HP 8630 wired to Dual Band Router - Cannot consistently print/scan/fax, fixes don't work

[LaurieD8964]

We recently connected our HP 8630 to a new dual band XFinity router using a wired LAN connection to try to avoid the 2.4Gz/5Gz printing issues others have posted about. No such luck.

(FYI, Printer Network Configuration Status shows 'Ready/Active Connection Type: Wired" and our router information shows the printer as one of its attached devices with the correct Hostname displayed. Computer OS is Win7 Pro, SP1, 64-bit.)

Printing, scanning and faxing worked for awhile then suddenly started only working sometimes.

--Print jobs would get stuck in the queue and never print, and we couldn't delete them. Had to power off computer and printer to get rid of them, then the next job would get stuck again ... repeatedly.

--Printer would suddenly appear to be "offline" when it was only 'sleeping' - or would disappear altogether or appear greyed out

--Sometimes when removing the printer and rebooting the computer, the pop up that says "your device is now ready for use would appear and the printer would be in the list of devices again before I had a chance to add it back. (I think Windows might have been creating WSD ports)

--Sometimes when trying to re-add the printer, and the printer could not be found, I would get an error saying the printer and the computer were on separate networks and it would have to use the IP address to find it/add it.

Tried rebooting everything - no help. Tried removing and re-adding printer - sometimes the Windows 'Add Printer' would find it and sometimes it wouldn't. If used the HP software to add printer/reinstall printer, sometimes it seemed to work and sometimes not. Tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software - no help. Tried using HP diagnostic tools including Print & Scan Doctor. Sometimes they showed they had fixed something (such as assigning it to Home Group, making it Default), but whatever they fixed didn't solve the problem once and for all. Often, they couldn't find the printer at all, so couldn't try to fix anything.

I'm willing to disconnect/power down computer and printer and uninstall/reinstall software and then proceed as if we just pulled it out of the box, but before I do I need advice on how to get this to work right once and for all. (I'd also like to make sure I clean out any unneeded WSD ports that Windows may have created in its effort to help.)

For example, when trying to add the printer, laptop was wirelessly connected to the Router using the 5Gz network, while Printer was wired to the Router. Do I need to be on the 2.4GZ network to get it to add correctly? If so, will I still be able to print when I then switch to the 5Gz network?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[sabretooth04]

Replacing/reconnecting/changing your wireless router, try here. 

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/wireless-printing-center/reconfiguring-system-help3.html

* Reset your printer back to Network Defaults.  Then run the Wireless Setup Wizard to connect.  Both can be accessed from the front panel or computer.  If no front panel for configuration, you must use your Printer USB cable to connect.  You can also try the WPS method if your router/printer supports this only if the Wizard or Printer USB cable is not available.  Read your User Guide for info.

* Wireless printers only connect to the 2.4G band in your router.  The router must have the 2.4G SSID band enabled with a different SSID name than your 5.0G SSID band in your router.

* Set router to a fixed wireless channel like 1, 6 or 11, never ‘auto’.  Try channel 1 first then the others one at a time. 

* Make sure printer and router are at least 5 feet apart. 

* Make sure IPv6 is disabled in the printer.

Make and model of modem and router?

However if you have a Gateway (modem+router) device, all Gateway devices are terrible for wireless connectivity.   If it works, it works.  If it doesn’t… suggest you think about putting that gateway device in full bridge mode and install your own high quality router that YOU have full control over. 

[LaurieD8964]

Thank you so much for your quick response. The information is helpful, but we aren't yet at a solution.

Configuration information:

--Make and model of Modem: It is actually an XFinity-provided Gateway (combined router/modem) - the actual make and model of the Gateway is Arris TG1682G.

--5Ghz and 2.4Ghz networks have different names. Both are enabled.

--Printer and Router are more than 5 feet apart.

--Printer has a front panel for configuration.

Questions:

--Right now the printer is using an Ethernet (wired) connection rather than wireless, so it isn't using 2.4 or 5. WIth that configuration, will the Gateway work better, or will it still be  a 50/50 gamble?

--If we want to continue to use an Ethernet connection, what would the steps be after resetting the Printer back to Network Defaults? Should the standard steps for establishing a Wired Connection work correctly?

--If we want to change to a Wireless connection, and we connect the printer to the 2.4Ghz, do we need to consider disabling the 5Ghz? Or does that matter?

Thanks

[sabretooth04 · Accepted solution]

Your printer needs the 2.4G connection.  All other devices can use either the 2.4 or the 5.0G bands.  You have a Gateway device so remember what I said above.  Try this now...

These settings are for setting up your wireless or wired printers to:

* Stay connected to your router
* Fix printer ‘offline’ status
* Wake from sleep mode
* 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 address range of the router. This is because printers are the only external devices that do not have the ability to automatically interrupt the router for a new DHCP address once the least time expires.  Again, do not have the printers static IP within the DHCP range of the router as this is against Networking 101 rules and will confuse the router.  Make things simple – In the router, set starting DHCP address range 192.168.1.100 (or 192.168.0.100). Ending DHCP address range 192.168.1.150 (or 192.168.0.150).  Set Printer Static IP to 192.168.1.10 (or 192.168.0.10). 

After setting the static IP, the computer(s) must be updated under Printer Properties/Ports to show a Standard TCP/IP port with the printers’ new static IP address.

1. Set a static IP in the printer outside the DHCP range of the router (check your manual).  This Static IP is important as DHCP IP addresses will change upon different power up sequences of your devices.  You always want your printer to come up with the same IP address all the time.  See how to do this here:

http://www.watchingthenet.com/linksys-tip-assign-static-ip-address-to-printer-while-using-dhcp-on-yo...

This is for Linksys routers but can be used for all routers. Verify your DHCP range and change this first if needed.  Then after setting the static IP in the printer, the computer(s) must be updated under Printer Properties/Ports to show a Standard TCP/IP port with the printers IP address. 

To see why this problem exists and how to fix it, watch this video here for Windows.   Scroll down for MAC information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEqvUKxWmq4

How to set a Standard TCP/IP port.  This is important.

a).  Click Start/Devices and Printers. Right click on your HP Printer.  Select Printer Properties.  Select the Ports tab at the top.

b).  Select Add Port. Select Standard TCP/IP Port.  Select New Port.

c).  Follow the Add Port Wizard. Under Printer Name or IP Address, input the Static IP address you just set from the above information.  Example:  168.1.15.  The IP address will be copied under Port Name.  This is OK to leave this alone or you can put in your Printer Model.

d).  Select Next and Finish the Wizard.

If you create a TCP/IP port without a static IP above, you may lose your TCP/IP connection and have the same issue. This is because your network has powered up differently giving you a different DHCP address to the printer that does not match the TCP/IP address above.  This could occur at anytime just like the video shows.

For MAC PCs perform the above Static IP setting in the router and then watch here on how to perform your IP setting for MAC computers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5tNFjEBDOw

By performing the above, the printers Embedded Web Server (EWS) will now work all the time by going to your Printers Static IP address in your browser. 

2.  Wireless connection only, turn off the Wired LAN in the printer.

a).  Login to your printers EWS from a web browser using your Static IP in the address bar.

b).  Go to the menu item Network at the top.

c).  On the side menu expand WIRED network settings.

d).  Click on advanced.

e).  Set the Network Interface to off.

 3.  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) if your printer supports this. 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. This feature is automatically disabled when the printer is connected to a computer or mobile device, a network, or a fax line (if supported).  However, you may not find this setting.

4.  If the printer supports and has IPv6 enabled, disable IPv6 in the printer.

5.  Make sure printer is plugged directly into a wall outlet and not into a UPS, power strip or surge protector. This may cause the printer to intermittently drop offline and disconnect.

6.  Make sure your printer and router are at least 5 feet apart from each other.

7.  Check the HP web site for your printer to see if there is a Firmware Upgrade that affects the wireless operation. If yes, update the firmware via USB cable only.  Never wireless.

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

[LaurieD8964]

Wow - thank you for the detailed second reply. I have managed to print your replies so I can use them as a checklist as I work through the changes for each device.

I have the User Guide downloaded so it's available as needed, and I confirmed via USB cable that the printer firmware is up to date per the HP web site. As indicated, the devices are more than 5 feet apart and I will double check that the printer is NOT plugged into a battery back up (or will unplug it if it is).

However, I have one additional question.

--As we've worked through this process up to now, a couple of times we have successfully (we thought) added the printer but when I looked at Printer Properties it showed it was using a WSD port. Now neither of us knowingly selected a WSD port in the process of finding and adding the printer, so I'm not exactly sure how we got one.

--Anyway, I am not sure if I need to take additional steps so we don't wind up with WSD ports for the printer in the future on either of our laptops. (I'm not sure if a WSD port on one machine would cause a problem - my husband only needs printing, and his printing over the WSD port seems to work even when my connection to print/fax/scan keeps failing.)

So - do I need to do anything additional, and/or modify any of the steps you've already provided above, in order to make sure WSD doesn't mess anything up?

[LaurieD8964]

Okay - here is the update.

We took your advice and added a Linksys router, and will turn our Gateway into just a modem. Got the router up and running in just a few minutes. Had a few issues when I tried setting the static IP address initially, not sure why so I decided to take it baby step by baby step.

I've connected the printer to the new Router via ethernet cable, and I first chose to just reinstall the printer to make sure the router could see it and the laptop could once again print, fax, and scan.

--I chose to let the router use DHCP to assign the initial IP address, and it all worked.

--I used the HP "Printer Setup & Software" process to add the printer to my laptop. It gave me back the capability to print, scan and fax.

However, when I checked the port types, both the printer and the associated fax device are using "HP Re-Discovery Port Monitor" type ports. I get an error when I pick "Configure Port," so I figured I'd need instead to add a new one.

I know the next step is to change the IP address for the printer to be a static IP, and create a TCP/IP port to match, but before I do so I need to know: what do I do with the fax device?

--The router only sees one physical device, so there will only be one IP address that applies

--I can add a TCP/IP port using that IP address, and check the box so the printer will use it

--Do I check the same box for the fax so it also uses the same port? I'm not sure I can create two ports with the same IP address (or can I?).

Also, do I then delete the HP Port Monitor ports? Or is unchecking them enough?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[sabretooth04]

Leave the the fax alone.

[LaurieD8964]

Okay - thanks!

I will do the Static IP reset and post the outcome.

[LaurieD8964]

Here's the update:

It worked.

--Printer now has static IP and standard TCP/IP port

--New router sees correct IP and device info for printer

--Laptop can now print, scan and fax again

--Laptop can connect to printer and print regardless of whether connected to 2.4Ghz or 5.0Ghz on new router

Yippee!

Sabretooth 04, you rock!