Unable to locate printer, have to restart printer every time to print (HP OfficeJet 5255)

[jjhughes]

I bought my printer in March  when I started working from home and no longer had access to my office printer. Since then, I have never been able to print something without issue.

Every time I try to print something, the printer can't be found. I get errors like "Printer is not connected" and "Unable to locate printer" when hitting print through my computer. Even the driver I downloaded can't find it. The printer is usually on sleep mode (but that shouldn't  keep it from working). When I wake it up, it says it's connected to the wifi (the same wifi my laptop is on). It still doesn't work.

After I restart the printer (sometimes I even have  to remove the printer before restarting and then crossing my fingers and hoping it pops back up when I  finish restarting it), it usually works. But sometimes I  have to restart it several times and try different things a few times, sometimes just giving up. 

Seeing as I shouldn't have to restart a printer built in 2020 every time to get it to work, something is obviously wrong. Anyone know how I can fix this permanently? The troubleshooting page just tells you to try restarting it, which does usually fix it in the short term, but doesn't solve the overall problem.

The other issue is to get my options for contacting Customer  Service, I have  to put in the Serial Number. While there are many different numbers on the label (FCC ID, IC, CAN ICES, Canadian IC, US, and the bar code), none are called "Serial number". So I can't even figure that out.

[8lives]

This link explains how to find the serial #.

Did you try connecting using the printer USB port?

[jjhughes]

Unfortunately, there isn't an output for a standard USB cord and a specialized cord wasn't included in the box.

I'd still like it to work over wifi, but that solution is much less annoying than restarting my printer all the time and hoping it connects.

As for the Serial number, unfortunately a Serial Number, Serial No, S/N, or SN isn't printed  anywhere on the the label (neither on the bottom or in the ink cartridge access). Good news though, because I realized I still had the box and that did  have the Serial no listed.

[8lives]

How far from the router is the printer?

[jjhughes]

It's about 20  feet away.

Good news, though, I think it may be fixed. By typing the IP address from the printer into my browser, it pulled up a dashboard. On there, there was an option to check for updates. I updated the firmware and it seems to be working well now. I'll respond later if it turns out to be another short term solution, but fingers crossed  it sticks!

[jjhughes]

I spoke too soon. I went to print today and it isn't working again. Printer says it's connected, the computer says it's not. I tried to access the dashboard again  with the IP number and this  time even that isn't loading in the browser.

Back to square one.

[8lives]

Give HP support a try.