MAC address filtering error - HP Officejet Pro 8600 e-All-in-One Printer

[Helpmeplease2]

Hi there,

I am having issues connecting my printer to my wireless router. I have exacerbated all forums and online HP resources but have still not managed to resolve the issue.

My printer model is the HP Officejet Pro 8600 e-All-in-One Printer and I am running Windows 7. My printer detects my BT HOME HUB 4 but cannot connect to it, citing a MAC address filtering error. I see that this is common with HP printers but I cannot simply add my device's MAC address to the list of permitted devices because my BT HOME HUB 4 does not have this functionality. I explored the static IP path, and managed to establish a static IP for my printer while it was connected via an ethernet cable to my router. I was then able to print wirelessly from my laptop but for that to happen I have to the printer connected to the BT HOME HUB 4 via an ethernet cable.

I want my printer connected directly to the BT HOME HUB 4 so that I can print wirelessly on my network WITHOUT having my ethernet cable connected between my printer and my BT HOME HUB 4. From what I've gathered, to be able to connect my printer to my BT HOME HUB 4 via the wireless network with no ethrernet cable, I have to establish a static IP while on the wireless network. As I've gone through the process of setting a static IP with the ethernet cable, I know how to do it for wireless, if that will indeed solve the problem. The issue is that I cannot manage to assign an IP address to the printer via wireless. After removing the ethernet (a necessity for setting the printer up via wireless) the printer loses its old IP address, resetting to 0.0.0.0. Whenever I go into the settings and select the IP Link field, and input an IP address to assign, the field clears whenever I try and save the IP address. Everything just resets to 0.0.0.0 when I press okay after assigning the IP address. I need an initial IP address assigned over wifi so that I can then edit it and create a static IP address for the printer over wireless.  Does anyone know how I can get an initial IP address over wifi when I cannot connect my printer to my BT HOME HUB 4 via wifi? I'm quite sure that if someone can assist me in doing this then I should be able to sort the issue. Or is there a way to convert my wired ethernet connection to a wireless connection? I'm not really concerned about the method of setting my printer up wirelessly; I just want it connected wirelessly.

I have tried to convert the USB connection (via the HP software) to a wireless connection but that was unsuccessful as I received the same MAC address filtering error. I know that the printer is not faulty in any way as the USB and ethernet connections both work and the wifi module picks up the signal of my BT HOME HUB 4.

I share much of the frustration that I have noted across the HP forums with individuals who have purchased HP printers and have had similar issues trying to connect their printers to their wifi networks. 

Any assistance in solving this issue would be greatly appreciated. I have scoured the forums for help but cannot find a scenario that is identical to mine so linking me to other forum posts is unlikely to help.

Many thanks,

Mr. Bain

[Drakster]

HI @Helpmeplease2,

Welcome to the HP Support Forums!

I see that you're having difficulties trying to configure your HP Officejet Pro 8600 Printer to your wireless router. I would like to look into this with you.

I see you have tried most of what we would recommend to troubleshoot this issue, but I have some questions for you. 

1. Are you using only one router on your network?
2. Are you also using a switch?

3. Is this router old? Perhaps you could get the router company to replace it, with newer version. 

4. Is the router's Firmware up-to-date? 

I would recommend trying these instructions to see if you can add the printer to MAC Address Filtering or remove /disable it.  These steps might not be exactly laid out like your router, as you mentioned you had a BT HOME HUB 4, which I can't find on the vendors website anywhere. 

MAC Address Filtering:

Based on the information supplied so far I would say that the problem is not due to MAC filtering as the printer appears to work sometimes and you have not been making any changes to the MAC filtering.  The most likely cause of your problem is that the IP address of the printer is changing and your PC is not recognising that it has changed or that the printer has lost connection to the router.

This can be easily checked.

1. First you need to find the IP address that your PC thinks the printer has.

    I do not use Vista but the general way of finding this is to get to to your list of printers through Control Panel (or other means), Right Click on the printer, Click Properties, Click the Ports tab, Highlight the port that the printer is on, click Configure Port.  This should then give you the IP address.

2. You then need to find the IP address the printer actually has.  There are two ways of doing this:

a) The printer should have a way of either displaying the address or printing out a report that includes the IP address.

b) Alternatively if you login to your Home Hub, Settings, Advanced Settings, Home Network, DHCP table, it will give you a list of the devices connected to the Hub with their MAC addresses and IP Address.

When the printer is not working b) is worthwhile doing on its own to see if the printer is actually connected to the router as it may just be that it has dropped the connection.  Powering the printer off and on should cure this problem.

It could also be that the printer is trying to connect to another wireless network in the vicinity.

Source

BT Home Hub Help - Security Advice Your BT Home Hub is your gateway to the Internet, and you need to make sure you keep people out. Here, you'll find answers to common BT Home Hub security questions.

Wireless security:

The BT Home Hub acts as a wireless access point, and to prevent other users accessing your wireless connection, you need to enable a level of security and encryption. The Hub supports the following wi-fi security types: WEP (64 or 128bit), WPA-PSK or WPA/WPA2.

• Home Hub v1: The security encryption type you use can be set from the 'Advanced' > 'Configuration' > 'Wireless' > 'Security' menu.
• Home Hub v2: The security encryption type you use can be set from the 'Settings > Wireless > Security.

WPA is generally regarded as a better option over WEP encryption - When you select WPA, a pulldown menu appears, "WPA Version", offering WPA or WPA2 (the more complete version of the WPA protocol). With encryption, you'll need to enter a key phrase into the appropriate dialog on the Hub.

All equipment that connects to your Hub wirelessly will need to be set to the same encryption type, and you'll need to enter same key phrase into the security settings of the devices that you want to connect to the Hub.

BT Home Hub Firewall:

To stop intruders gaining access to your Hub, Network and Internet connections, there are two main security options built in to the Hub - one is Wireless encryption, and the other one is the Firewall.

The Home Hub Firewall should be enabled to stop malicious attacks on your home system. The Firewall settings can be accessed as follows:

• Home Hub v1: Configuration > Firewall
• Home Hub v2: Settings > Advanced Settings > Application Sharing > Firewall

When the firewall is enabled, some applications that require an incoming Internet connection (such as online games or products like webcams and Slingbox), may not work. If you're having a problem that is down to your firewall blocking network access, you have two options:

1. You can open up a port (a door through the firewall). For help on Port Forwarding, see our Port Forwarding FAQ or listen to our audio guide.
2. You can turn off the firewall altogether. Note: Disabling your Home Hub firewall can open up your network to external attack, so you need to take appropriate security measures to protect your network. - I would disable this temporarily to see if it is blocking the printer, once connected re-enable it.

Home Hub Wireless SSID:

The SSID (Network name) is a text identifier that's used to identify your BT Home Hub to other wi-fi devices. For added security, you may want to disable "hide" your Home Hub's SSID - this means that it won't be broadcast, so that your neighbours won't be able to see your Hub.

To do this, Log in as Admin, and do the following:

• Home Hub v1: Go to Advanced, and go to 'Configuration' > 'Wireless' > 'Security', then untick the "Broadcast Network Name:" option.
• Home Hub v2: Go to 'Settings' > 'Wireless' > 'Security', then set 'Hide wireless network name' to "Yes".

Once done, you'll only be able to set up a wireless connection if you know the Home Hub's SSID - you'll have to do the wireless set-up manually.

Restricting Internet access - By time

One visitor's asked: "Is there any way of restricting devices connected to the hub to certain connection times during the day. I had a Voyager 205 router before the hub and this was allowed."

As far as we know, this isn't supported by the Home Hub v1, but is supported by v2,0 of the Home Hub. To restrict access,Log in as Admin, go to Settings and select 'BT Access Control'.

Restricting Internet access - By MAC address

Site visitor Robert asked us if it's possible to get the Home Hub to only allow wi-fi access by certain machines using the unique MAC address of a machine. The answer is yes, and here's how to do it...

Home Hub v1: Log in as Admin, go to Advanced, and go to 'Configuration' > 'Wireless' > 'Security'.

Then go to "Allow New Devices:" and set this to "New stations are allowed by registration", and press 'Apply'.

To add a new device, go to 'Configuration' > 'Devices', and there's an option to get the Hub to scan for available wireless devices. You can edit a discovered device and assign it permission to connect via the Hub.

Home Hub v2: With the Home Hub v2, there is the option to restrict access on a per-device basis by selecting a time range that a device is allowed to make a connection. To prevent or restrict a specific MAC address from making a connection between a selected time, Log in as Admin, go to Settings and select 'BT Access Control'.

Source

If you're still unable to resolve this, please continue with the next steps:

• Update the printer's firmware., Click here for download. 

• Restore the factory settings on your router and reconfigure it with WPA 2, and then reconfigure the printer using the Wireless Setup Wizard from the prinrer's Front Panel Menu.

• If you're still getting the error MAC Address Filtering, we can try a Semi-Full Reset on the printer. 

I can send you that information in a private message.
In the forum beside your handle name just click on the envelope to view it.

Please respond to this post with the result of your troubleshooting. I look forward to hearing from you. Good Luck! 🙂 

[Helpmeplease2]

Hi there,

Thank you for getting back to me.

1) Yes I am only using one router.
2) No I am not using a switch.
3) No, my router is probably a year old. BT will not provide a new one.
4) Yes, my router's firmware is up to date.

The link to thte BT HOME HUB 4 is here:

As I mentioned previously, I cannot find the IP address that my PC thinks my printer has because when my printer is NOT connected via ethernet to my BT HOME HUB 4, the printer has no ip address. The printer has not been able to connect to the router once via WIFI; thus, it has no wireless IP address. I know this for certain because my printer does not appear as a device when viewing which devices are connected to my BT HOME HUB 4. I recognise all the devices connected, and the printer is not one of them. I am already using WPA2 protocol on the BT HOME HUB 4.

Disabling the firewall, for the purposes of seeing if the printer could connect to the BT HOME HUB 4, made no difference; the printer is still undiscoverable.

The printer's firmware is up to date.

"Restore the factory settings on your router and reconfigure it with WPA 2, and then reconfigure the printer using the Wireless Setup Wizard from the prinrer's Front Panel Menu." - made no difference.

I done a reset on my printer via its settings menu and I continue to get the same MAC Address Filtering error.

Any ideas?

Many thanks,

Mr. Bain.

[Drakster]

Hi @Helpmeplease2,

Thanks for trying my suggestions.

Let's try something else, please print a Wireless Test Report from the printer's Front Panel menu.

Select the wireless Icon on the menu- print a Wireless Test Report.

We are looking for:

Diagnistic Results

Wireless On: Pass

Wireless working: Pass

If Wireless is off, Turn it On.

If Wireless working: failed, you have hardware issue with the wireless radio in the printer. Stop here!

If they both passed, we can test the wireless radio through a Adhoc connection, use this doc as a guide to setup Adhoc.

I hope this helps. Good Luck! 🙂

[Helpmeplease2]

This is the Wrieless test. What is the next step? The "setup Adhoc" link you provided is broken.

Many thanks,

[Helpmeplease2]

 ?

[Drakster]

Hi @Helpmeplease2,

Thank you for getting back to me and providing your Wireless Network Test Report.

This SSID appears to be BT-Hub's default network name.

I believe the problem is the network name. The printer will have issues connecting to a wireless network with special characters in it. Please rename your SSID (network name), so it does NOT have a Hyphen or any special character in it. 

In addition, please ensure you have 2.4 ghz enabled on the router, the printer can not run on a 5.0 ghz Network.

Please respond to this post with the result of your troubleshooting. I look forward to hearing from you. Good Luck! 🙂