HP Officejet Pro 8630 will NOT print once again!

[lmarier]

I know this has been an issue on HP printers for a long time because this is the 2nd HP printer I've had that does this.  The printer will print fine from computers, laptops, phone, iPads for months on end.  And then we go through a period where it disconnects over and over.  If I reset the printing system, there is no printer to find.  I turn off/on.  I reset the network connection.  I remove plug from back, then from outlet, then turn router off and wait, then put it all back, I restart my computer, and I have to do all these things over and over.  At some point it will find the printer and add it, but only using "AirPrint".  I can print whatever I need to AT THAT MOMENT, and then 5 minutes or a day later, it doesn't work again.  This usually goes on for anywhere form a few days to a few weeks.  This time around it's been about a month and I'm getting ready to throw the thing out the window! I usually have to print something almost every day, and with school starting back up I'll need it more often.   I moved the router further away (5 plus feet) as I read that as yet another suggestion, but nothing is different.  Does anyone have any idea how to fix this permanently.  We replaced our last HP printer with this one because it was doing the same thing.  Then after about a year with this printer, it started happening again, so it must be something with HP printers.  Both were office jets.   If it weren't for this issue, I would love my printer!

[TEJ1602]

@lmarier, Welcome to HP Support Community!

To be able to assist you better, I would like to know the following:

• Are the printer and PC connected to the same network?
• Is your router dual-band enabled i.e., both 2.4GHz and 5GHz?
• What is the distance between the router and the printer?
• Is there any antivirus software installed on your computer?
• Could you perform a ping test using the Mac Network Utility and let me know the results?

Use the printer IP address to perform a ping test, the printer IP can be located by selecting the wireless icon on the printer display.

The wireless status menu on your Mac should also give us quite a lot of information that would help us identify the issue. You can press and hold option-click the WiFi icon and then use shift-command-5 to take the screenshot. Press the space bar when the icon turns into a camera. Share the ping test results and the screenshot with us.

Also, check with your Internet service provider if your router is able to forward 'Bonjour packets'. 

Bonjour locates devices such as printers, other computers, and the services that those devices offer on a local network using multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) service records. The software comes built-in with Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems.

Keep me posted for further assistance.

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

[lmarier]

I apologize for asking the question and then going off the radar, but life has been busy.  And in the meantime, once again, my printer has miraculously started printing each time I need it to.  I am doing nothing different than I was when I posed this question, it has just decided to work properly.  This will last anywhere from a few days to perhaps many months (praying it is the latter) and then, if things go the usual way, I will have this issue again.   I am going to look at the question you asked more carefully, and perhaps will respond to maybe try to avoid this in the future.  

[TEJ1602]

@lmarier

Glad to know it is working 🙂

Do let me know if you need further assistance.

Thanks!