wi-fi disconnect frustration

[archman8]

I have been an HP printer fan for the last 15 years or more, with virtually no problems - until this fall.

Earlier this fall I bought an OfficePro 6968 printer that consistently lost wi-fi connectivity every time it went into sleep mode. I read a few blogs that said it is a "known problem" and the only way to resolve it is to recongure the router, which is way beyond my technical capabilities and seems totally unnecessary.  Previous HP printers never had this problem.

I recently traded the 6968 printer in for a OfficeJet 6978 printer in hopes that the problem would not return. Well I was wrong. The first time the new 6978 printer went into sleep mode it would not awake to printing requests from 2 different computers connected to the wi-fi network (win 7 64bit and win 10 64bit). 

I have a UBEE DVW32CB modem/router from Time Warner Cable, which is "reportedly" a very good router, so I'm not convinced this is the problem. The router works flawlessly with numerous other wi-fi devices around my home.

I'm assuming this issue could be resolved if sleep mode could be deactivated, but I have yet to find a way to do that. Although I shouldn't have to disable sleep mode to resolve this, I'm willing to do so if there were a way.

If this isn't resolved very soon, I will be forced to trade in my HP for a different brand printer.

A resolution from HP would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[sabretooth04]

These settings are for setting up your wireless (or wired) printer to:

• Stay connected to your router
• Fix printer ‘offline’ status
• Wake from sleep mode
• Keep all wireless devices better connected
• May speed up wireless printing

While DHCP is convenient, devices such as printers (wired and wireless) should always be assigned a static (fixed) IP address manually to avoid conflicts on your wireless network and must be outside the DHCP range of the router.  After setting the static IP, the computer must be updated under Printer Properties/Ports to show a Standard TCP/IP port with the printers IP address. 

1. Set a static IP in the printer (click here) outside the DHCP range of the router (check your manual). This is for Linksys routers but can be used for all routers. Verify your DHCP range and change this first if needed. More Wireless Printing help is here and here   and even more here.  Video here explains the problem and how to fix the problem. <-- So watch this!
2. Verify in the printer that 'Auto Off/Sleep/Energy Saving Mode' is disabled and/or the System Mode Time Out is set to zero (0). Use the Embedded Web Server (EWS) by going to the printers IP address in your browsers address bar, click Settings Tab/Auto Off. Or use the Printer Assistant, Printer Home Page (EWS). Also check your Printer Properties.
3. If the printer supports and has IPv6 enabled, turn off IPv6 in the printer.
4. Make sure printer is plugged directly into a wall outlet and not into a UPS, power strip or surge protector. This will cause the printer to drop offline and print strangely (yes verified!).
5. Make sure your printer and router are at least 5 feet apart from each other.

Additional steps to be taken if you continue to have the problem (if they are posted)…

1. Wireless printers only work on the 2.4Ghz wireless band not the 5.0Ghz band.
2. Verify the printer is on the latest firmware by checking with the HP Support site.
3. Check all wireless devices in your home for interference. Check microwaves, baby monitors, wireless phones and wireless alarm systems are a big culprit.  Any of these will knock out your wireless printer intermittently.

In the router: (Refer to your router manual for information) 

• The following makes your router more secure and hack proof
• Keep all wireless devices better connected

1. Use a fixed wireless channel like 1, 6 or 11, never 'auto', try channel 1 first then the rest. 
2. Set router to 20Mhz bandwidth only, or 145Mbps depending on router. 
3. Always use WPA2-AES (Personal-PSK) encryption, but you can try ‘mixed’ mode. 
4. Disable WPS and never use it and disable UPnP for the routers security. Nobody can hack your system now and helps with wireless connectivity (if you want to know why, search the web).
5. If you have a dual band router (2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz bands), make sure the SSID’s are NOT the same, they must be different for all bands including all Guest networks.
6. SSID broadcast must be enabled.
7. Always make sure your router is on the latest firmware.
8. Save all settings. Power off both, wait 2 mins.  Power on router wait 2 mins. 
9. Power on printer and verify it reconnects to router. 

If needed and you assigned a static IP address, try using 8.8.8.8 for the Preferred DNS server and 8.8.4.4 as the Alternate DNS server in the printer.  (Last thing to try in the printer)

If you have Windows 7/8/8.1 is Network Discovery on or off?

1. Control Panel/Network and Internet/Network and Sharing Center/Advanced sharing settings.
2. Under Home or Work (current profile) / Network Discovery.
3. Select "Turn on network discovery" and save changes.

Now the last thing to do once all the above has been tried and you still have the same issue, fully de-install and remove the printer and all its software. 

Use http://www.iobit.com/en/advanceduninstaller.php .  Use Powerful Scan at the end and delete all registry entries shown.

Now go back and reinstall the Full Featured Software and Drivers from the HP web site.

Last ditch effort - If your printer has an Ethernet connection, suggest you get some Power Line Adapters and convert your house wiring to Ethernet for your printer.

[archman8]

First, thanks for such a quick and thorough reply.

Second, you have to be a fairly saavy tech person to deal with these issues (and I suspect 90% of folks out there are not), so I don't understand why printers can't be designed to deal with this issue internally.

Third, while I don't consider myself a savvy tech guy, I muddled through to change the router IP address span, change the printer to a static IP address outside the router address span, remove and reinstall the printer to 2 computers, and restarted everything. The Youtube video you referenced helped with this. I checked everything very carefully as I went through the process and am certain I followed the directions properly.

Result: I can't print anything from either computer whether the printer is in sleep mode or not and I get nothing but error messages when trying. Error messages include printer is offline, printer is not installed correctly or the dialog box says it's printing but it never prints. 

Here's the thing, this HP 6978 printer worked fine in sleep mode or not for a few months on my wireless network from 2 computers with absolutely no problems, then all of a sudden in early October the printer stopped waking on command. Before this printer, I had an HP 6968 printer which worked flawlessly for 6 months. Nothing changed in October that I am aware of. Same internet service (Time Warner), same router, same computers, same printer.

What next?

[sabretooth04]

Let’s download and run the HP Print and Scan doctor, what does this say?

Get it here:  HP Print and Scan Doctor

[archman8]

Downloaded and ran the Print/Scan Dr on both computers. After some futzing and restarting, I'm cautiously pleased to say that the print function seems to be working, even waking the printer from sleep mode. I'm cautiously optomistic it will last. So thanks for your help with the printing problem.

However, somewhere along the process, scanning stopped working. I ran the Print/Scan Dr for scanning and the scanner then worked fine, but there's still an error message in the lower right notification bar (even after restarting) saying scan to computer is currently unavailable. Yet when I open the HP scan program the scanner works fine.