Can't Connect to printers

Up until today, I had no problem connecting/printin to printer using my MacBook Air (mid-2012). Today, I can't print. I get "Unable to connect to ‘HP OfficeJet Pro 6970 [EFC84E]._ipps._tcp.local.’ due to an error."


  • Running macOS Catalina 10.15.7 (can no longer upgrade);
  • I am on the same wifi network as the printer;
  • I've tried powering down the printer and the MacBook;
  • Tried to reinstall the printer;
  • Can successfully print from my mid-2007 iMac, and from my Microsoft Surface Pro


Is it finally time to upgrade the MacBook (will this address the issue)?


Thanks in advance!



MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 15, 2023 12:37 PM

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Jan 17, 2023 9:54 AM in response to Racepoint68

Hello Racepoint68,


Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We see you have some questions about printing from your Mac, and we'd like to help. The following link can walk through some steps that may assist with printing issues: Solve printing problems on Mac


We'd also recommend booting up in safe mode, and creating a test user on your Mac, as this will help us see if this is happening in all places on your computer.


Start up in safe mode on your Mac


Add a user or group on Mac


Add a user
1) On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Settings, then click Users & Groups  in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
2) Click the Add Account button below the list of users on the right (you may be asked to enter your password.)
3) Click the New Account pop-up menu, then choose a type of user.
•Administrator: An administrator can add and manage other users, install apps, and change settings. The new user you create when you first set up your Mac is an administrator. Your Mac can have multiple administrators. You can create new ones, and convert standard users to administrators. Don’t set up automatic login for an administrator. If you do, someone could simply restart your Mac and gain access with administrator privileges. To keep your Mac secure, don’t share administrator names and passwords.
•Standard: Standard users are set up by an administrator. Standard users can install apps and change their own settings, but can’t add other users or change other users’ settings.
•Sharing Only: Sharing-only users can access shared files remotely, but can’t log in to the computer or change settings. To give the user permission to access your shared files or screen, you may need to change options in File Sharing, Screen Sharing, or Remote Management settings. See Set up file sharing and Share the screen of another Mac.
For more information about the options for each type of user, click the Help button in the lower-left corner of the dialog.
4) Enter a full name for the new user. An account name is generated automatically. To use a different account name, enter it now—you can’t change it later.
5) Enter a password for the user, then enter it again to verify. Enter a password hint to help the user remember their password.
6) Click Create User.
7) Depending on the type of user you create, you can also do any of the following:
•For an administrator, select “Allow user to administer this computer.”
•Select “Allow user to reset password using Apple ID.” To use this option, the user must have set up iCloud on this Mac. However, this option isn’t available if is FileVault is turned on and set to allow the user to reset their password at startup using their Apple ID.
•Use Sharing settings to specify whether the user can share your files and share your screen.
For information about Apple’s privacy policy, see the Apple Privacy Policy website.
If your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID, a new user can add a fingerprint after logging in to the Mac.

Let us know, and we'll go from there.


Regards.

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Can't Connect to printers

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