OfficeJet 6500a plus has problems when the WiFi network uses WPA2

[Liron]

Since I had my new Netgear router, I have had a problem with sending faxes and possibly also printing to my Officejet 6500a Plus printer from my PC.  If the Wifi type is WPA2 (or WPA + WPA2) then I can send faxes from the PC initially, but after awhile, the fax window takes awhile to come up, and after about two minutes, the computer can't communicate with the printer any more.

Normal printing sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.  Also, the printer still has connectivity to the network, e.g. the network status  on the printer is connected and I can access apps  from the printer's screen, etc.

turning the printer off and on fixes the prlbme, but only for about two minutes, after which it all happens again.

If the router's network type is WPA, then I don't have these problems.

[Drakster · Accepted solution]

Hi @Liron,

Thanks for showing interest in the HP Support Forums! 

I see that you're experiencing connectivity problems when using WPA2 encryption but WPA doesn't seem to cause a problem. I would like to help.

There could be something causing a conflict on the WPA2 network. For example, interference (change channel), firmware issues or an IP address conflict. 

First, update the router's firmware. 

You might be experiencing an IP address conflict. It is a good idea to assign the printer a static IP address, outside your DHCP range. For example, some routers DHCP default range is 192.168.0.100 to 192.168.0.200. So, I would use 192.168.0.232.  Print a Network Configuration Page from the printer's front panel menu. Make note of the printer's IPV4 IP address.Type the IP address into your internet browser to bring up the embedded web server (EWS). 

Use these steps as a guideline: 

• Choose the Networking tab, then Wireless on the left side, then select the IPv4 tab.
• Select Manual IP. 
• Enter your manual IP address of (192.168.0.232)
• Enter  255.255.255.0 for the subnet mask (unless it is different).
• Enter your router's IP address which can be found on the Network Configuration Page for default gateway.
• Click Manual DNS Server.
• For the Manual Preferred DNS Server enter 8.8.8.8.
• For the Manual Alternate DNS Server enter 8.8.4.4.
• Click Apply.
• Please reboot the router, printer and computer in this sequence.

If you're still experiencing issues, please download and run the  Print and Scan Doctor, it will likely diagnose and resolve the issue you are experiencing.What were the results when you ran the Print and Scan Doctor? (did it print or scan, any error messages) If you have access to a computer running Windows 8.1 or earlier, update the printer's firmware. Click  here to access the download page. TIPS:

• Avoid using Mac Address Filtering on the router. 
• Make sure you have 802.11g enabled.
• The printer cannot connect to the 5.0 GHz network. If you have a dual-band router, the 2.4 GHz, and 5.0 GHz network names should not be the same. Rename the 5.0 GHz network.
• Do not hide your SSID (network name).
• Change the channel on the router to 11 or to another channel which has less traffic.

Ensure your router and firewall are not blocking these ports. 

See this  post by my colleague @VisionAiry,

Incoming ports (UDP) are destination ports on the computer while outgoing ports (TCP) are destination ports on the HP printer. • Incoming (UDP) ports: 137, 138, 161, 427• Outgoing (TCP) ports: 137, 139, 427, 9100, 9220, 9500 The ports are used for the following functions:Printing:UDP ports: 427, 137, 161TCP port: 9100Photo card upload:UDP ports: 137, 138, 427TCP port: 139Scanning:UDP port: 427TCP ports: 9220, 9500HP device status:UDP port: 161Faxing:UDP port: 427TCP port: 9220HP device installation:UDP port: 427Web Services Ports:UDP and TCP: 80, 443, 5222, and 5223Bonjour Ports:UDP and TCP: 5353, 5297, and 5298

If the issues persist, perform a factory reset on the router, reconfigure the wireless and before setting up the wireless on the printer, restore the network defaults and do a hard reset.  

• On the printer's front panel menu: select Setup-> Network-> Restore Network Defaults.
• Now, perform a hard reset:
• Leave the printer on and unplug the power cable from the printer and wall outlet for 60 seconds.
• Then reconnect the power cable to the printer and wall outlet rather than a surge protector. This ensures the printer is receiving full power and may help this situation.
• Make sure the printer is connected directly to a wall outlet (don't use a power bar or a surge protector). This ensures the printer is receiving full power and may help this situation.
• Now, reconnect the printer wirelessly again. 

Please remember to return to this thread and mark 'Accept as Solution', if I have successfully helped you resolve the issue. If you wish to say 'thanks' for my effort to help, click the 'thumbs up' to give me a Kudos.

Respond to this post with the result of your troubleshooting. I look forward to hearing from you. Good Luck!

[Liron]

Thanks for your detailed post.  Giving the printer a static IP address outside the DHCP range was an effective workaround for me.  Please note that I couldn't find any option to change the DNS settings for the printer.

Here is some additional information that may help you understand the problem.  It is unlikely to be an IP address conflict.  When the problem occurs, the computer can communicate with the printer at an ethernet and IP level (e.g. ping works, and it is sent to and from the printer), and SYN and ACK work fine, but anything higher level (e.g. HP Send Fax communicating with the printer) stops working.

Also:

* The 5 GHz network has a different name.

* The firmware is the latest version.

* Changing the Wifi channel has no effect.  My printer and computer are both next to the router and there are no other WiFi networks on the same channel nearby.

[Liron]

Unfortunately the workaround didn't solve all my problems.  Although it enabled me to send faxes, I still had printing problems, e.g. if I tried to print multiple documents by right clicking them and choosing print, they would take a long time, or error messages would appear for some of the files.

Furthermore, my 6500a plus started to fail so I bought a new printer (OfficeJet Pro 8620) and it has similar problems with WPA2 and no problems with WPA. The firmware was updated pretty much as soon as I installed it.

I worked around the problem by connecting it to the router via ethernet cable.

So this problem still exists and its not just the OfficeJet 6500a Plus, but also the OfficeJet Pro 8620.