How do I enable keep-alive on HP Officejet Pro 8600?

[VisionAiry]

Those are all very good questions.  I hope I can explain them well.  

1. Turning off features related to the printer: a lot of people don't realize that the printer software scans the computer every 5 seconds for a response from the printer - be it out of ink (like switching to ink alerts only when you print) or searching for a scan that may never come.  This actually uses resources and some computers do not handle this function well.

2.  Virus software conflicts: I use AVG and I like AVG on my home computer.  Some anti-virus software is perhaps "too good" because if it is not a natural function of the computer, the software may interpret it as a virus because it is a file not listed in their software.  Usually running a scan will identify this unknown folder giving you the option to "allow this software" and it will not ask you again.  I would keep AVG enabled as it is only a temporary solution while installing software.  I do not recommend turning off any anti-virus just to scan.  I only want you to be aware of the possibility of your AV thinking this "constant scanning" and "ink alerts" may be causing conflicts, usually more concerned with installations only or automatically disconnecting the printer (printer shows offline) without you knowing that is what is causing it (I think I shared this link already but this explains this question in more detail than I could).

3.  Turning off Scan software: You only deactivated "scan to computer" which means you cannot scan to your computer from the front panel of the printer when you press the scan button.  All you have to do is double-click on the printer icon on the desktop and turn it back on if you think you will be doing a lot of scans from the front of the printer that day or just go to HP Scan and start scans from your computer instead.  Turning this feature off just allows your computer to run faster and not have to turn off that anti-virus software etc. etc. (explained above).  I think all-in-all, this will help you in particular.  Not everyone has these kinds of problems but computers differ from user to user and software to software.  I had very similar problems on my XP desktop but none like this from my Windows 7 laptops.  That is how I know.

4. VPN issues - I know that VPNs, servers, and proxy's work better with printers specifically designed for them. What I mean by that is, HP has an Enterprise Business section separate of my dept. to tackle problems related to this (mostly concerned with $1000+ printers).  The Officejet falls into the Small to Medium Business category in that aspect.  It was designed to work on "regular computers," for lack of a better word.  If you were to call in to support regarding virtual private networks, you may experience some confusion while trying to determine which department you would be transferred to. I think it would depend on the agent's personal experience with such if they were to even help you with that.  So if you experience problems concerning VPNs you would want to contact the company's IT dept. for quicker assistance (personal opinion and not that of HP).

I hope this answers your questions.  Keep me posted if your issue comes back after the system scan.

[shawnwhaley]

I have an important update regarding the fix to this solution. I'll try to keep it simple.

This problem frustrated me for two years. In my previous posts I explained how the issue was that all devices on my home network (Mac and PC) seemed to lose the connection to the printer when the printer entered sleep mode. I could not ping the address. It did not matter whether the printer had a dynamic or static IP address. As soon as the printer went into power saving, nothing could communicate. Waking the printer did not help. Only a reboot of the printer solved the issue. 

Last weekend I replaced my wireless router and the issue is solved.

Now, this is the 4th (yes, fourth) router I have had since owning my printer. The previous makes were Netgear, D-Link, and Belkin (I'll provide models if anyone is interested). I just swapped out for a TrendNet AC1750 and without any further fuss, my problem has vanished.

I'm not suggesting that you are having the same issue, or that upgrading your router will fix your issue. In fact, the printer is still using a wireless N connection over the 2.4 GHz spectrum. My wireless config has not changed.

My best calculated guess is that my 3 previous routers were releasing the IP address of the printer from their ARP Cache as soon as the printer entered power saving mode. I had suspecting that is what was happening. But, none of those routers had advanced features that allowed me to check the ARP Cache or assign IP based on Mac address. In fact, my new router doesn't have these feature (most home routers don't). But, I suspect it has better software with advanced ARP. 

So, again, I can't prove any of this. But my background in network administration leads me to believe this is the case.

My suggestion to anyone struggling with this issue: Before you buy a new wireless router, check to see if your router can assign IP address based on MAC address. If so, find your printer's MAC address and enter it into your router's settings. I know that may be over many people's heads, but a little Googling will help. 

If your router does not support that, check this website to see if you can download an open source firmware for your router: http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

Read everything carefully if you go down that road. 

Lastly, try a new router, or a new printer. If you're like me, you hate spending more money on the off chance it will fix your issue. All I can suggest is that you find a store with a good return policy. This is a frustrating issue. Even with a good bit of knowledge about these things it took me two years to find my solution.

[gdollar]

Hi all

Not sure it's your router. With the help of VisonAiry (see earlier responses from HP guy) I have turned off the ink status on the printer, applied a static IP address to the printer on my Linksys router and this fixed all my problems save for one. Win 7 computers all worked fine and never had a problem, similarly the ePrint on two iPads also worked flawlessly. Since doing this I encountered only two occassions of the printer not being available. One was when StopZilla ran on an XP computer during its weekly virus check and the same effect was experienced on the other XP system when AVG ran its weekly virus scan. So once a week the printer goes off line. I am working to see if the virus checker (s) can be set to avoid this happening.

I have been running for about 10 days now with no issues (apart from the virus checker) and I couldn't run more than a few hours at the time of original installation. I didn't find it neccesary to turn off the scan function. 

By the way if you continue with this printer be careful not to open the lid when scanning as you can upset the color calibration of the scanner. I did this and got pink and yellow lines all through the scan and every subsequent scan. I was just about to take the unit back when I searched the web to find out what was wrong. Followed the procedure and all was put right. the features of the pri nter are very appealing and I am glad we were able to fix the problems.

Gdollar 

[jhoshy55]

Hi all,

  Thanks for all the contributions. But why has any HP engineer proffered a lasting solution? Anyway, the problem i am having with the printer is the same but in different form. At exactly 11:00 am everyday, the 'scan to computer' will be unavailable throughout the day. Meanwhile, 2 other users that are connected to the same printer will be available all through the day.

To tell you that the printer is not even in 'sleep mode', i can ping the assigned ip address.

HP, pls come to our rescue!!!

[gdollar]

I think you have a virus checker that is running at the same time every day. that happened to me with AVG virus checker. It looked everyday at the same time at the hard drive. Each time it kicked off the printer and I had to reboot. I had set AVG to run every week but it does some other checks everyday. The computer was running XP. Same with another computer running StopZilla but that was once a week. All Win 7 systems do not have a problem and I use the MS system that came with the program.

The key was turning off the ink status for me and adjusting the virus checker times. I agree that the problem still resides with HP and they should fix it but until then we have to find work arounds or send the printer back.

Can you make sure that the computers that work or on the same OS as that that doesn't work and do they have the same virus checkers?

gdollar

[RightRevr]

I have an HP 8600 at home and another one at the office.  They both exhibit the same behavior.  

I bought these printers because I love my old Laserjet 5 so figured HP was the way to go.  My secretary is so frustrated if I would let her she would toss it out the window!

The only way I can get back on if the printer has gone to sleep is to run the Network Wizard on the printers, re-enter the password and voila' it is on til the next time.

[Meeshka]

It is obvious to all of us that HP is not planning to fix this problem.    It seems also that they aren't even reading the messages on this site.    I always thought HP was one of the top manufacturers but I will not be buying another one of their products in the future.   I am sure most people in this forum feel the same way.   In the meantime until I finally get fed up enough, I will continue to be frustrated with the printer I now own.   Let's just hope someone comes up with a fix before there are too many broken windows from the printers being thrown thru them.    Have a good day everyone.

[VisionAiry]

I really understand your frustrations as I have witnessed this first hand.  I work for HP but I am no one of great importance to ultimately fix this on all printers.  However if there is anything you would like to try or any way I can help, I have had success in the past fixing this and would love to help.  

I noticed this thread is rather long and can be difficult to read so let me know if I can be of any more assistance to work with you on a one-on-one basis.  Feel free even to start a new thread and send me a link to it here or private message me to contact me directly.

Thank you all for your patience as I appreciate your kindness towards me if I can help. 

Regards, 

Cassandra

[kewisch]

I just registered here to tell others about how I was able to fix the problem. I've been looking for a solution for this issue for at least a year now. I had tried both the manual and automatic IP settings, but recently the problem has been getting worse for me. As for others, the only way to get it to work was to restart the printer multiple times for me.

Others have mentioned that getting a different router has made the problem better or worse. This gave me the right hint. I have a Fritz Box router, but the steps will be similar for other routers. Unfortunately the exact steps vary based on the router interface, so I can only give general advice. Please excuse if this was already mentioned.

1. As mentioned in other posts, change the printer to use a manual IP address

2. Open the router network configuration

3. Check for settings like "DHCP Range", "Network Range", "Client IP Range", or "Router IP Address" (which sometimes contains the DHCP range)

4. Make sure the last block of the range is set to a number smaller than 254. For example, if the range is 192.168.178.2 to 192.168.178.254, change the 254 to something lower like 200.

5. Pick an IP address for the printer outside of the DHCP Range. In my previous example, Valid IP addresses would be any one in the range 192.168.178.201 to 192.168.178.254. Make sure the first three blocks match the router IP (which is 192.168.178.1 in my example)

6. Go to the printer settings, change to manual IP address (as others suggested), then use the IP address you picked in the previous step.

7. If you have not already, set the Gateway and DNS Server to the IP of the router. The subnet mask is often 255.255.255.0.

[redbird02]

How do I keep the hp 8600 from going to sleep and dropping off the wireless network?