Printers do not stay connected to Spectrum WiFi router
I have two WiFi printers, Brother MFC-J9850W and Epson ET-2803, which drop their connection daily from my Spectrum internet service. Both worked fine with AT&T U-Verse but since switching to Spectrum they drop from the network (can’t ping, can’t print, and can’t discover). I can reboot the Spectrum router and they come back online and everything works well immediately afterward. But after some period of idleness during the day, they drop again. Needless to say it’s very irritating to reboot my router daily to be able to print. I have no issues with any other devices - computers, mobile devices, Ring doorbell, thermostats, and even WiFi irrigation system - only the printers. I even borrowed a Canon printer briefly and it had the same behavior. I’ve set IP reservations for the printers and it had no effect. Haven’t found anything that seems to make a difference. I’ve seen numerous postings of printer issues with Spectrum but none seem to conclusively resolve the issue.
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Just curious about the extent to which they "drop their connection". When it happens: 1. do the network parameters via the printer's built-in console show it disconnected from the WLAN? 2. does the router no longer show it connected? 3. are you no longer able to pull up the printer's embedded webapp via the browser on the laptop? 4. does it echo when you ping it? 5. does the printer software on the laptop show it disconnected? 6. does power cycling the printer and quitting and relaunching the printer software on the laptop re-establish connectivity between them?
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OK. Thanks for the update! Are the firmware, drivers, and software all up to date?
🔗 ↳
🔗 : Downloads
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P.S.: if the firmware, drivers and software are all up to snuff, then all i can figure is that the 802.11 2.4-GHz b/g/n/ax service set of the wireless router is just not backwards compatible enough for those 802.11 2.4-GHz b/g/n printers. First thing i'd try to assuage the idiosyncrasy would be to notch the standard mode of the wireless router 2.4-GHz service set down to b/g/n or, better yet, simply g/n. If you can't do that, then i'd swap out the router with Spectrum, and then, if you get the same results with the swap-out, either upgrade the printer or else replace the router with one of your own that allows you to do that.
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I have exactly the same issue. My hp printers drop their connections after a time of non-use. I have to re-boot everything to use
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Same problem with HP. So, I tried a Canon instead and I had to reboot the router to get the printer installed. It was able to get a valid IP address, but wasn't visible.
This is a defect in the router. One should NEVER have to reboot a router to get a device to connect to it. Spectrum needs to beat on their supplier to fix it.0 -
me toooo! I have an HP Envy 6055 and every time I want to print something I have unplug the printer or reconfigure my printer and go through all the setup to connect the printer to my internet again. It’s so annoying. Even though the printer shows on the display panel that it’s connected. Has anyone found any solutions??
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Hi & welcome!
Please try checking out this link: Features of the Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi Router
Our advanced WiFi routers have a feature called band steering, which allows you to open the router to for a limited time to only the 2.4gHz channel so you can connect 2g devices. Once connected, the devices will stay connected. For detailed instructions, scroll down on the link and look for Set up Smart Devices (2.4 GHz).
Let us know how it goes and let us know if you have any other questions.
Thanks!
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- Disable UPnP on the router and then reboot it and then re-enable UPnP just to make sure it's alive and kicking.
- Enable UPnP aka Network Discovery on the laptop.
- Next time it happens, just for troubleshooting, before doing anything else, run the firmware update check directly via the printer control panel just to get an idea of whether the printer still has Internet connectivity, and then furthermore connect the laptop to the router via Ethernet, temporarily disable Wi-Fi on the laptop, verify local network connectivity via Ethernet by, for example, pinging the local IP address of another device on the local network, and then see if the printer software on the laptop then shows connectivity with the printer and let us know what you find out.
🔗https://www.spectrum.net/support/internet/advanced-wifi-advanced-settings
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New to Spectrum Internet with WiFi and I have recurring issue as well during the first 3 weeks of service. After printer is idle for a period of time, the WiFi router just loses it. Often I can power cycle the printer and the router will re-discover, but not always. A support call to Spectrum was fruitless. The tech switched my printer from the 5 GHz network to the 2.4 GHz network to no avail. Then he declared it must be the printer and I need to reach out to Canon. I couldn’t print any for the rest of that day. The next day, it was printing fine again. This is a Canon business printer with latest firmware and never experienced this issue in 3 years on AT&T Uverse with WiFi. Clearly a printer protocol or port issue on Spectrum’s network that they won’t admit to.
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Hi @SSBN625, welcome to our community!
I'm sorry to see you're having similar issues. @HT_Greenfield had some good suggestions, including adjusting UPnP settings and checking your printer control panel to see if it's disconnected from WiFi, connected with no internet, etc. I do also think contacting the router manufacturer would be good, if there's some kind of protocol or port issue like you've suggested they may be able to recommend a port to forward or router setting to adjust. I suspect it may be an issue with our routers band steering function which helps your device determine if the 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, or 6Ghz network is optimal. You could get your own router to test/resolve the issue if this is the case.0 -
My thanks and compliments to you for that, @Hispeedg8r. Lousy but not too terribly uncommon of an idiosyncrasy now of days between various makes and models of printers and wireless routers: 2.4-GHz-only 802.11n printer loses app layer if not media access control layer local networking connectivity on 2.4-GHz service set of 802.11ax router. No hugie, just:
- Connect the printer to router via Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi and forget about it, or…
- Use the printer's own built-in 802.11n stand-alone ad hoc Wi-Fi Direct access point instead of connecting the printer to the router at all, or…
- Swap the router out at your friendly neighborhood Spectrum store and hopefully the replacement will be of a more accommodating hardware or firmware version, or…
- Replace the router with one of your own and then, if you get the same idiosyncrasy, no sweat, just change the standard op mode of the 2.4-GHz service of your router to just "g/n" (instead of e.g. "b/g/n/ax" or "g/n/ax".)
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I'm having this issue also. I have a Brother printer. Purchased a new one different model thing the other one was just older. The new one had the same issue, so I requested a replacement thinking it was the printer again. Replacement has the same issue. I cannot print wirelessly, I can't use the Mobile Brother app either. it shows connected but it will not print. I had no issue when I had ATT Uverse. .
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