Wireless Printing Help

[Shuder1]

I have an HP 8600 Officejet Pro 8600 that I'm trying to connect to my wifi to use as a network printer.  It was set-up and worked fine in my former house but we moved and I'm having no luck getting in on-line in my new house.  The printer will find the wifi but will not connect when I enter the WEP or password for the wifi.  All other devises in the house are connected w/o issue and is in very reachable distance to the router.  When I hard plug it into a USB on my PC or Mac, it prints fine.  It's just not connecting to the found network.  Any help please.  I've looked through all of the HP troubleshooting docs and nothing has worked.  

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @Shuder1 

Thanks for stopping by the HP community. A very good day to you.  I reviewed the post. I will be delighted to assist you here.

Superb description and stupendous diagnosis of the issue before posting. Kudos to you for that.  😊 

Since the printer sees the network but fails to connect after entering the password, here’s a structured approach to get it back online:

Step 1: Restore Network Defaults

Let’s start fresh:

1. On the printer’s control panel, tap the Setup icon (wrench or gear).
2. Go to Network > Restore Network Defaults.
3. Confirm and restart the printer.

Step 2: Reconnect Using Wireless Setup Wizard

1. Go to Setup > Network > Wireless Setup Wizard.
2. Select your Wi-Fi SSID.
3. Carefully enter the password (case-sensitive). If your router uses WEP, consider switching to WPA2—WEP is outdated and often causes compatibility issues.

If the printer still fails to connect, try temporarily disabling MAC address filtering or guest isolation on your router.

Step 3: Router Compatibility Check

• Frequency Band: The 8600 supports 2.4GHz only. If your router is dual-band, ensure the 2.4GHz SSID is enabled and broadcasting.
• Security Mode: Use WPA2-Personal (AES)—avoid mixed WPA/WPA2 or enterprise modes.

Step 4: Firmware Update via USB

Since USB printing works:

1. Visit HP’s driver page for the 8600.
2. Download and install the latest firmware update utility.
3. Run it while the printer is connected via USB—this can resolve wireless stack issues.

Optional: Static IP Assignment

1. On the printer, go to Setup > Network > Advanced Settings > IP Settings.
2. Set a Manual IP (e.g., 192.168.1.250), Subnet: 255.255.255.0, Gateway: your router’s IP (e.g., 192.168.1.1).
3. Save and retry connection.

If none of these work, we can dig deeper into router logs or try a temporary mobile hotspot to isolate the issue. 

Let me know how far you get—I’ll stay with you until it’s sorted.

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye