OfficeJet 3830 activates and scans by itself

[howardballinger]

For the past couple of months our printer/scanner is being activated without either of the two users who live here having done anything to cause it. At seemingly random times, we hear the printer's chime sound and/or the scanning carriage running. The little display on the printer then indicates that a scan has been sent successfully.

It's on our Wi-fi,  and we have no trouble printing or scanning from my Windows 10 or my wife's MacBook Air. We are also on the system on an Android phone and an iPhone. 

What can we do to find out what is causing this and fix it?  Does the software create any kind of log we can look at?

Thanks -- Howard

[Kumar0307]

@howardballinger, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

The printer software will not have a log of the printer functionality. Check if the printer is on a secure network.

On the printer, go to Setup > Network > Wifi-direct > Turn it off.

Reset the printer

1. With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.
2. Wait at least 60 seconds.
3. Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer.
4. Turn ON the printer, if it does not automatically turn on.
5. Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you proceed.

Note: HP recommends connecting the printer directly to a wall outlet rather than a surge protector or a power strip.

Update the printer firmware

Click here to download and install the latest printer firmware from your PC.

Click here to know different methods of updating printer firmware.

Monitor the printer. If the issue persists, we will have to assign a static IP address to the printer.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

Please click “Accept as 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!

Have a great day! 

[howardballinger]

Thanks, Kumar. But in the printer menus I see "Setup" "Network Setup" but not "Wi-fi Direct". There's an item "Network Setup" > "Wireless" and like you said, turning that off disables printing & scanning from our laptops. (I turned it back on, of course) But I don't see "Wifi Direct" anywhere.    -- HB

[Kumar0307]

@howardballinger

From the home screen of the printer, tap the 9 button as shown below and turn it off.

Let me know how it goes.

Please click “Accept as 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!

Have a great day! 

[howardballinger]

Ah-ha! There's the "Wi-fi Direct" control, Thanks for showing me where it is!

And it turns out that it's already off. We probably need to try something else -- HB

[Kumar0307]

@howardballinger

In that case, the last resort would be to perform a factory reset on the printer.

Note: This will delete all the settings on the printer and you will have to set it up again.

You may perform this step if the issue persists. I have sent you a private message with a set of instructions to perform a reset. Kindly check the same, this might help you to resolve this issue. Check next to your profile name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it.  

Let me know how it goes.