HP Envy lost the ability to automatically print double sided

[Rosie23]

Hello,

This seems to be a common problem but none of the fixes I've found so far haven't helped.

I have had my HP Envy for a good few months without issue, then today when I tried to print, nothing worked and I ended up having to re-download the drivers. Since then, it has now lost the ability to automatically print double sided (one of the main reasons I bought this one!)

I have tried, in control panel, clicking 'automatic configuration' to 'update now', which then sets Automatic Duplexing to 'installed' but it has made no difference - when I go into MS Word, I still only get the manual option (and then when I go back into control panel, it is uninstalled again).

I have deleted, restarted, and reinstalled the whole lot, but to no avail. Have wasted half a day on trying to find  work-around and am rapidly losing patience!

Any help greatly appreciated. Many thanks

[Photoray002]

Hello @Rosie23

When you deleted everything, rebooted and reinstalled, how did you do that exactly?

I'm guessing you went to the Windows Control Panel and simply uninstalled the HP printer, then reinstalled.

Is this correct?

If yes, then its possible that the corrupted files that were there, did not completely get removed.

To completely remove everything first...

Download Revo Uninstaller free edition...

https://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html

Run Revo and select the HP printer (afterward, go back and select anything else related to the HP printer software also).
You need to use the Advance Mode when it asks. Then click the Scan button after the uninstaller part finishes.
Click on Select All and then Delete (it might have already selected all the check boxes, if so then Delete All). If it shows another selection of files to select after this, then select all and delete them too.
Close Revo.

Type Control Panel in the Cortana Search Bar and select it from the pop up menu.
If the printer is showing in Printers, delete it and any other related devices like HP network printer, etc.

Next, type Device Manager in the Cortana Search Bar and open it.
In the Device Manager, go to the View tab and enable Show Hidden Devices.
Look for Printers in the list. IF its there, expand it and delete any HP printer entries.
Do the same if there is a category for Imaging Devices.

Now press the windows key + r key. Type printui.exe /s and press enter.
In the new window that opens, go to Drivers tab.

Remove any entry for HP printers if you find them.

Press the windows key + r key again and type c:/programdata
Look for a Hewlett Packard folder and remove any printer related folders & files.

Restart the PC.
Run the printer installer again.
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-envy-4520-all-in-one-printer-series/5447920/mode...

Let me know the results.

[Rosie23]

Thank you so much for such a detailed reply, and so quickly! Am in the middle of parenting 🙂 so won't get a chance until tomorrow now but will try and let you know.

Many thanks again

[Rosie23]

Hello,

Thanks for the advice and apologies for the delay.  I've gone through all the steps and re-installed but sadly got the same problem - I can only print double-sided manually. I've also spotted that it won't print in colour any more either - I tried to print a document to test the double-sided and it came out B&W, so I've tested with a photo too but even when colour is selected, it comes out B&W (there is coloured ink in it).

Any advice would be fantastic! Got to love an upgrade that makes the printer work worse...

Thank you again

[Photoray002]

@ShlomiL  or  @greenturtle

Any ideas?

[greenturtle]

Hi @Rosie23,

Thanks for using the HP Forums.

@Photoray002  has provided detailed steps on how to uninstall and reinstall the full feature software.

Was the install successful?

1. If it is, can you go to Control Panel and righ-click on your printer and select "Printer Properties" 

2. Go to Device Settings and under "Installable Options" , set it to "Installed".  (Example shown)

Regarding trhe Color printout, can you ensure that the "Print in Grayscale" is set to "Off"  It could be under "Paper/Quality" or Advanced tab (depending on Print driver version). Example:

Hope that helps!

[Rosie23]

Hello,

Many thanks for the suggestions, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, it's not solved it - sorry!

The Automatic Duplex is turned on (although it does reset to off every time) - but even when it's shown as on, the only option is to use manual double-sided.

For the colour option, my printer properties isn't showing any greyscale option - I've looked through every tab I could see but it's not showing up. The Features section is showing double sided and colour as an option, but it's doing neither. I've attached some screenshots below of the different tabs

Many thanks again. Looks as if the printer is just buggered!

[Rosie23]

Hello

Just wanted to say I found a solution, and thank you for your help.  I removed every bit of HP-related software and used the cleaner you mentioned, then managed to find the installation CD it came with and used that to reinstall. As long as it never tries to update its drivers via the internet again, I should be OK now!

Thank you for your help,

Rosie

[Photoray002]

Strange, the old install works better than the update when there wasnt much of a change between them.

Thanks for the heads up.

[MaggieMay25]

Rosie,

I have been having the exact same problem as you after 9 months of using my printer. I have noticed more frequent issues with the printer after every update and the inability to print double sided was the last straw. I am a college student and to save paper I always try to print double sided! I saw that you used your original installation disc to reinstall the device on your computer. I am currently going through all the uninstall processes after tracking down my installation CD.

Anyways, I just wanted to thank you both for the excellent information and all the follow up! I have been so overwhelmingly frustrated with this issue that I was about to switch printing manufactures!

Kindest Regards,

Maggie