polly34

Q: can't connect to wireless printer

I cannot connect a wireless printer...I have tried 2 printers. HP photosmart 6510 and Epson SX535WD....the wireless strength appears to be good on the printer but the MAC can't see it and neither can the iPhone or the iPad....Sooooo frustrating. Have brought back printers to shop as thought they were faulty...They immediately signed in to their own wifi and printed no prob from iPhone....spoke to my broadband provider. They suggested might be interference from cordless phone, so switched that off....no success, then they said something about changing the WPA to WEP....this is becoming way too complicated for something that I thought was going to be plug in and go....Should I just give up and buy an old fashioned USB type....will I ever be able to print from the iPhone or iPad as well....HELP!!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 29, 2012 3:16 PM

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Q: can't connect to wireless printer

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  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Jan 29, 2012 3:35 PM in response to polly34
    Level 9 (58,115 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jan 29, 2012 3:35 PM in response to polly34

    Please read and carefully follow the instructions in Printing Overview OS X Lion, there is a section in there specifically for wi-fi printers.

  • by polly34,

    polly34 polly34 Jan 30, 2012 1:40 AM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 30, 2012 1:40 AM in response to rkaufmann87

    Thankyou...I have read this article and at this stage I know it by heart!....The printer is just not visible unless connected by usb, which I could live with but i cannot print from iPhone oriPad

  • by garyfromrio linda,

    garyfromrio linda garyfromrio linda Jan 30, 2012 1:50 AM in response to polly34
    Level 2 (343 points)
    Jan 30, 2012 1:50 AM in response to polly34

    What printer is Epson SX535WD?  I can not find it at all.

  • by garyfromrio linda,

    garyfromrio linda garyfromrio linda Jan 30, 2012 1:54 AM in response to polly34
    Level 2 (343 points)
    Jan 30, 2012 1:54 AM in response to polly34

    OK, I found it.  European.

  • by garyfromrio linda,

    garyfromrio linda garyfromrio linda Jan 30, 2012 2:00 AM in response to polly34
    Level 2 (343 points)
    Jan 30, 2012 2:00 AM in response to polly34

    What type of wireless router do you have?

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Jan 30, 2012 6:36 AM in response to polly34
    Level 9 (58,115 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jan 30, 2012 6:36 AM in response to polly34

    If you can find it via USB but you cannot through your network then you have an issue with your router it sounds like. What I recommend is check your router to see if it has the most up-to-date firmware. If it does and it still won't work then it may need to be replaced.

  • by mtxdoc,

    mtxdoc mtxdoc Feb 2, 2012 1:47 PM in response to polly34
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 2, 2012 1:47 PM in response to polly34

    My mother has been using an iPad. She wanted a printer. The media would think you just buy an AirPrint printer and you're good to go. I bought an HP PhotoSmart 6510. It connects to the wireless signal at my mother's home, but the iPad doesn't recognize that an AirPrint printer is available. Cisco (router) recommended disabling SSID, more or less. I disabled the "SSID broadcast" under guest access (I think I went further with the tech attempts than most other people) using the Cisco software (and rebooted the router, I think), but still no go. The iPad still doesn't recognize the presence of an AirPrint printer. Very frustrating. IF the iPad had a USB port we could go back to the era of cables and print that way, but that's obviously not a solution. Feel mislead. Under the current circumstances most people are going to be frustrated and mislead by the media hype that says, "You can print wirelessly from you iPad, especially if you get an AirPrint computer." Things are going to have to get much simpler for widespread acceptance of that notion. Most of us don't have hours to spend trying to sort out tech issues on our computers. Frustrating!

  • by mtxdoc,

    mtxdoc mtxdoc Feb 2, 2012 2:29 PM in response to mtxdoc
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 2, 2012 2:29 PM in response to mtxdoc

    Just downloaded an app from the App Store, HP Printer Control, and the problem is solved. Why was there no mention anywhere (printer instruction manual, etc.) of an app being required?

  • by Cocoa1986,

    Cocoa1986 Cocoa1986 Apr 30, 2012 9:48 PM in response to polly34
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 30, 2012 9:48 PM in response to polly34

    I was struggling with an HP printer until I finally realized that (DUH!) I have to be on the same wireless internet connection as my printer. (Our router has two channels 5G and "regular" and I was on the wrong connection.) Worked fine after that Hope you figured it out!

  • by swonce,

    swonce swonce Mar 26, 2013 8:37 AM in response to polly34
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 26, 2013 8:37 AM in response to polly34

    I have the same issue. A mini mac and a mac book. An HP printer and a Brother printer. A lynksys router and a Belkin. I have uninstalled and installed drivers both from mac and hp, I have unplugged , reset, and restored and NOTHING is working.  After connecting it to wifi it might print once but after that I will get the cannot see printer error. It is verey annoying. Please help

  • by swonce,

    swonce swonce Mar 26, 2013 8:39 AM in response to Cocoa1986
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 26, 2013 8:39 AM in response to Cocoa1986

    No matter if I connect to 5gz or regular it will say the printer is not connected

  • by joeldbenson,

    joeldbenson joeldbenson Apr 7, 2013 6:39 AM in response to polly34
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 7, 2013 6:39 AM in response to polly34

    I have two printers that are connected to our network via wired Ethernet. They are invisible to any computer that is connected via our Actiontec M1000 router's wifi module, but the same computers see them just fine when they are plugged into the wired network. The problem is obviously the wifi module, which must be blocking the Bonjour (DNS-SD) port.

  • by merchantboys,

    merchantboys merchantboys Sep 6, 2016 5:26 AM in response to Cocoa1986
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 6, 2016 5:26 AM in response to Cocoa1986

    THANK YOU! OMG.  Simple solution. I feel less than intelligent at the moment. ;-)

  • by tygb ,

    tygb tygb Sep 6, 2016 5:49 AM in response to polly34
    Level 2 (168 points)
    Sep 6, 2016 5:49 AM in response to polly34

    Hello !

                You have taken, the printer to the shop and there it was working very fine , and they also said something about changing wi fi settings from WPA to WEP that was incorrect , safest setting is WPA2 or you can keep WPA , but WEP is very insecured .

     

    Anyhow , suggested article if can't connect to wireless printer or some issues : Resolve printer issues on your Mac - Apple Support

     

    Thanks !