Solved Cannot add network printer using ZenWiFi BD4

[Crimliar]

Getting some HP printers to work can be real dark arts stuff! The technique on the DJ8520 is:
Turn off the power at the socket (or unplug the poser cable)
Hold the "cancel", b/w copy, and power buttons down WHILE you
Restore power to the printer, keeping the buttons down till it tells you it's ready.

Once it's powered up, you can use the HP Smart app. You may be able to resurrect it with the previous settings, or you may need to start from scratch.
Other things to watch (on older HP printers), make sure the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi is 20MHz, don't restrict the Wi-Fi to "N" or later, make sure Bluetooth is enabled on the device you are using! Sometimes it's a good idea to just clear out HP Smart, delete the drivers and start again.

 

[bennor]

Perhaps you misunderstood me. I don't have problem connecting the printer (HP DeskJet 5820) to router. That works just fine. The problem is that despite being connected to the same network no other device within the network can see it.

Didn't misunderstand you at all. Try those settings if you haven't done so already. I've had similar issues where a WiFi client indicated it was connected but could not be accessed by other local network clients. First step was to check the WiFi settings. In my case I also disabled Smart Connect on a RT-AX86U Pro which worked to get some IoT devices online.

Check that the printer is using the same "workgroup" as the other local network devices.

In another case I had 2.4 Ghz WiFi client indicate it was connected, router showed an IP address for it, but could not be accessed. Rebooting the router fixed the issue.

Check if you have any sort of specific routing going on for the IP address assigned or used by the printer. This includes any DNS Director routing.

Check, if you can, that the printer is not only getting an IP address but also a DNS and gateway address as well.

If you haven't done so already, what does the router log show for the printer's MAC or IP address? Does it indicate any sort of error or repeated WiFi connecting and disconnecting?

As a last resort, perform a hard factory reset on the router and then a manual configuration (do not import a saved router.cfg file), and a reset on the printer and reconnect it to the WiFi network. Sometimes resetting the router and WiFi device can fix weird issues.

 

[Terepin]

OK, so, the report shows only one error: no Internet connection. I haven't the foggiest why.

I tried separate and combined bands, 20 and 20/40 MHz bandwidths, WPA-2 only, DMZ, guest network (because why not), rebooted and reset both routers (I always set them up from scratch), reset Wi-Fi on the printer.

No idea how to check for workgroup. No routing was set specifically for the printer and every other device within the home network is reachable (pingable).

I'm attaching syslog output. Printer's MAC address is 40:B0:34:B4:43:9D.

syslog.txt

drive.google.com

 

[bennor]

@Terepin, I may have missed it but what is the make and model of the printer? Have you checked with the printer's support and or discussion forums to see if others with that printer have experienced similar issues?

Also what firmware (specific version) are you running on the router?

And to clarify (if I missed it mentioned previously) is the ZenWiFi BD4 set up as the main router or as a AiMesh node? Are there any AiMesh nodes in your active network setup?

 

[Terepin]

Printer is HP DeskJet GT 5820. I tried to search for solution for this specific model, but nada.

I'm running the newest firmware, which is 3.0.0.6.102_57071. It's a pack of 2, but the printer is bind to the router.

 

[Tech9]

If there is no resolution to your issue and the printer was working fine with your previous router - make sure you don't miss the return window for this set. Quite a few people ZenWiFi-ed themselves with BE-class products. The overall experience is not great.

 

[bennor]

Is the WiFi indicator LED on the GT 5820 blinking or is it a solid color?

You may need to rerun the printer WiFi setup. The user manual for that printer has directions starting on page 72:

https://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04937829.pdf#page=72

https://support.hp.com/us-en/printer-setup/hp-deskjet-gt-5820-all-in-one-printer-series/8109015

When switching routers sometimes one will have rerun the printer setup to connect it to the new router even though the new router may be using the same WiFi SSID and password as the old router.

 

[Terepin]

If there is no resolution to your issue and the printer was working fine with your previous router - make sure you don't miss the return window for this set. Quite a few people ZenWiFi-ed themselves with BE-class products. The overall experience is not great.

I'd like to avoid that. I spend 161€ for this 2-pack, which is a steal. And that's before the 25€ cashback! Ain't nothing else that has the same price/performance ratio. XD4 Plus, while technically the newest WiFi6 model, has extremely stripped down firmware. XD5 costs 60€ more and will be forever stuck at firmware 3.0.0.4. With my gigabit connection, getting anything stronger than that would be pointless and waste of money.

 

[Terepin]

Is the WiFi indicator LED on the GT 5820 blinking or is it a solid color?

You may need to rerun the printer WiFi setup. The user manual for that printer has directions starting on page 72:

https://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04937829.pdf#page=72

https://support.hp.com/us-en/printer-setup/hp-deskjet-gt-5820-all-in-one-printer-series/8109015

When switching routers sometimes one will have rerun the printer setup to connect it to the new router even though the new router may be using the same WiFi SSID and password as the old router.

It's solid color and a reran the WiFi setup several times. The result was always the same.

 

[Tech9]

Ain't nothing else that has the same price/performance ratio

On paper... User experience is what counts. For your printer issue - try to dumb down the 2.4GHz band to 802.11n only with WPA2-Personal and everything else like Beamforming, MU-MIMO, Airtime Fairness, Agile Multiband, PMF, etc. disabled. The usual troubleshooting for IoT devices. Separate the two 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs, Smart Connect is not very smart. Good luck!

 

[Terepin]

I turned off everything I could and still nothing.

 

[Crimliar]

I’ve had a play with my own HP Desk-jet Smart-tank 555, which is from roughly the same era – an era when HP’s drivers and in some cases firmware were not the best! During my playing I managed to get the printer to roll over and play dead similarly to that described by our OP.

The problem here appears to be that the printer will attempt to connect to the router on the 5GHz band, using 802.11n Wi-Fi, and then just gets stuck there. It will never compete the connection, but won’t drop back to 2.4GHz.

The solution is to turn off the 5GHz on the router (Wireless>Professional>5GHz>Enable radio: No). Reset the Wi-Fi using the button combination on the printer’s very limited front panel. Then attempt to set up the printer from scratch using the mobile app. Once it’s set up, you can dive into the settings on the printer and set it to 2.4GHz only, and then turn on the 5GHz Wi-Fi on the router, and everything here works.

*If you can find the button combo that only resets the Wi-Fi, you won’t lose your other settings, and the setup app is smart enough to just change the settings and not create a whole new printer device.

 

[Terepin]

But the printer doesn't support 5 GHz band. It won't even list it as available network.

 

[Terepin]

I forgot to mention one thing: there is no way to force specific Wi-Fi mode. It's fully automatic.

 

[Crimliar]

Okay, a different issue from the DJST-555. Once that is connected, to 2.4GHz you can use a web browser to get into it's set up pages - but this kind of issue was pretty common when these printers were released! Sorry I can't be of any more help!

 

[Terepin]

No problem. All of you guys were willing to help me out and I greatly appreciate that.

 

[Terepin]

What the f- I can see it now! I have reset router and left professional wireless settings untouched! Yeah, baby! Now I need to figure which setting is causing this.

 

[Terepin]

It's IGMP snooping. Why would be this of all things causing it? I always had it enabled before and it never caused any issue.

 

[Crimliar]

The problem with the DJST-555 here, was noticeable with my previous RT-AC86U router, and I recreated it on the GT-AX6000. With the other problems people were having with HP printers of that era, I would put money on it being more of a printer issue than a router one.
I don't know if getting a cheap "N" repeater that could be setup as a wired access point might fix things!