LaserJet 400 color M451 Printer will not connect to WiFi with new Modem

[Baxterdown]

Hi everyone, newbie here.

I have an HP LaserJet 400 color M451nw printer, which has always been connected to my network over WiFi. Last week I upgraded my internet service and my ISP (XFinity/Comcast) switched the gateway to a new model (xFi Advanced to xFi Gen 3). Now the printer refuses to connect to the new gateway over WiFi. It connect without issues over USB and Ethernet, but it will not connect over WiFi.

Here's where I am so far with troubleshooting:

- I wanted to isolate the problem to the new gateway, so I connected an old router (Linksys WRTG54) to the network in bridge mode, and created a separate WiFi network. I wired my computer and the printer to the Linksys and both connected with no problem. I accessed the printer through the browser interface, turned on WiFi, and connected to the Linksys WiFi network. The printer connected perfectly! I tested printing a page and it printed OK.

- Two important things to note with the test above: First, the new gateway's LAN IP range is 10.0.0.x and the Linksys network I created had LAN IPs in the 192.168.1.x range. Second, the Linksys default WiFi security mode is WPA.

- The above test said to me that the issue is most likely with the new gateway's WiFi security mode, or with the printer's handling of the IP address range.

- The new gateway's WiFi security mode is WPA2-PSK (AES) and my ISP doesn't give me the option to change it (ugh!). The Linksys max WPA security mode is WPA2 Personal with two algorithm options: TKIP or AES. I don't know enough about WiFi security modes but from what I read these two settings (the gateway and the Linksys) are pretty similar. When I ticked up the Linksys WiFi security to WPA2 with AES the printer still connected over WiFi with no problem. This says to me that the WiFi security mode is not the issue.

- So, I turned my attention to the LAN IP range and thought, maybe it has something to do with the printer not liking the 10.0.0.x range. That didn't make sense because when I connect the printer to the new gateway via Ethernet, it grabs a 10... IP and connects with no problem. Still, I went ahead and changed the new gateway's LAN IP range to 192.168.1.x. The printer connected via Ethernet no problem, but still refused to connect to WiFi.

When I go through the motions of activating WiFi and trying to connect the printer, this is the result:

- The browser interface instead of showing the connected WiFi network information only shows: HTTP:0

- The printer shows on the screen 79 error, turn off then on.

- Once the printer goes into the 79 error, there's not way to get it out of it. The only solution I have found is to hold the right arrow and cancel buttons when restarting to do a full reset. After that, it goes back to business.

One last thing. I thought just now it could be the new gateway's firewall setting. But I doubt it because if it were, the printer wouldn't connect when wired. But, for what it's worth, this is the gateway's firewall setting:

Minimum Security (Low)

LAN-to-WAN : Allow all.

WAN-to-LAN : Block as per below and enable IDS.

IDENT (port 113)

I don't know where to go from here. Any assistance is sincerely appreciated.

Jose

[Repairatrooper]

This may be an issue with compatibility of the wireless mode on the printer with your new router. We often see issues with the newer 5Ghz systems not connecting to the older 5Ghz printers. If the router is dual band, you are going to want to set the 2.4 Ghz channel on a different SSID and force the printer to only attach to the 2.4 channel.

[Baxterdown]

Thanks for your prompt reply!

I cannot separate the two bands because the range extenders require both bands to have the same SSID. But, your suggestion gave me an idea. I went into the new gateway's control panel and disabled the 5Ghz band. After, I reconnected my computer to the 2.4Ghz band and went to the printer's UI on a browser (the printer is still connected via Ethernet).

I activated WiFi and tried to connect to my network knowing that it's only 2.4Ghz at the moment. Unfortunately I got the same result. The connection doesn't work and ends up with HTTP 0 on the connection status and 79 Error on the printer's display.

Any other suggestions?

Jose