HP Officejet Pro 8620 Offline: Turn Off and Turn On Works

[DragonSpark]

Hello Community,

I have a 8620 that keeps going offline.  Turning the printer off and back on works like a champ (queues get processed), but obviously I would rather not do that. 😛

Is there something I can do to make this stay online all the time without having to "turn it off then back on again"?

Thank you,

Michael

[ShlomiL]

Hi Michael,

Is the printer connected wirelessly, with a USB or through a wired network?

Please clarify as each connection type require different steps to be taken.

What security software do you use on your PC? (e.g. Antivirs / firewall)

[DragonSpark]

Hey @Provost thank you for your reply.

I am wired into the network on my Windows 10 machine, and the printer is available wirelessly.  They are both on the same router.

As for security, it's all Windows Defender for me. 🙂

Thank you,

-MD

[sabretooth04]

Sorry for stepping in here.   Let's try this...

While DHCP is convenient, devices such as printers 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 settings the static IP, the computer must be updated under Printer Properties/Ports to know this new static 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.  Windows solution 4 assigns a static IP address.

Video here explains the problem and how to fix the problem.

1. 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.
2. If the printer supports and has IPv6 enabled, turn off IPv6 in the printer.
3. 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 disconnect (yes verified!).

[DragonSpark]

Wow @Provost!  Thank you so much for the great and informed answer!  I will definitely keep this in mind in case I continue to experience an issue going forward.

It turns out that my problem was due to a funky Windows 10 install.   I was experiencing other issues such as the windows menu not showing and other goofiness.  Fixing that problem seemed to have fixed this problem, too.  In case anyone else is running Windows 10 and encounters this problem, re-installing all apps as described in this link did the trick for me:

http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computing/has-your-windows-10-start-menu-stopped-working-here-are-fo...

Thanks again for your efforts and expertise, Provost!

[DragonSpark]

Hey @Provost,

Happy Holidays.  Thanks again for all your useful information.  What I have done is moved the printer to a static IP that is outside of the range of the DHCP range of the router.  Additionally, I have turned off IPv6 in the printer.   The only consideration is that we have had it plugged into a surge protector, so now it is plugged directly into the wall and we are giving that a try.

Also, with the 8620, there is no option to turn off the Energy Save Mode, just 5, 10, or 15 minutes.  Is there a setting/consideration that I am overlooking here?

So again, everything works for a while, but we are having to turn it off and turn it back on again to get it to work as expected after the printer is marked as Offline for our Windows PCs.

Thank you for any additional information you can provide!

[sabretooth04]

Make and model number of router? 

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.

[DragonSpark]

Ah, yes, that is ASUS RT-N66W.

I am looking for the fixed channel number but cannot find it ATM.

However, the issue that I feel we are facing is that the printer is on the far side of the house from the router.  So it could possibly be a wireless connection issue?  This doesn't make sense because the IP address is static now.  

Again, things work and then don't for specific machines.  We have 4 machines connected to the printer.  When 1 or 2 are not working with the printer, the other two are, and vice versa.  But in all cases, turning off the printer and then turning it on again makes the magic work to get everything happy again.  Hope that helps!

[sabretooth04]

Remember step 1 has to be done for all computers.

[DragonSpark]

Step 1 meaning ensuring the IP address for the printer is updated for each client computer?  This has been done and verified for each machine.  They are all pointing to the internal static IP address for the printer now.