HP Smart app won't connect

[Trice]

I'm an HP Instant Ink subscriber, and yesterday I went to the HP Smart app on my HP Windows laptop to check my ink status. My HP Officejet Pro 8720 (all-in-one) shows up in HP Smart just fine, but when I click on the hamburger menu in the upper left of the app, it tells me to sign in. I am able to enter my email address, but as soon as I click the "next" button for the screen where I would enter my password, I get the "We can't connect to the service you need right now. Check your network connection or try this again later" message. When I click through, I get "Error code: OW_500_0WSID00001".

Two other possibly related items:

1. My HP Smart Android app behaves in similar fashion - my printer is visible but when I click the button to look at my account info, I get a "We're sorry, something went wrong" message and an "exit setup" button.

2. The Instant Ink web page basically gives me nothing at all - it's all promotional/signup material and nothing about my account. I click "sign in" and it returns me to the same page, with no options to do anything related to my account except for the option in the upper right corner to "sign out."

I've tried this repeatedly in the last 24 hours, and the same thing happens every time. It's probably been awhile since I used HP Smart, but the printer is nearly three years old and this problem is new to me.

I've seen other posts that suggest this is an internet issue, and perhaps it is, but I have no trouble using the printer for wireless printing and scanning purposes. The printer software works just fine. I've also read suggestions that it may be a VPN issue, but I'm not using one. All software and apps have been updated, and I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling HP Smart.

[Betty0610]

@Trice

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

Let's remove and add web services again:

To remove Web Services using the printer control panel 1. From the top of the screen, touch or swipe down the tab to open the Dashboard, touch ( HP ePrint ), and then touch (Web Services Settings). 2. Touch Remove Web Services.

To set up Web Services using the printer control panel 1. From the top of the screen, touch or swipe down the tab to open the Dashboard, and then touch ( Setup ). 2. Touch Web Services Setup. 3. Touch Accept to accept the Web Services terms of use and enable Web Services. 4. On the screen that appears, touch OK to allow the printer to automatically check for product updates.

Let me know if this helps.

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Thanks!

Have a great day!

[Trice]

Thank you for the reply, @Betty0610. Unfortunately this did not help. I'm still experiencing the same issue.

[Betty0610]

Can you try using a different web browser to login to your Instant Ink Account? If you've any other Computer, try on that too.

Let me know if this helps.

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Thanks!

Have a great day!

[Trice]

Unfortunately using a different web browser doesn't help either. I typically use Firefox and I've tried Chrome and Edge. When I visit https://instantink.hpconnected.com, I am allowed to sign it but it returns me to what appears to be a generic new customer page, where it encourages me to sign up. There is no option to look at my existing account. And unfortunately I'm still unable to log in to my HP Smart app. I get a similar error when trying to access the app via my Windows 10 HP laptop and on my Android phone.

Finally I was able to view my account when the Android app kicked me over to a page in my Firefox Android app that did cooperate and log in. It said that the printer was not connected - what that means, I don't know, as I am able to print - but when it walked me through connecting and printed out the page with my printer's email address, the page did not include the code that the HP Instant Ink page told me I needed to connect my printer.

[Betty0610]

Please refer to the FAQ section below: https://support.hp.com/in-en/product/mice/5409402/document/c03767639

Let me know if this helps.

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Thanks!

Have a great day!

[Trice]

Unfortunately no luck. I was able to get a printer code and "add" it back - I'm using quotes here because the printer was already on the account - and the HP Instant Ink page still came up without my account info, though this time it did mention I get three free months so it must think I'm a new customer. Still no luck with HP Smart apps on Windows or Android.

In doing some more research, I'm seeing reports of people using eero mesh routers having trouble with HP printers. I suspect that may be the issue.

[Betty0610]

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstall the HP Smart App? Are you able to print and scan?

[Trice]

Yes, I can print and scan normally, which is why this is so puzzling. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling HP Smart before to no avail, but I did so again just to be sure. When I reinstalled it, it asks me to sign in and as soon as I enter my email address, it attempts to connect and then I get the error message again. Then it says it is exiting setup and returns me to the "home" page of the app, where my printer is right there and visible. This is the same behavior it showed when the app was installed previously.

I called eero tech support last night and they said there is nothing from their end that would indicate a problem. I then removed my printer from my home network and suspended the 5 GHz band then reconnected the printer (so it would be forced on to the 2.4 GHz band). Nothing changed...HP Smart on my laptop or phone still can not connect and yet the printer shows up and generally works okay.

And this is all relatively new behavior. I can't pinpoint when this might have changed, or what caused it to change, but it worked perfectly fine up until recently.

[Betty0610 · Accepted solution]

Let's restore the network settings on the Printer:

To restore the printer to the original network settings 1. From the printer control panel, touch or swipe down the tab at the top of the screen to open the Dashboard, and then touch ( Setup ). 2. Touch Network Setup. 3. Touch Restore Network Settings. A message appears stating that the network defaults will be restored. 4. Touch Yes.

And please connect back to the Wi-Fi.

Let me know if this helps.

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Thanks!

Have a great day!