Officejet Pro 8610 does not work while VPN active

[JSRein]

My wife and I each have a MacBookPro (running OS X 10.9.5 and 10.8.5, respectively).  We bought an Officejet Pro 8610 2 weeks ago.  After having issues printing reliably from both MBPs, I realized this morning that my MBP does not see the Officejet when VPN is active.  This is a significant usability negative, as I am usually connected to VPN (I mostly work from home when not traveling).  Is it expected that having VPN active will preclude connection to the Officejet?  And if it's expected, when will this be properly documented so that other users don't have to discover this by trial and error?

[X-23]

Hey @JSRein,

I understand that you're having an issue printing to your HP Officejet Pro 8610 e-All-in-One Printer from your Mac OS X 10.9.5 and 10.8.5 computers while connected to a VPN. I would like to explain why this is the case and offer a workaround for you.

VPNs generally do not work with network connected printers, no matter the printers make or model. This is due to the fact that the VPN will block the access to your local network that the printer is connected to. You cannot access devices on your wireless network while connected to a VPN. When you network a printer it really comes down to being a numbers game. To explain this better I will use an example.

My computers network information:

Computer IP: 192.168.1.6

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1

The printers network information would then be:

Printers IP: 192.168.1.8

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1

However, when you connect your computer to a VPN the computers network information changes:

Computer IP: 194.153.25.177
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway: 194.153.25.1

When you have a wireless printer than the first 3 sets of numbers have to be the same for the computers IP and the Printers IP. The last digit has to be close but not the same. When you connect to a VPN it changes the computers network information so now the computer and printer technically aren't on the same network.

In order to correct this, you can connect the printer via a USB connection so you can print while connected or disconnected from the VPN. Or you could go through the tedious task of leaving your printer networked and connecting to the VPN to open the file on the VPN that you wish to print. Than, disconnect from the VPN to actually print the job. When you're done printing the job you could then reconnect to the VPN. I'll admit that the last option is not the best option.

For future, should you need to reference this information, for HP any Network Connectivity Issue document indicates that you must disconnect from a VPN. This can also be seen in An 'Unable to Find the Printer' Error Displays for the HP Officejet Pro 8610, 8620, and 8630 e-All-i...

I hope this helps clear up any confusion. Please let me know if you have any other issues. Good luck!

[joeliam]

HP support,

I have both a 8610 and a Envy 110, and the VPN issue only seems to affect the 8610, because I can continue to see the Envy printer and scanner just fine. Why would that be?

In fact, the moment I turned on the VPN, the printer went into: "this feature has been locked by administrator" mode, and now I cannot even restore it to factory settings.

Thank you,

Joe

[X-23]

Hey @joeliam,

Welcome to the HP Support Forums!

I understand that since enabling your VPN you are getting the error that 'This feature has been locked by Administrator' on your HP Officejet Pro 8610 e-All-in-One Printer. I would like to assist you today with resolving this issue. Now, just to clarify, are you getting the 'Administrator' error on the front panel of your printer?

If so, there is a special Semi-Full Programming Reset we can perform to resolve this error state.

I can't say for certain why your HP ENVY 110 e-All-in-One Printer is still functioning while you're connected to the VPN, unless the printer is connected via a USB Cable. Over a network connection, VPNs are not supported as they alter the 'local network' information that the computer is connected to. If the computer 'thinks' it's on a different network then the printer will not be able to communicate with it over a network connection only. Whoever provides the VPN connection may have a workaround to configure the networked printer to work locally over the network on your computer and when connected to the VPN. However, on these consumer grade printers these workaround steps are not available. You may have luck reaching out to the VPN provider for any workaround steps.

I look forward to hearing from you! 🙂

[lencooley]

The information re: any wireless printer not working with a VPN is not correct. We have had a Lexmark Presario 905 printer for years that worked quite will while we are on VPNs. The only reason we don't have it now is because the printhead went belly-up, and it costs more for a printhead than a new printer.