Subject: Issue with Expired Certificate Error on HP Printer Using MacBook

[cariscribe]

Hello JPD9,

Thank you for posting this workaround for the Expired Certificate kicking out the Paused error. I have been working this problem for the last couple of days. I updated my Mac OS, updated the printer software, went through countless trials and more errors,  more setups, more reboots, went through the hell of getting the wireless connection to work on my 2017 HP LaserJet Pro 201 after all the setup finally took, and after all that got exactly the same message, Printing Paused, only THIS  time it finally showed me the Expired Certificate message, see printer for error, of which there was no sign. At the very bottom of this long message thread I come to find your message, apparently only posted YESTERDAY afternoon, and it WORKED. 

THANK YOU.

[JPD9]

I'm glad it worked for you.  My certificate expired on 1/1/25 and I expect the same happened to you and a lot of people so there are a lot of "certificate expired" messages popping up.  It's frustrating to me that HP (1) hasn't pushed out a fix or (2) suggests that Mac users fix the problem themselves by getting a Windows machine.  As you saw, the Mac fix that I linked to is something a layman can easily manage and is a solution that HP should have provided itself, rather than forcing us to endlessly spelunk around internet until we stumble upon a kind soul who has taken it upon himself to do what HP should have done.

[cariscribe]

This is also helpful, for we speculated that it happened at the turn of the new year. But I had to go through a total upgrade of my Mac (due anyway) to even get the Certificate Expired message which led me here. Before that it was simply Paused which led me down many a rabbit hole. 

I've been an Apple user since 1988 and don't plan on switching to Windows at this stage of the game, but I appreciate the insight there too. It should be in the Apple Discussions at the very least. But am not one of those Kind Souls who provides what the bigheads should have, so again I do thank you sincerely for posting this solution. 

[Repairatrooper]

There are numerous discussions of this on the Apple boards: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251950126?sortBy=rank

I am not sure that there is a "fix" that HP could push. It comes down to required maintenance to keep security protocols up to date. Yes a pain if you have never dealt with it. My fear is that Apple may eventually stop recognizing self-signed certificates which would then require a lot more effort to resolve the problem.

[hudson40071]

Is Network Authorization located in the printer settings or on the Mac? I have MacBook with Sequoia 15.2 and  HP Color Laser Jet Pro MFP M277dw

[cariscribe]

I am not sure where Network Authorization is. At first, when my MacBook was not updated, I simply received a Paused Error in the Printer Queue window. I updated to Sequoia and then the Error message also included the Certificate Expired message in red. Before that I didn't know where to begin to look.

[gadgetguy]

I applied the "fix" of creating a self-signed certificate and it has not fixed the issue. I have a HP Color LaserJet Pro M478f-9f, running on Mac OS Sequoia 15.1.1. Yes I have tried removing and re-adding the printer, reinstalling drivers, you name it. I am currently using the (less than ideal) workaround of adding the printer via a direct IP, which is pretty crazy.

So, here's something strange. I run Windows 11 in a VMWare VM on this Mac. Within that VM, I just added the printer and guess what? Windows works fine with it. No certificate error. What the hell is going on?

Meanwhile back on MacOS:

[Repairatrooper]

I wonder if Apple is rejecting self-signed certificates. Not all problems are created by HP and in some cases they cannot resolve the issue instantly because they have to figure out what Apple did.

[gadgetguy]

So I have stumbled across the actual, full fix for the issue.

Note:

1. the instructions are actually telling you to login the web interface to the printer. That's what "EWS" (Embedded Web Server) means and I had no clue what this was referring to initially. It is NOT telling you to run any HP Smart or similar app on your Mac.
2. The instructions provided by HP tell you how to do this on Windows, even though the issue is occurring on a Mac. Just follow my steps below.
3. You can get to the printer web interface from a browser directly via its IP (check the network status or settings on your particular printer to get its IP address). The second way on a Mac is to go to the Printer through System Settings, Printers. Click on your printer and go to Options & Supplies, then "Show Printer Web Page". You may get a security warning, depending on your browser. It is safe to accept and continue. This will then bring up the web interface to the printer, in your default browser.
4. The (Windows-based) HP instructions tell you to go to Network, Advanced Settings, Advanced and then Certificates. My printer (LaserJet Pro M478f-9f) does not have a Network tab. On mine you need to go to Security, Certificates, Configure. Again, this may vary for your printer.
5. Now select create Self-Signed Certificate and save.
6. According to HP this is supposed to fix the problem but it still did not work. In my case I solved it by ensuring that the printer's date and time were synced to my Mac. For my printer this is in the Settings, Preferences, Date & Time - it may be different for your printer. I had a discrepancy between the printer time and Mac time. I manually synced the two and it fixed my issue. You can try using the Time Server sync on this page if you want.

[Lombardogarden]

i recently purchased my HP Office Jet 8015e and it work from all three, Mac, Ipad and iphone.   It was working on three, now won't print on my MacBook Air.  

In checking under Printer, I received the Certificate Error.   One time I deleted that printer and then recreated it.   it worked one time and went back to the Certifcate error.

Thanks, would appreciate help.