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Intermittent AirPrint connection with new HP D110 and iPad

So I got a brand new HP D110 with ePrint yesterday, set it up on my Time Capsule/Airport network, followed all the directions given by Apple and from this discussion board. However, the printer only shows up on my iPad or iPhone about half the time. At first it didn't show up at all, then after turning the printer on and off multiple times it shows up. I print something in safari, switch to mail (after printing completes) and then the printer disappears when I try to print.

Anyone else seeing the printer disappear half the time? My network is at full signal and everything else work great with the printer. Pretty frustrating experience and there are not any tools to figure out the problem.

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.5), and 3G iPad

Posted on Dec 2, 2010 8:15 AM

60 replies

Dec 6, 2010 6:45 PM in response to HP Mac Architect

See below the Printer info and Firmware--which should be up to date. If I reset everything, the printer shows up at first and then quickly disappears and only shows up in the printer list about 10-25% of the time.

Product Name HP Photosmart D110a
Product Model Number CN731A
Service ID 20332
Firmware Version TUL1FN1044AR
Total Page Count 67
Country/Region USA

Router: Apple Timecapsule with firmware 7.5.1

I saw the other post of about nearby routers and 'channels'. Honestly if getting Apple Airprint to work requires the need to configure to that level of detail, then I'm happy to just not use Airprint and return this printer. If someone adds a new router nearby, then I may not be able to print anymore? Everything else on my network works fine, including 'eprint' and printing wireless from my Apple laptop. Airprint is just too finicky to be usable right now. I appreciate all the ideas and help, but this is too much of a waste of time for the end user to figure out. My advice: WAIT until iOS 4.3 before setting up an Airprint printer. <end vent> Hopefully Apple/HP can have updates and let us know when it's ready for prime time.

Fred-M-

Level 4

2,397 points

Dec 6, 2010 8:35 PM in response to jwrightstudio

JW-

I share your frustration, but for other reasons. I have a similar setup to yours except my iPad is the WiFi only model. I have never observed an intermittent connection when printing to the D110 from the iPad Photo app, but haven't tried the others. I've tried it with both the Time Capsule and a Cradlepoint WiFi router that uses a USB Verizon modem for internet access. The Time Capsule also requires a password.

I see that several others have your intermittent connection problem, so its not just you. I mentioned the possibility of WiFi interference because it has been reported to be a common cause of poor WiFi connections with laptops. If there are others in your area, they should show up when you go into Settings-Network-WiFi to choose a network.

Fred

Dec 7, 2010 3:32 AM in response to Fred-M-

Hi Fred,

Thanks for your ideas, I'm glad to hear its working better for some people. Maybe there is some issue with the 3G model. I have tried turning off 3G, with the same results. When it is working, it's pretty cool to print pictures right from the iPad. For now I can wait.

cereph

Level 1

0 points

Dec 7, 2010 7:54 AM in response to jwrightstudio

I am having the same issues. The printer is more likely to connect with my ipad than with the iphone 4, but connection problems are occurring with both devices. Reseting the router has appeared to have helped some of the time, but so far nothing has proven a 100% fix.

Fred-M-

Level 4

2,397 points

Dec 7, 2010 9:24 AM in response to cereph

I see more and more people are reporting this problem, so there must be some cause other than just operator error. No one from Apple appears to be reading these comments. The only way to get their attention may be by filing a bug report. You can file one at <http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html>.

If enough people report the problem, it more likely to be fixed in the next update.

Fred

Dec 8, 2010 9:08 PM in response to Fred-M-

I can assure you we are reading these issues and tracking them. The majority of users are not having problems, and we can't reliably reproduce the issues ourselves, but we are paying attention to this. If anyone has a Printer setup through sharing and directly and consistently sees the printer with sharing, and does not consistently see it directly (or vice versa), I'd appreciate knowing it. What we are having a hard time explaining is when two iOS devices on the same network provide inconsistent results. So we are paying attention to the issue, but don't yet have a root cause.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

Dec 11, 2010 11:25 AM in response to HP Mac Architect

My problem seems different than the others on this thread. I can see the Hp D110 printer without a problem but when I tell my iPad to print it does not print. No error message, no nothing. I can print to this printer wirelessly from MS laptops and via my network from my Win7 desktop (the printer is set up to be wireless).

I have tried rebooting everything but still no luck.

It is real hard to troubleshoot when there are no indications, no test print pages, etc.

Any ideas?

Lin

rbii

Level 2

345 points

Dec 11, 2010 11:28 AM in response to linfarmer

What application are you trying to print from?

Is there any indication in Print Center that it is trying to print? (Double-tap the home button after printing to see the Print Center app.)

Dec 11, 2010 5:56 PM in response to rbii

I've tried with multiple aps, including safari and mail. The print center now has ten print attempts pending.

Dec 11, 2010 6:11 PM in response to linfarmer

Solved my problem. Cleared the messages in the queue and tried again. Now it prints. Thanks for the info on print center, hadn't found that before.

Dec 12, 2010 6:35 PM in response to jwrightstudio

I recently purchased an HP Photosmart D110A ($60 on Amazon) It works great with iPad right out of the box. When I set it up it did "Call home" during the process and say there was a firmware update and then I said yes and it updated the firmware. Did yours do this?

M.

Dec 15, 2010 9:47 AM in response to HP Mac Architect

I have an 8500a HP printer and I am running into the same problems with an intermittent connection with AirPrint. I've updated to the latest firmware on the printer and tried resetting the network and all connected devices. I can successfully print using HP ePrint and general wifi printing from the laptops (both Mac and WinXP) 100% of the time after the latest printer firmware update. However, the printer only shows up on my iPhone 4 and iPad about 30% of the time.

This is very frustrating. I hope the Apple and HP engineers resolve this one quickly. I'd be glad to share any info that I can to help get my airprint enabled printer working with more consistent results with my iOS devices.

Dec 15, 2010 11:24 AM in response to Bateman500

Bateman500 and anyone else seeing the Printer only some of the time. Can you post how your printer is connected to the network, what kind of Wireless router you have, and what kind of Wireless network (ie WEP, WPA, WPA2, Open, etc). The more data points we can get to help us narrow down what the issue is the better.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

Dec 15, 2010 2:22 PM in response to HP Mac Architect

Hi Andrew,

My HP 8500A is connected to my Linksys WRT110 router via wifi. The network is using WPA2 Personal security. My SSID broadcast is enabled. It has a DHCP reservation.

All status reports on the 8500A come back with excellent results. I have a signal strength of 5 (out of 5), as the router is only 3 feet from the printer.

The 8500 has the latest firmware update installed.

Does any of that help?

rbii

Level 2

345 points

Dec 15, 2010 2:45 PM in response to Bateman500

Googling Linksys WRT110 and Bonjour there seem to be quite a few indications that perhaps this router does not handle Bonjour discovery packets well. It might be worth a call to LinkSys to see if they have a router update.

Intermittent AirPrint connection with new HP D110 and iPad