I Can T Connect to My Printer

I hate printers. I really practise.

Equally much of a tech geek that I am, I find printers abrasive. There’south always something wrong with them.

Which brings me to a common problem many dwelling house users have when information technology comes to their wireless network printers.

It worked yesterday, but non today.

Surprisingly this type of printer problem has a simple explanation with a solution that will have y’all printing again…today.

Now, before we go any further, this problem that I take seen many times, occurs when your wireless printer (including wired printers) is setup to use DHCP.

That means, your printer is not configured with a static IP address, just is assigned an IP address automatically past your
wireless router.

And while it’south convenient to use DHCP (which makes it easier to go your printer online quickly), at that place is a drawback with DHCP that causes those unexplained reasons many home users have when you suddenly tin’t print anymore.

The problem is really with your computer…not with your wireless printer.

Let Me Explain

Setting up your printer to use DHCP, automatically configures your printer with an IP address (when the printer talks to a wireless router).

At present, think back, when y’all told your figurer to
FIRST
use your printer?

Your estimator used the IP address, which was assigned to your printer at that fourth dimension, to setup and configure the printer.

From that time on, your computer was happy until it could no longer communicate with the printer.

That’s when your printer was more than than likely restarted.

When that happen, the printer and so asked your wireless router for an IP address, but was assigned a
new
IP address.

And because your computer was setup with the original IP address that the printer was using previously, it no longer tin find the printer on the network (it does not know the IP accost has changed).

You lot run into, when using DHCP, the IP address that is assigned to the printer is non permanent. It eventually expires (known as DHCP lease). That’s how DHCP works.

Because DHCP cannot rely on computers, printers, etc, to know they no longer exist on a network, a timer mechanism is congenital-in to the DHCP service that
LEASES
IP addresses to devices (instead of permanently assigning accost). This manner, DHCP will not run out of addresses and they can exist reused.

So when the lease expires, DHCP will either assign the same IP address or a new IP address (each with a new expiration time).

The reason why a new IP address may exist assigned, is if your printer and other devices were restarted at the same time (power outage is one reason to restart at same time),

The DHCP service (running on wireless router) may give the starting time device it communicated with, the old IP address your printer had been using).

Which means your printer at present has a new IP address.

The Quick Fix

Outset you demand to discover the new IP address of your printer.

Notation:
Screen shots are from Windows 7.

• Either admission your wireless router administration interface and cheque the address that DHCP has assigned, or check your Printer bill of fare display and navigate to the Network section.

• Once you accept the new IP address, get to the Control Panel on your Computer and open
  Devices and Printers
  (Windows seven and Vista) or
  Printers and Faxes
  (Windows XP).
  
  

• Next, right click on your printer and select
  Printer properties
  (Win vii & Vista) or
  Backdrop
  (Windows XP).

• In the properties window, select the
  Ports
  tab (circled in screen shot beneath) then notice the active port with the check next to it (arrow in screen shot below) and click on the
  Configure Port…
  button.

• In the next window, edit the
  Printer Name or IP Address:
  field with the new IP address and click OK to save the changes (shut any remaining open windows).

Yous should at present be able to Print over again.

A Permanent Ready

Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to worry nearly making a configuration change every time you printer is restarted (like when ability goes out or the printer is but being stubborn).

Well you can past merely using a static IP address for your printer. This way, if the printer needs to be restarted, the IP address will never modify, because it’s not relying on DHCP anymore.

But, does that mean you can’t utilise DHCP on your home network anymore?

Nope, yous can utilise both by following the steps to
assign a static IP address to your printer while still using DHCP on your network.

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