

6) 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.

7) 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.

Thank you

[JimS2281]

Once more, thanks for your support.

I logged in to the EWS as you suggested, enabled IPv4 only, clicked Manual IP address and entered the IP addresses from the Network Configuration Page. (I had to turn off the printer and turn it back on in order to connect to the EWS.)

Unfortunately, the printer acted pretty much the same as before. Printing worked, ping worked. But, after awhile, the Mac could not connect to the printer. Printing stopped working, ping stopped working. If I turned the printer off and on again, it would work for awhile.

[KrazyToad]

Please refer the Mac Printing System and then re-add the printer as Airprint

Link: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c01371980

[JimS2281]

Before I did anything else, I had to change the wireless IP Address Configuration back to Automatic IP because email printing would no longer work. When I touched the ePrint display icon, it indicated an error. When I printed the report (selecting a print report button), the printout indicated that the printer was not configured with a DNS server. After I changed it to automatic, the emails I had sent previously showed up (printed).

You said to refer the Mac Printing System - I assume you meant reset it. I reset it. After turning the printer off and on several times, I was able to add the printer. By the way, I also rebooted the Mac before I added the printer. When adding the printer, I saw 3 choices for the Use field - Secure AirPrint, AirPrint, HP Officejet 5740 series. This time I chose HP Officejet 5740 series. This is what seems to work best.

So far, the printer seems to be staying connected to the Mac longer. The next day, I tried to ping the printer and it failed but I think the printer may have still been connected. I stopped and restarted the printer and also my router. ping still didn't work but I could print. I can't explain why ping doesn't work. I verified that the IP address is correct from the printer control panel display. I started to use the System Preferences, Printers & Scanners, Options & Supplies, Supply Levels to verify that the printer is connected. (I didn't want to keep printing a page to verify that the printer was connected in order to save ink and instant ink pages.) Late update - ping is back working ?!

So, bottom line - I think the reset of the Mac Printing System and adding the printer with a Use of HP Officejet 5740 series may have fixed the problem. The Mac and the printer have stayed connected for 3 days now. (ping still has 100% packet loss ?!)

One thing I noticed is that I was able to print even though the Mac was connected to the 5G wireless SSID ?!

[KrazyToad]

Please check the IP Address on your Mac and check the IP Address on your printer and let me know if they are the same