AirPrint 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz

Question

Level 1

9 points

AirPrint 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz

I have a Brother HL3170CDW printer that has stupid software. It won't use both wireless and ethernet at the same time. It also only supports 2.4Ghz wifi. All of the 2.4Ghz channels are congested and the performance is terrible(less than 1Mbps vs 50Mpbs for the 5Ghz wifi) I have switched to the 5Ghz wifi but the printer can't connect to 5Ghz wifi and my MacBook Pro and my wife MacBook Air can not connect to the printer if we are on the 5Ghz wifi and the printer is connected via ethernet. BTW the network is an ethernet backbone with an Airport Extreme in the office (at one end of the house) and another Airport Extreme (in the Master Bedroom). Both are the latest AC models. How do I get the Airport Extreme to advertise the printer on ethernet to both or just the 5Ghz wifi?

MacBook Pro 15inch Late2011 running 10.10.4

MacBook Air 13inch Mid2013 running 10.9.5

Posted on Jul 20, 2015 8:13 PM

Reply

Answer 1

jjkraw

Level 2

449 points

Jul 21, 2015 4:55 AM in response to JohnJTucker

Can you give a more detailed description of the network setup? What (and where is) the router to the Internet, how are the Extremes configured (router vs. bridge mode, etc.), where do the Ethernet cables plugged in?

If everything is set up so that both the wireless and wired devices are on the same IP subnet (i.e., all have the same set of 10.0.0.x or 192.168.1.x or whatever addresses) it should all work. The printer advertisements are broadcast to the entire subnet.

Reply

Answer 2

JohnJTucker Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 21, 2015 5:46 AM in response to jjkraw

All of the devices are on the same subnet 192.168.0.X. The Airport Extreme in the office is the gateway and is connected to a cable modem. The Airport Extreme in the Master bedroom is bridge mode. The Extremes and the printer are connected to a GigE 16 port switch. There are several devices connected to the ethernet ports on the Extremes (Tivo, Airplay A/V receiver, AppleTV -> Master bedroom) (MacMini server, Ceton Video capture device -> Office).

When the printer is connected to the 2.4Ghz wifi it does not appear on the bonjour network scan using iNet.

Reply

Answer 3

jjkraw

Level 2

449 points

Jul 21, 2015 8:23 AM in response to JohnJTucker

So are you saying it doesn't work at all, or is there a scenario where it does?

The ideal situation would be to have it on Ethernet. One less device using up radio bandwidth. If you put it on Ethernet, can you see the Bonjour advertisements on the Pro when also connected to Ethernet (iStumbler will show this)? If so, with the same Pro on 2.4 and 5GHz, do you see them or not?

It would be odd for either Extreme to not forward the Bonjour broadcasts.

Reply

Answer 4

JohnJTucker Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 21, 2015 1:09 PM in response to jjkraw

The printer is not reachable via wifi (with the exception of the MacBooks and the printer on the 2.4Ghz band, which is much to slow to be useful for other uses, we don't print that much.) It is not to much trouble to connect the MacBook Pro to the Ethernet but it is for the MacBook Air. It is not that I don't have the thunderbolt to Ethernet and USB Ethernet adapter (I have both) it is because there is no Ethernet drop near where my wife uses the Air. The only way to print from either MacBook is to connect to the Ethernet. iNet tells me that the printer is not broadcasted from the Ethernet to either of the wifi bands. I agree I would prefer for the printer to connect via Ethernet.

Reply

Answer 5

jjkraw

Level 2

449 points

Jul 21, 2015 3:22 PM in response to JohnJTucker

The steps I'm suggesting (other than putting the printer on Ethernet) are for diagnostic purposes only, not as a permanent setup. If you want to figure this out, we need to see where the Bonjour advertisements are getting to and where they are not. That's why I suggested putting the printer on Ethernet and then using the Ethernet-attached Pro to see (via iStumbler) if it is putting out the broadcasts. If it is, then we move on to why one or the other Extreme is not propagating the broadcasts.

Another question (in addition to the experiment above): Are both Extremes configured to "create a network" with the same network names? I assume so since they are Ethernet connected but I've learned not to assume anything when figuring things out online. 😉

Reply

Answer 6

JohnJTucker Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 21, 2015 9:25 PM in response to jjkraw

Thanks for all of your help. I think I have determined what the issue is. I was using iNet on my MacBook Pro and the Brother print driver in the System Preferences on my wife's Air. When I added the Brother printer on the Air (with the Air on wifi, the printer on Ethernet) the driver shows up as AirPrint. The Air is printing now. I would like to see how long it stays working. I have installed iStumbler on the Air and using the Bonjour browser I can see the Brother printer.

Also, Both Airport Extremes are set to create a wireless network. The Office AE has DHCP/NAT and the MBR AE is set to Network -> Router mode -> Bridge(Off) and both have static IP addresses. Both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz have the same name (one SSID for 2.4 and a different for SSID for 5)

My problems maybe that the printer should be advertising AirPrint when the printer is on Ethernet out to wifi but it isn't (my iPhone and iPad) can't find the print. This is not as important as having my wife's Air's printing.

Reply

Answer 7

jjkraw

Level 2

449 points

Jul 22, 2015 6:17 AM in response to JohnJTucker

My problems maybe that the printer should be advertising AirPrint when the printer is on Ethernet out to wifi but it isn't (my iPhone and iPad) can't find the print.

That is the job of the Extremes - the printer should only connect to the network either via the wire or wireless, not both. The Extremes (or any other switching device) are responsible for forwarding all broadcast traffic to each of the media associated with the subnet. So if the printer is on Ethernet, it sends the broadcasts which get picked up by the Extremes and then sent out on the associated wireless networks. At least that's how it works when it is working correctly.

Reply

Answer 8

jjkraw

Level 2

449 points

Jul 22, 2015 6:18 AM in response to jjkraw

I'll also add that it is unfortunate that Apple chose to call the feature "AirPrint" since it is really just a configuration-free print. If both the printer and the device are on Ethernet and even if there is no WiFi network, the feature is still active and works.

Reply

Answer 9

JohnJTucker Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 26, 2015 7:22 AM in response to jjkraw

jjkraw,

I'm at my wits end. I have given up on getting the Air to print reliability. The printer is there sometimes and no others. I have the Macs, iPhone and iPads all using the 5Ghz. With good results (except for accessing the printer). I now have a bigger problem, I have some devices that only work on 2.4Ghz and all of them fail at login with password failure. I have set the Airport Extreme password many times and nothing seems to work. I have been a die-hard Apple fan for over 30 years but I'm about to dump this junk.

Do you have any suggestions before I go out and buy two different wifi routers?

Reply

Answer 10

jjkraw

Level 2

449 points

Jul 26, 2015 9:26 AM in response to JohnJTucker

I'll try one more time. Realize that if there was a quick and obvious fix to this that someone would have replied with it already. That isn't the case, so it is going to take some number (and maybe a lot) of diagnostic steps to figure out what is going on. If you are willing to do that and realize that what I'm having you do are not fixes but only steps to get to the bottom of the problem, I'm willing to help.

So I'll go back to my initial request. Printer on Ethernet. Computer on same Ethernet. Does iStumbler see the Bonjour ads from the printer? Is it possible to print? Is it consistent or does it come and go?

Reply

Answer 11

JohnJTucker Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 26, 2015 11:55 AM in response to jjkraw

Yes when the printer and either of the MacBook Pro or the MacBook Air are on all on Ethernet, printer always works. iStumbler shows the printer using the Bonjour browser. Its only when the MacBook Air is on the 5Ghz wifi that the printer is sometimes there and sometimes not. iStumbler is what I used to see if the printer is missing when the MacBook Air fails to print. Also, I have upgraded the OS on the Air from 10.9 to 10.10 in the hopes that this might fix the problem. It hasn't.

Reply

Answer 12

jjkraw

Level 2

449 points

Jul 26, 2015 12:04 PM in response to JohnJTucker

OK - next step is to see if we might be able to isolate the problem to one Extreme, since you have two and a "sometimes" situation. The way I'd go about this is to rename the networks (or at least the 5G network) on the bridge mode Extreme to something different than the one in router mode. Keep the printer on Ethernet. Test with each 5G network / Extreme separately. See if it works with one and not the other, if it is still "sometimes" with either, etc.

Reply