Wireless Printer Issues

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talktidy

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I have a Samsung Wireless laser printer.

For some reason my laptop and my printer are not talking to each other and I cannot figure out why. This is a problem that occurs from time to time. Usually, if I am patient, matters resolve themselves, but today I need to print a letter and I can't, which is driving me up the wall, especially as it was working fine yesterday.

I have tried updating my drivers and still no joy. The printer is not recognised on my system. I have tried shutting router and laptop and printer down and restarting in various orders, but with no luck. I have also tried setting up the computer with a cable with no luck and am now flummoxed.

Any body have any ideas.
 

VeryBigBeard

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Wireless printers are like that. I've never trusted them. All the things I would have suggested are things you already did. Sometimes with printers this is a driver issue, but I've seen some wireless ones where it's more an issue of the wireless adapter on them just not being any good.

The thing to check is whether the printer shows on your wireless network. So on Windows, open whichever version of Network Settings/Preferences your version of Windows has and see if you can find a list of connected devices. Alternatively, the possibly easier way is to just open up Control Panel > Printers and see if the printer actually shows up. If not, it's either not connected or the driver's acting up.

I've had success in the past by connecting the printer via an ethernet cable straight into your router. Kinda defeats the purpose of a wireless printer, but often more reliable. Otherwise, the solution often involves trying to use the printer's own controls to convince it to connect to the right network, which can be particularly finicky if you have multiple wireless networks showing.
 

gimli

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"Have you tried turning off an on again ? " lol.

Hi there, one thing I have found from experience is that a intermittent connection on wireless printers ( devices ) can often be caused by interference by other wireless signals using the same channel / port and basically one denies the other.

You could change your port for the connection but in doing so you must make sure you are using a port that is not already assigned.

However even for a fairly knowledge tech guy like me, it is too much hassle.

The above suggestion of just plug it in it in is imo the best solution provided you dont NEED a wireless printer.
 
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