HP 8600 with ATT Air router

[bigfootduncan]

I just changed over to ATT Air and was having issues getting the HP 8600 to connect to the wifi. I was able to fix the issue by connecting to my router and turning off the 5Ghz channel for the router. The printer then connected to the 2.x ghz channel and I was able to print. I then went back in and turned the 5Ghz channel back on and am still able to print. Just needed to get it to connect to the correct channel on the router.

[Rachel571]

Hi @bigfootduncan 

Welcome to HP Support Community.

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

It sounds like you successfully resolved the issue with your HP OfficeJet 8600 printer by temporarily turning off the 5GHz channel on your AT&T Air router to allow the printer to connect to the 2.4GHz channel. Once it was connected, you turned the 5GHz channel back on and were able to continue printing without issue. Nice job troubleshooting that!

Why This Works:

Many printers, especially older models like the HP OfficeJet 8600, are only compatible with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks and can struggle to connect to a 5GHz network. By turning off the 5GHz channel temporarily, you forced the printer to connect to the 2.4GHz network, which it could communicate with, and once connected, you re-enabled the 5GHz channel without any issue.

What Likely Happened:

• Initial Connection Attempt: The printer was likely trying to connect to the 5GHz band, which it wasn’t compatible with, so it failed to establish a connection.
• Solution: Turning off the 5GHz band temporarily allowed the printer to automatically connect to the 2.4GHz band, which it recognized and was able to connect to.
• Re-enabling 5GHz: Once the printer was connected, it was able to stay connected to the 2.4GHz network even when the 5GHz band was re-enabled. Many routers allow devices that are already connected to the 2.4GHz band to continue using it even if the 5GHz band is enabled again.

Why It's Important to Separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz:

• The 2.4GHz band has a longer range and better ability to penetrate walls and other obstacles, making it ideal for devices like printers that might be farther away from the router.
• The 5GHz band offers faster speeds but has a shorter range and is less able to penetrate walls and obstacles. Many devices, especially older ones, have trouble connecting to 5GHz.

What to Keep in Mind:

• Wi-Fi Compatibility: When using a dual-band router (like your AT&T Air router), make sure that devices like printers are connecting to the correct band. Some devices might need to be manually connected to the 2.4GHz band, as they may not be compatible with 5GHz.
• Network Settings: If you ever have to reset your router or change network settings again, you may want to keep the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks separated (i.e., give them different names or SSIDs) so you can easily connect your printer to the 2.4GHz network.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.

Rachel571

HP Support

[Repairatrooper]

Hopefully that is a permanent solution, as there have been a lot of issues with some printers working with current 5Ghz routers. If you continue to have issues, the best option is to do one of two things:

1. If your router supports channel locking you can tell the router to only connect to the printer by 2.4Ghz. This is done by adding the hardware address (MAC address) to a table.

2. Create a unique SSID for the 2.4Ghz channel and set the printer's wireless to only connect to that channel.