Wireless Printer Problems

[tallen234]

I thought I solved most of my problems with my recent upgrade to the AC68U. I was having some connectivity problems with my wireless HP Officejet 8600. I tried using the USB port and ethernet connection on the router, but eventually went back to wireless as I wanted to use Airprint. It was working for a few days, but now I am back to experiencing connectivity issues. When I send a print job to the printer, the printer hangs and/or sends out gibberish. I set up a static IP address, but now when I ping that address I get time outs and packet losses.

I am a "civilian" so my networking expertise is probably a 5 out of 10, so I am not sure what I can do.

Any ideas?

Thanks

EDIT: Now I am experiencing similar problems as when I first installed the router:

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/slow-loading-gui-at-192-168-1-1.27174/

 

[PolarBear]

It looks like there may be more than one problem.

Concerning the lack of a ping response:

It's very desireable that the printer always gets the same IP address. There are 2 ways of making sure that this happens:

The first way is to define a fixed ID in the printer itself. The IP address should be outside the range of addresses (="pool") which the router allocates by DHCP. Often, this is called a STATIC IP ADDRESS. However, doing it this way means that the printer does not ask the router for an IP address and so the router has less knowledge that the printer is there.

The second way is to set the printer to ask for a DHCP address from the router. Then in the router, reserve a specific IP address for the MAC address of the printer. The standards say that the IP address you use should be within the range of addresses that the router allocates by DHCP (strict interpretation), but some routers can handle addresses outside of this range. Opinions seem divided on which is the better way. This method is called a RESERVED IP ADDRESS but I have seen the word static used, which in my view is an incorrect usage of the term "static".

The advantage of the second method is that the printer must specifically ask the router for an IP address, so the router definitely knows that the printer is there.

This will probably address the ping problem you mention above.

There must however be other factors involved, since the ping problem would not explain why the printer sometimes prints jibberish.

 

[tallen234]

Thanks for the response. I did try the "Manually Assigned IP around the DHCP list" in the AC68U gui. This doesn't seem to change the behavior....

It looks like there may be more than one problem.

Concerning the lack of a ping response:

It's very desireable that the printer always gets the same IP address. There are 2 ways of making sure that this happens:

The first way is to define a fixed ID in the printer itself. The IP address should be outside the range of addresses (="pool") which the router allocates by DHCP. Often, this is called a STATIC IP ADDRESS. However, doing it this way means that the printer does not ask the router for an IP address and so the router has less knowledge that the printer is there.

The second way is to set the printer to ask for a DHCP address from the router. Then in the router, reserve a specific IP address for the MAC address of the printer. The standards say that the IP address you use should be within the range of addresses that the router allocates by DHCP (strict interpretation), but some routers can handle addresses outside of this range. Opinions seem divided on which is the better way. This method is called a RESERVED IP ADDRESS but I have seen the word static used, which in my view is an incorrect usage of the term "static".

The advantage of the second method is that the printer must specifically ask the router for an IP address, so the router definitely knows that the printer is there.

This will probably address the ping problem you mention above.

There must however be other factors involved, since the ping problem would not explain why the printer sometimes prints jibberish.

 

[Allograft]

Well, I hate to say it, but I am member of this club also. I have the 8600 N911n.

There's another user, mucci, here that has problems with an HP printer also. Sentinelvdx apparently does not have such difficulty though, he's given his 2.4 settings here: http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asus-rt-ac87-firmware-official-releases.18385/page-71#post-209150

Interestingly, I have found that I am able to connect with the AiO Remote app through both iPad Air 2 and iPhone 6s, even though none of my MacBooks can connect. I have the latest firmware on the 8600 as well as well as the latest suite from HP. I'm on Yosemite 10.10.5 for multiple MacBooks

 

[sfx2000]

In my experience, at least on Macs, going thru the CUPS driver rather than AirPrint (Airprint is the default for many) is a better path...

On Windows - letting the printer bind to a DHCP address, and then reserving it in the Router generally solves things there, as Windows and the HP drivers are not very friendly towards dynamic IP's.

Doing a static IP outside of the DHCP scope tends to break Airprint support on the HP side, which again, suggests use DHCP.

IPv6, if enabled, on the HP devices can complicate things - support there is a bit odd, but IPv4 is solid, so consider disabling IPv6 in the printer.

 

[sfx2000]

FWIW - I've got two All in One HP printers, a Photosmart and an OfficeJet - so that's just my experience with HP and Win/Mac/iOS/Linux...

 

[Allograft]

the CUPS driver rather than AirPrint (Airprint is the default for many) is a better path...

What is a CUPS driver?

 

[Allograft]

IPv6, if enabled, on the HP devices can complicate things - support there is a bit odd, but IPv4 is solid, so consider disabling IPv6 in the printer.

Both IPv4 and IPv6 were activated, so now I'm on just 4. Thanks for the tip

 

[sfx2000]

What is a CUPS driver?

The alternate from AirPrint - it'll be the one that says "Office Jet..."

 

[mattiL]

The first way is to define a fixed ID in the printer itself. The IP address should be outside the range of addresses (="pool") which the router allocates by DHCP. Often, this is called a STATIC IP ADDRESS. However, doing it this way means that the printer does not ask the router for an IP address and so the router has less knowledge that the printer is there.

RMerlin previously recommended to use the defined DHCP range for 'Static IP address' assignment, and when using the web GUI in the router (latest fw .9177 for AC87) to assign static addresses it will also use the DHCP range.

 

[Allograft]

RMerlin previously recommended to use the defined DHCP range for 'Static IP address' assignment, and when using the web GUI in the router (latest fw .9177 for AC87) to assign static addresses it will also use the DHCP range.

Would you mind referring me to a specific post, please?

 

[mattiL]

Would you mind referring me to a specific post, please?

AC68U - Manually Assigned IPs - inside or outside the DHCP Pool range?

 

[TonyH]

FWIW - I've got two All in One HP printers, a Photosmart and an OfficeJet - so that's just my experience with HP and Win/Mac/iOS/Linux...

I never owned HP printer. At present Brother AIO color laser and Canon ip7200 on WiFi.
Never ever has any issues. They faithfully sleep waiting for something to print. Never get lost.

 

[tallen234]

That very well may be my next option.....

I never owned HP printer. At present Brother AIO color laser and Canon ip7200 on WiFi.
Never ever has any issues. They faithfully sleep waiting for something to print. Never get lost.

 

[mag905]

I have the ac87u and an HP printer which works perfectly wirelessly. I print from my iPad throught my house without a problem. Printer connection issues with Apple Macs or iDevices is not a router FW problem. Apple Airprint is the issue.

Make sure your specific HP 8600 is Airprint compatible. There are three 8600's on the HP Airprint compatibility list. If your printer is not on the list, then your 8600 will not print wirelessly. If your printer is Airprint ok, then make sure that Bonjour Service is not disabled. Airprint uses Bonjour Service.

I connect my HP printer by ethernet cable to the 87u and then you have to re-install the HP drivers that came with the printer for a network connection if the USB drivers were installed previouly. Airprint does not see a USB connected printer. Hope this helps.

 

[tallen234]

Here is some more info to mull over: 192.168.1.187 is a manual IP address assigned by the router.


Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.10240]
(c) 2015 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Tim>ping 192.168.1.187

Pinging 192.168.1.187 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.1.187: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=255
Reply from 192.168.1.187: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.187:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1ms, Maximum = 3ms, Average = 2ms

C:\Users\Tim>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Home
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8168C(P)/8111C(P) Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.20)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : A4-BA-DB-F9-7C-C4
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::25cc:bba1:767b:31ef%8(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.145(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, October 05, 2015 7:20:39 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, October 06, 2015 7:20:39 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 245676763
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-19-B6-B5-C5-A4-BA-DB-F9-7C-C4
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.{5F87A273-1FE9-4D65-ABC1-A74D8E7A21E6}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Teredo Tunneling Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:9d38:6abd:ce6:a7a:b95d:991c(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::ce6:a7a:b95d:991c%2(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 150994944
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-19-B6-B5-C5-A4-BA-DB-F9-7C-C4
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

 

[sfx2000]

Here is some more info to mull over: 192.168.1.187 is a manual IP address assigned by the router.


Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.10240]
(c) 2015 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Tim>ping 192.168.1.187

Ping the name of the printer, not the IP...

if you haven't defined a bonjour hostname, then try ping HP<MAC addr all caps>.local

One can define the bonjour service name in some HP printers on their WebGUI under Network/Advanced Settings/Bonjour - there you'll see a place to put a "common" name, and you should see a Bonjour Domain Name.

Wacky world of HP Printers

(quick tip - to get Bonjour on Windows, easiest way is to install iTunes, it includes the bonjour stack as part of the install there)

 

[tallen234]

Things have gone from bad to worse. Now, I can't connect to the Internet via my wired computer. I can still connect wirelessly. I haven't done anything to the network. I've tried all the usual tricks with ipconfig and netsock stuff, resetting everything, changing cables, scouring the Internet for help....I am at my wits end!

 

[tallen234]

When I troubleshoot my connection to the Internet, I get a "Windows could not automatically detect this networks proxy settings".

EDIT: Things are working now. On whim, I disconnected a long ethernet run to a switch in my home theater that was plugged into the router. I rebooted the router and was able to get internet on my PC. Any idea why? I've rebooted the router many times during this process with no luck. Would the home theater switch connection have anything to do with this? I want to reconnect it......

Things have gone from bad to worse. Now, I can't connect to the Internet via my wired computer. I can still connect wirelessly. I haven't done anything to the network. I've tried all the usual tricks with ipconfig and netsock stuff, resetting everything, changing cables, scouring the Internet for help....I am at my wits end!

 

[Allograft]

With the suggestion of Goofey Newfie http://www.snbforums.com/threads/of...ion-3-0-0-4-378-9177.27372/page-6#post-209356

I did some deeper looking at my situation.

Interesting indeed.

Here are the players:
Asus 87u on .9177
HP Officejet Pro 8600 N911n multifunction.
late model MacBook Pros and Airs, 2012, 2014, 2015. All running Yosemite 10.10.5
iPad Air 2 iOS 9.0.2
iPhone 6s iOS 9.0.2

Most of these have been in play since October 2014. iPhone 6s is clearly new, one MacBook Pro is mid-2015

Everything is wireless, on both 2.4 and 5. No USB or ethernet, save for the ethernet between modem and router.

HP 8600 has a static intranet address assigned in the Asus webpage 192.168.1.130.

My iOS devices can locate and stay in touch with the HP. The HP shows up as a connected device on 2.4 in the Asus connected devices page. I can scan from iPad, print from iPad, use all functions from iPad. Same from iPhone. They can connect fine with the HP despite being on 2.4 or 5. HP is always on 2.4

However, the MacBooks do not seem to able to keep up the connection and I have to restart the router in order to be able to use the MacBooks to print, scan, etc.

HP says all devices post-2010 are AirPrint compatible and this is a late 2011 device. It also appears on a list of supported AirPrint devices. However, whenever I set it up, I haven't used AirPrint. In fact, AirPrint doesn't even usually pop up as an option. When I add the printer from the dialogue box, the specific suite pops up for it, and I use the specific suite that Apple provides. For those that know the details of Mac, I type in the 192.168.1.130 address in location field below the name of the printer once it's added.

Any thoughts on how to resolve this?