How can I setup a Deskjet 3050a/J611 to my Chromebox?

[zridling]

HP Deskjet 3050a-J611.

- Setup the printer, and once on, it printed the alignment page.

- Went through the menu on the printer, but it has no option to print the "information sheet." All I could get it to print is the configuration sheet, which has no email listed.

- Went to setup the eprinter in Google Chrome browser settings, but it just links me to the HP site.

- No instructions on how to use this printer with a Chromebox/Chromebook in the manual. HP offers Linux drivers, but never on their CDs, but the Chromebox doesn't do CDs, of course. And wow, is that print is really small to my 50-year old eyes. 

- Says it is connected wirelessly and the printout confirms that, although I also have the USB cord connected to the Chromebox.

- Google offers no support, just pushes me to the HP website, which asked me to sign in using my "new eprint email."

What do? Thanks!

[Arkle1]

Hi there, take a look at this video showing how to get started with ePrint on the Deskjet 3050A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OuDez6zm_M&feature=plcp

Hope this information helps, best of luck.

[zridling]

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. The problem starts with no information page ever printed. I make sure the printer's wifi is enabled, but when I turn it on, it:

• Prints alignment page
• Scans it, then says "alignment page not detected, Press OK to continue."
• No information page is ever produced.

And that's it. I can get no further without that printer code to register the printer. Is there another way to obtain it?

[Arkle1]

Hi, there's no other way to obtain the printer code apart from enabling web services on the unit itself (which when done successfully should automatically print the web services information page). Just reading your first post back again and you say that you have setup the printer wirelessly but that you also have it connected via USB to the Chromebox. This may be what is preventing the printer from connecting with HP's ePrint service. You must set the printer up as a wireless printer, with an internet connection via your router to successfully enable web services.

There are no printer drivers for the Chrome OS so the way to print from your Chromebox to the Deskjet is via Google Cloud Print. See this link for more information on how to setup your printer on Google Cloud Print http://www.google.com/cloudprint/learn/.

Try setting up the printer again with an exclusively wireless setup and when you're happy that you are connected to your local wireless network press the ePrint button on the front panel.

Best of luck.

[zridling]

I did consider that the USB might be blocking or canceling the wireless connection, so I disconnected that cable on the first day. So that's not the source. However, I did print a Wireless Network Test Results page and here's what it returned:

Wireless ON = Pass

Wireless Working = PASS

Signal quality = Not run (the router is six feet from the printer)

Connectivity = Not run

Network = Network Name (SSID) Found = FAIL (no networking on a Chromebox!)

Wireless Networks detected = 3

Settings = Printer settings consistent with Router settings = Not run

Not sure if that helps. The Google/cloudprint/Learn page doesn't really tell me anything specific, though. Surely there's a solution to this, and given I only need that info page to print, it must be simple, right? Let's hope.

[Jon-W · Accepted solution]

The issue is that this printer is set up via USB, or something called auto wireless. The autowireless configuration requires a windows or mac computer to connect.

The alternative is the WPS setup method, if your router supports it you go to the wireless menu on the printer, there should be a WPS option, and then when you have pressed ok on that push thr button on the router. This will link the two devices together, and the printer will have a full connnection.

There is another alternative but it can be hit or miss.

In the wireless menu of the printer there should be an option to restore the defaults, select that.

Next on your chromebox if you look at the available networks you should see a network for your printer, likely labelled something like HP-print-3050a, connect to that.

In your web browsers adress bar type in 192.168.223.1 - it should load up a webpage for the printer.

In there you should be abl to go to network at the top, then wireless on the left, then there should be a wireless wizard to put in your home network name and password.

After this you should be able to get the info page by enabling web services, and then use google cloud print for printing from the chrome box.

[zridling]

Wow, Jon & Arkle1, thank you so much for hanging in there with me and making this work. You made my week! I have a shiny new printer now! I'll make a post to Google+ on Chromebook and Chromebox and connecting these printers via WPS so others can find this solution in multiple places.

[franklintuweh]

but i did not have persional laptop. can you try to sent some in Liberia

[carolefilby]

Hi there, I am having the exact same problem - same printer and a Samsung Chromebook. My router doesn't have a WPS button (BT Home Hub) so I have been trying to use the third step detailed below.

I have connected to the printer's network listing, and navigated to the webpage listed below; but when I try to run the wireless wizard it just hangs.

Any ideas gratefully received....

[carolefilby]

Me again.

I have cracked it. It only took 5 hours <weeps>

The link above did the trick in the end - I don't have a push button so I used the wireless wizard. That didn't work until I was sitting with the CB right next to the printer (as opposed to my previous 2 metres away which was clearly a bridge too far), so if you have trouble with it try that.

THANKYOU very sincerely to the kind people who posted it.

<limps off to bed>