Computer unable to establish two-way communication with the device

[fuchsia70]

I am having an issue with my printer.  The device is the OfficeJet H470. My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15-7569 and is running Windows 10, 64-bit. I print via USB cable connection from what is supposed to be a USB-2 port on the laptop.

I had not used the printer in a while and was having some issues with print quality when I printed some things and wanted to use some of the built-in tools to improve my print quality. However, when I went into the toolbox and went to the Estimated ink levels, I got the error "Computer unable to establish two-way communication with the device". 

I went under the "Services" tab and clicked on the "Print Configuration Page" button and the Toolbox window closed and no page printed. Nothing came up in the print queue.  The same thing happened with all of the buttons in the Toolbox.

I subsequently went to the "Properties" window and was able to successfully print a test page. The test page did show up in the print queue while it printed. So I can print without problem, but cannot communicate with the printer to check ink levels or perform maintenance tasks.

As to what I've tried, I uninstalled and reinstalled the printer. 

Any tips or solutions appreciated!

[Kumar0307]

 @fuchsia70, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

This seems like an issue with the driver. Clean re-installation of HP Full-featured drivers may resolve this issue. Let us try these steps:

Clean uninstallation of Pre-installed HP drivers

1.  In Windows, search for and open Programs and features 
2.  Select your HP Printer 
3.  Select Uninstall 
4.  In Windows, search for and open Devices and printers 
5.  In the Devices and Printers windows look for your HP printer. If you see it listed right-click on it and choose ‘Delete’ or ‘Remove Device’ 
6.  Open up the run command with the “Windows key + R” key combo. 
7.  Type printui.exe /s and click Ok. (Note: there is a space in between “printui.exe” and “/s”) 
8.  Click on the “Drivers” tab 
9.  Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it Click on it and click Remove at the bottom 
10.  Select Ok 
11.  Select Apply and Ok on the Print Server Properties windows 
12.  Close Devices and Printers, Disconnect the USB cable, restart the computer.

Click here to download the HP Full-featured driver.

Once downloaded, make sure to run the file to start the installation and follow the on-screen instructions.

Note: Do not connect the USB cable until prompted by the software.

Let me know how this goes.

If you feel my post solved your issue, please click “Accept as Solution”, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[fuchsia70]

Good afternoon!  I'm going to give it a second go but once I finished the whole process I'm still getting the "Computer unable to establish two-way communication with the device" error.  I did run into a couple of things along the way:

1) When I went in under Devices and Printers, the HP OfficeJet H470 was not listed. I presumed that was because it got removed when I removed the printer under "Programs and Features". 

2) When I went in under the printui.exe /s, the HP OfficeJet H470 was not listed either. Again, I presumed it got removed when I removed the printer under "Programs and Features."

3) When I got to the installation part of the process, I never got a command to connect the USB cable and when I went in under the toolbox I still had the error under the Estimated Ink Levels tab and when I clicked on the Configure WiFi profiles tab, it had both the networks I had installed over the weekend there.

I'm turning off the printer and disconnecting the power cable and am going to delete the two network options in the toolbox; I'm going to go through the steps again in case I missed seeing something.

Thanks for the info and the timely response!

[fuchsia70]

Hey, just wanted to update you after my 2nd attempt at the instructions.  Here's what happened. 

1) I'm still getting the "Computer unable to establish two-way communication with the device" error.  I did run into a couple of things along the way:

2) When I went in under "Devices and Printers", the HP OfficeJet H470 again was not listed.

3) When I went in under the printui.exe /s, the HP OfficeJet H470 was not listed either.

4) When I got to the installation part of the process, I never got a command to connect the USB cable. When I went in under the toolbox I still had the error under the Estimated Ink Levels tab and when I clicked on the Configure WiFi profiles tab, it had both the networks I had installed over the weekend there. I was unable to get them to delete before I uninstalled the software.

I am able to print without issue; it is just the tools that aren't being cooperative. So that is where things stand at the moment. 

[Kumar0307]

@fuchsia70

Thank you for the detailed response.

Run HP Diagnostic tool to check for any software/driver issues

Click here to download HP Print and Scan Doctor. Once downloaded, run the file and click on 'Fix printing'.

If this does not help, create a New User Account and install the printer to check if that works as there could be driver conflict in the current user profile.

Refer to this document to know how.

Keep me posted.

[fuchsia70]

Update... 

1) The diagnostic tool indicated that it fixed a port mis-match. It didn't make any difference in the computer's ability to establish a two-way connection with the printer or use the printer services in the toolbox. (To refresh your memory, when I clicked on any of the items-- diagnostic, print quality, or mobile config-- the toolbox window closes without any action completed.)

2) I set up a new user account that I called Testing. I re-downloaded the driver and installed the printer successfully under that account. I did get the prompt to connect the USB cable which I followed the prompts for both connecting and then removing. I was able to successfully print the test page but still getting the "Computer cannot establish two-way connection with printer" error and am having the same results when trying to use any of the services under the toolbox.

3) Earlier in this little adventure I tried setting up the printer on my housemate's Dell laptop; it is running Windows 7 64-bit OS. While the print services interface is somewhat different from the one in the Windows 10 64-bit interface, at least the calibration, alignment, and cleaning operations did work. I was successful printing on it as well. 

4) Also, I don't recall if I mentioned it but it has the removable bluetooth/wireless 802.11b/g adapter in place. It has been there through everything I've done. 

5) Is there a way to do a factory reset or something similar on the printer itself? And if so, might that solve the issue with the two-way communication?

Thanks so much for everything!

[Kumar0307]

@fuchsia70

Since the printer and the Printer Assistant(toolbox) worked fine on a Win7 PC, the issue is not with the printer but is a software/driver compatibility issue with Win10.

Resetting the printer to its factory resettings may not help.

Try using HP Smart app and check if that works on the Win10 PC

Click here to download and know more about HP Smart.

Keep me posted.

[fuchsia70]

I got the HP Smart App downloaded and installed without an issue.

Unfortunately, I did not succeed in getting HP Smart to even recognize the printer despite it being active on the network and successfully printing a test page just prior to going through the setup steps. I am beginning to suspect that Windows 10 is incapable of supporting the toolbox functions for the OfficeJet H470.

Fortunately, it is printing things just fine and wirelessly at that, so it's not a total loss. 

[Kumar0307]

@fuchsia70

That's Unfortunate. We have tried all the possible troubleshooting steps. I think this issue needs some additional technical assistance that can be better provided through one-on-one interaction or through Remote access with our HP Support team.

I would request you to contact them for further assistance.

Click on this Link to contact HP.

Keep me posted for any other assistance.