ENVY 6055e won't print despite Printer Information Report saying printer IS connected to Internet ??

[Phlurim45]

I am a casual,residential user of my 1½  year old HP ENVY 6055e printer. I have an Instant Ink account with my ENVY 6055e. And Mac OS Sonoma 14.6.1. Printer stopped working 4 days ago, and I have been dead in the water ever since, despite my many, long efforts. It also doesn't give me my ink supply status, saying that info wasn't available. I'm not getting any proper error messaging from HP acct nor from Instant Ink acct.  All I get is that it's not working - not at all helpful. {Perhaps this is because the HP ENVY 6000e Series technology is kludgy & complex to ensure reliability and customer ease to resolve issues.} The Printer Information Report said printer is connected OK to the Internet and WiFi, along with correct IP address. I eventually pulled the plug on the printer, as I've usually always done in these situation to successfully re-activate the printer. But this time the printer wouldn't re-activate. Now all I get is a perpetually flashing blue WiFi icon on the printers mini-console - after pushing the WiFi button on the back of the printer. I also get Printer Report info that printer isn't connected to Internet and WiFi.  As far as I can tell the Gateway and Router are functioning properly - all my other devices, including cable TV service via the same Internet connection over same LAN that the printer is suppose to be connected with. But I can't print to the ENVY via my other devices either. Please advise.

Also, is there any possibility this problem may be solely due to something wrong with printer connectivity with my Instant Ink account? I would hope not - why should an Instant Ink account problem interrupt the printer's function without giving me a specific error message to this effect?

[Raj_05 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Phlurim45,

Welcome to HP Support Community.

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

It sounds like you've been through quite a bit of troubleshooting with your HP ENVY 6055e. Here are a few steps you might consider to address the issue.

Check Printer Connectivity

• Power Cycle: Unplug the printer from the power source, wait for about 60 seconds, and then plug it back in. This can help reset any internal issues.
• Wi-Fi Reset: Press and hold the Wi-Fi button on the back of the printer for about 10-15 seconds until the blue light blinks rapidly, then release. This should reset the Wi-Fi settings. After that, reconnect the printer to your Wi-Fi network through the printer's control panel.

Network Settings

• Check Network Connection: Make sure your printer is connected to the correct Wi-Fi network. You might need to re-enter the network credentials through the printer’s setup menu.
• IP Address: Confirm that the IP address shown on the printer’s report matches the one your router assigns. Sometimes, a change in IP address can disrupt connectivity.

Printer Software and Drivers

• Update Printer Firmware: Check if there’s an available firmware update for your printer. Sometimes, bugs in older firmware versions can cause connectivity issues.
• Reinstall Printer Drivers: On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, remove your printer, and then add it again. This ensures that the printer driver is correctly installed.

Instant Ink Account

• Check Instant Ink Status: Log in to your Instant Ink account online and ensure that your account is in good standing and that there are no issues with your subscription or ink supply.
• Instant Ink Status: Sometimes, connectivity issues with Instant Ink can cause printing problems. Make sure your printer’s Instant Ink registration is still valid.

Printer Diagnostic

• HP Smart App: Download and use the HP Smart app on your Mac to perform diagnostics and troubleshooting. This app can often detect issues with the printer and offer solutions.
• HP Print and Scan Doctor: Although primarily for Windows, it can be useful to check if a similar utility is available for Mac or use it on a Windows device if you have access to one.

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. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Alden4

HP Support 

[Phlurim45]

Hello Alden4 ... Many thx for your suggestions. Sorry for the length of this reply - it's a reflection of my long-standing desperation to finally get my printer working again.

     I had previously done about half of your suggestions at least a couple times, but without success. Simply unplugging the printer for a couple minutes, and re-plugging it in has usually always worked throughout this year to fix whatever the known problem was. But not this time.

     I'll try the rest of your suggestions now. But, being a casual, residential user (with a wee bit more tech knowledge than typical, casual, non-technical users), it's still going to be a laborious learning process for me. I'm no longer familiar with things like how to check what my ISP's modem-with-built-in-router settings are for things like printer IP address. I only know what the IP address has always been up until now. My ISP changed my modem/router a year ago (to Sagemcom). It is far less user-friendly than their previous device. I used to be able to easily check and even change settings myself on their previous modem/router. (I surmise one reason for this somewhat confusing accessibility of their new modem/router may be that they might be trying to discourage customers' (me) from interfering with the modem/router settings?! But then, how are customers expected to be able to self-diagnose/fix problems without intimate familiarity with their modem/routers?!) The new modem/router requires me to access some settings via the ISP's Sagemcom app on my MAC (which is as per usual), but am required to access certain other needed settings via QR codes to the ISP's smartphone apps only!!! The resulting back-and-forth has not been easy nor helpful.

     I've been a week without my printer now, which I suspect is also creating a new issue with my Instant Ink account being unable to monitor my ink usage. Usage has been zero for 7 days, except for the printer still allowing me to make a few off-line copies manually, which I suspect Instant Ink will catch up with once the printer is back on-line.

     One particular frustration was a phone call to tech support earlier this week that put me on hold for over an hour, only to be suddenly cut off by an auto-msg that my call could no longer be taken - grrrr!!!  A total useless waste of over an hour of my time! Not the 1st time this has happened, and I don't see any easy way to share my frustrations about this with HP 'suits'. Consequently, I will not be using HP's phone support anymore, despite having warranty coverage that advertises convenient call-in support (notwithstanding your own much better help). Same complaint applies to HP's Virtual Assistant that only seems to be able to handle 'standard' questions, that I can resolve myself anyway. But with more complex problems, VA takes me around in circles (infinite loop!!!) until I finally give up. Hence my unsuccessful attempt to talk to a real person instead of VA.

   I'll get back to you one way or another when/if I am able to get the printer working through my own efforts and your help. Thx again.

PS: In my opinion, thinking of VA as an AI tool is a total misnomer. VA does a somewhat crude  'search & respond', with hyperlinks, based on an early 20th century logic technique of a closed set of logic trees supplied by human beings? There's no Artificial Intelligence happening here, per se! True AI is a long ways from being accomplished as originally advertised - a physical 'entity' (think 'robot'?!) that digitally analyzes 'sensory' analog inputs (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste) in the same manner that the brain analyzes them. Then performs useful responses in the form of physical, emotional and verbal actions that exactly replicate human responses. VA is one of today's many, many so-called AI 'tools' that don't even come close to AI's true intent. But hopefully they are paving the way towards this at some yet-unknown point in the future. Perhaps there will be a Virtual Assistant that only needs a properly stated verbal problem that it will then solve, implement its solution itself, including the performance of a quality assurance verification that the problem has indeed fixed the stated problem. Sounds good in theory - a tall order indeed?!

[Raj_05]

Hi @Phlurim45,

Thank you for your response, 

Is there anything else that I can help you with today?

Please click “Accepted 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!

Take care and have a great day ahead!

Alden4

HP Support 

[Phlurim45]

     I'm sorry but I can't say 'YES' to 'Was it helpful?'. But you were helpful. This issue seems to be more complicated than most can figure out for me.

     After 3rd wk in a row without able to get the printer to go back on-line, I finally resorted to The Geek Squad. They got the printer going again within 10 minutes of diagnosing everything. He reset a number of options in the modem/router, and also fixed a couple options with the printer itself via HP Smart. He couldn't explain how or why the printer was working just fine one day, but then not the very next day. The printer is back on-line now, but it will still drop off line at least once a week, despite indications of very strong WiFi & Internet signals. One suspicion is the quality of my ISP's signal reliability, but the Geek Squad guy said this, as a cause of the printer dropping off line, is very difficult diagnose. Unplugging & replugging the printer is back working again like it used to before this recent problem. And it's quite quick getting the printer back on-line (cross fingers!!) I thought HP SMART was suppose to attempt an auto-restart of the printer any time the WiFi and/or Internet connection is lost. But I've never seen this happen once over the 1½ years I've owned it. I've always had to try to reconnect the printer myself manually. My HP ENVY 6055e wireless printer is a major disappointment (compared to the HP ENVY 4000 printer I owned previous to this 6055e). I'm suspicious of Instant Ink's apparent connection requirements that seem somewhat gimmicky that may be interfering with the printer's otherwise reliable connectivity.  My bottom line is that my HP ENVY 6055e does not perform in all its advertised ways. My next printer will not be HP.

     How can my message reach the ears of HP management?