Cannot communicate with the printer
joswald21
Enthusiast - Level 1

I have a FIOS Quantum modem/router (dual-band) and a WCB3000N wifi range extender.

SSIDs:

2.4 GHz = Home

5 GHz = Home-5G

I have an HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus - N911g which is 2.4 GHz ONLY (FWIW...IP address 192.168.1.154).

My Lenovo T430 and T440 Windows 10 laptops cannot "see" the printer on the Home SSID.  The laptop does NOT "see" the Home-5G SSID.

My iPhone 6 "sees" the printer (192.168.1.154) on the Home AND Home-5G SSIDs.

I have found many references to "cannot communicate with printer" on the web but none that provide a clear solution.  What my research is telling me is that the problem is a network issue of some kind.

Can anyone help?

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Correct answers
Re: Cannot communicate with the printer
Erik713
Enthusiast - Level 1

I was having the same issue with my printer, FiOS Quantum Gateway and Actiontec WCB6200Q Network Extender.

When the extender was off, everything in the house could communicate seemlessly. Once I turned on the extender, and different devices were connecting to either the gateway or the extender, wireless printing wouldn't work and Chromecasts wouldn't communicate.

After much tinkering, I found a setting in the extender which seems to have fixed the problem.

1. Find the IP address of your extender. You can do this in the settings of your main router/gateway.

image

2. Log into your extender on your web browser by typing in the IP address in your url bar. Your admin name and password should be on the sticker on the back of your extender.

3. Select "Advanced Setup" from the toolbar at the top of the page.

4. Change your Bridge Configuration IP Address under "Management" to match your extender's IP address. My default IP address was different than the extender.

image

Apply, and you should be set. At least, this sequence worked for me. Good luck!

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Re: Cannot communicate with the printer
CRobGauth
Community Leader
Community Leader

When your PCs connect to home SSID, what IP address do they get?

Can you ping the printer IP from either PC?

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Re: Cannot communicate with the printer
joswald21
Enthusiast - Level 1

Thanks for replying.

Laptop IP address:  192.168.1.2

Ping of the printer (192.168.1.154) from the laptop times-out.

Ping from an iPhone 6 (actually, navigating in Safari to the printer's web page) is successful.

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Re: Cannot communicate with the printer
joswald21
Enthusiast - Level 1

UPDATE - I was able to communitcate with the HP Officeject Pro 8600 Plus - N911g.  Here's what I did over a week ago...

I accessed the WCB3000N wifi range extender and found that the printer was connect to it.  For the 2.4 GHz "Wireless Operation Frequency," I changed the "Wireless Band" setting from "2.4 GHz (B+G+N)" to "2.4 GHz (G)."  My thinking, the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus - N911g does not support 802.11n.

I accessed the FIOS Quantum modem/router (dual-band) and changed the the "2.4 GHz Wireless Mode" setting from "Compatibility Mode (801.11b/g/n)" to "Legacy Mode (802.11b/g)."  This step MAY not have been needed since the printer was connected to the WCB3000N.

After the changes,  I was able to "see" the printer from my laptop.

Next, I set BOTH routers back to the "2.4 GHz (B+G+N)" and "Compatibility Mode (801.11b/g/n)" and, to my surprise, my laptop still "sees" the printer.

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Re: Cannot communicate with the printer
Erik713
Enthusiast - Level 1

I was having the same issue with my printer, FiOS Quantum Gateway and Actiontec WCB6200Q Network Extender.

When the extender was off, everything in the house could communicate seemlessly. Once I turned on the extender, and different devices were connecting to either the gateway or the extender, wireless printing wouldn't work and Chromecasts wouldn't communicate.

After much tinkering, I found a setting in the extender which seems to have fixed the problem.

1. Find the IP address of your extender. You can do this in the settings of your main router/gateway.

image

2. Log into your extender on your web browser by typing in the IP address in your url bar. Your admin name and password should be on the sticker on the back of your extender.

3. Select "Advanced Setup" from the toolbar at the top of the page.

4. Change your Bridge Configuration IP Address under "Management" to match your extender's IP address. My default IP address was different than the extender.

image

Apply, and you should be set. At least, this sequence worked for me. Good luck!

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Re: Cannot communicate with the printer
LawrenceC
Moderator Emeritus

As this thread is now two years old, it will be locked in order to keep discussions current. If you have the same or a similar question/issue we invite you to start a new thread on the topic.

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