HP Envy 6455 Printer Freezing Up On Mac

[Babaganushy]

My new HP Envy 6455 printer keeps freezing up every couple days on my mac.  I can't even get it to shut off.  The only way to get it to work is to unplug it and plug it back in.  A new printer should not have this issue.

I have a couple questions:

- Is this a common problem?  (I saw some other posts so I'm assuming "yes")

- If yes, then what solutions are available other than reinstalling the printer, unplugging it, or resetting the print system? (FYI I don't consider any of these "solutions" considering it still freezes up every couple days even when I try them)

- Would the system be more robust if I didn't utilize the wireless printing?  

- If I just want to use a USB cable and disconnect the wireless capability, how would I do that? (I don't need the wireless printing and already have the USB cable)

[ShlomiL]

Hi,.

Yes, this may occur due to wireless connectivity which may affect the printer performance but not only.

First, make sure the printer is directly connected to a wall socket and not through any power split, power surge, etc. and check if that may help.

Also, make sure the latest firmware is installed for your printer, follow the Update the printer firmware through the HP Smart app section below:

https://support.hp.com/ee-en/document/ish_1776648-1643972-16

If there doesn't help, power off the wireless radio of the printer by pressing the wireless button at the back of the printer (right below the power button), the front light-bar should change from Purple or Blue to White when the Wireless Radio has turned off, then follow for any difference.

Shlomi

[Babaganushy]

Thanks for the feedback.

A couple things:

- I get an error message (Can't open printer home or EWS page) when I tried to to use the app so you guys might want to work on that.  I ended up downloading the firmware from website.  The firmware was already updated to that version though.

- I only have one open plug by my desk so thats not an option (FYI I had an old photosmart 6520 and that was connected over wifi.  It went in the exact same plug in the same location and never had a problem with freezing up)

- I can disconnect the wifi with the button you suggested (yay!!) but now there is an annoying purple light that won't turn off.  I have the printer in my bedroom so I don't want a light on when I sleep.  The only way I can dim it is to use the phone app on the phone...which ultimately reconnects the printer to the network.

Followup Question:

I can dim the light settings with the phone app.  How can I run this printer by USB without the annoying pulsing purple light?

Tom

[ShlomiL]

Hi,

a Purple color means it is not off.

Please power off the printer and power it back on then, now press the back wireless button again.

It should change to white when the wireless radio is off, a purple light means it is on and in Setup mode.

You may control the light levels from your Mac as well  using HP Smart with a USB connection:

Generally, don't you use your mobile device? as turning off the wireless radio will not allow any mobile usage, the device can only be used with the USB connected computer then,

If you do prefer to keep the wireless operations, I suggest evaluating a Wireless Network Test Results page and see if any warning or alert is shown, any such may affect the printer performance in such a way:

https://support.hp.com/th-en/document/ish_2073929-1413451-16

Shlomi

[Babaganushy]

Hello,

Thanks for the reply.  I think I know what I did wrong.  I held wireless button on the back of the printer for several seconds instead of pressing it once.  Thats probably why I got the purple glow and it went into setup mode.

I noticed when I used the HP Smart app on my phone when the printer was glowing purple it asked to reconnect...which makes sense now that I realize it was in setup mode.  It showed the wifi's available to choose from (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz).  I noticed that it defaulted to the 2.4 GHz.  From experience I've seen that the internet on my computer typically freezes when I use the 2.4 Ghz band which is most likely what was used initially to set it up the printer initially.  I'm going to try the 5 GHz band for a bit and see if I still have the problem.  The signal strength in that area is "excellent" and the signal quality is considered "good" according the test report when using the 5 GHz band.  If the 5 GHz works better it may have been more of a signal speed issue ...but we'll see.  

If that doesn't work, I'll probably just try the USB connection with the radio off (now that I know not to hold the button down).

Thanks for the support.  If there  isn't another post after this then it can be assumed that one of those two options worked.

Tom

[Babaganushy]

Ok, so here is where I'm at:

1.  Updated Firmware - No change.

2.  Tried 5 Ghz band - Worked for a day with mac mini but printer eventually froze up again. (status bar kept pulsing back and forth in printer window but never printed)  However could still air print from Alexa Echo (shopping list) and work pc laptop after I cancel the mac mini print job.

3.  Tried 2.4 GHz band -  Same result as 5 GHz band.

4.  Tried USB cable only - Worked printer didn't lock up.

Ok, so I found I can get consistent printing when only using USB with mac mini but not with air printing.  I don't think its my wifi signal or strength.  I could cancel the print job on my mac mini (went for over 30 seconds without printing) and when I tried to print from work pc laptop and echo Alexa (shopping list), it went through without a problem.

Although I found success with the USB cable and mac mini, I have to turn off the air print function to do that.  Which means if I want to do air printing from my work pc, I have to reach in back of the printer to turn the radio back on.  A printer  should not require this amount of manual manipulation to work.

Long story short, it works consistently with my other devices but not my mac mini.  Also I have to reiterate that I had an old photosmart printer that was always connected through wifi that never had these problems.

What else can you do to help?  A brand new printer like this shouldn't be this glitchy.

Thanks.

Tom

[Babaganushy]

For more clarity...this is the printer box that just keeps pulsing back and forth but the printer will never print.

[Babaganushy]

Doesn't look like screenshot when through.

tom

[ShlomiL]

Thanks for the information @Babaganushy, this seems likley as a wireless connectivity issue.

Were you able to print the wireless test report?

Please restart the printer, then give it another try:

https://support.hp.com/th-en/document/ish_2073929-1413451-16

Also, try adding the printer using Jetdirect socket to deny any Bonjour (Multicast) connectivity issues which may affect Apple devices more than others.

Source: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_2026537-1681507-16 

Please let me know the results,

Shlomi

[Babaganushy]

Hello,

So I was able to print the wireless test report during there periods when it was working.  Its said things were "good" or "excellent".  

That being said I may have found a solution but I need to monitor it for a week.  Because we were trying to understand whether the USB cable would add stability, I connected the printer to the mac mini with a USB cable and left it in.  When I was testing the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands with air print, the USB cable was still connected.  During the last instance of the printer hanging up, I disconnected the USB cable and the air print began working!!  And its been working since.

My current theory is that when I initially installed the printer, I connected it to the 5 GHz band but it was too unstable.  When I began troubleshooting, I installed a USB cable and when I tried the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands again I confounded the experiment with changing 2 things at once (USB cable + band changes).  I believe trying to use the printer with the radio activated and simultaneously having it connected by USB will cause an issue.

I'm going to try this for a week and see if it hangs up again.  Hopefully it will be successful and if it is, hp might want to consider some logic upgrades in the firmware to mitigate this issue.  If it doesn't work, then I will go through the troubleshooting  you suggested.

Tom