Solved Printer problems

esebm · Wednesday at 5:13 PM

Guys, I seem to have been premature with my praise. Just tried to print a page from LibreOffice, did not print, ping did not go through.
Looks like I'm back to square one, sorry. Ping does not seem to get past the router.

esebm · 2026-06-11T11:54:23-0400

I've ordered new ethernet cables, just in case. This printer drives me nuts and the wife is breathing down my neck, her laptop stopped printing again.

esebm · 2026-06-11T17:23:29-0400

Just noticed a strange thing: when I ping 192.168.1.7 (printer) the return says
Pinging 192.168.1.7 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.4: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.4: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.4: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.4: Destination host unreachable.
The last digit is erroneous, right?

dacrone · 2026-06-11T17:32:56-0400

esebm said:
Just noticed a strange thing: when I ping 192.168.1.7 (printer) the return says
Pinging 192.168.1.7 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.4: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.4: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.4: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.4: Destination host unreachable.
The last digit is erroneous, right?

Advanced IP Scanner - Download Free Network Scanner

Advanced IP Scanner shows all network devices, gives you access to shared folders, and can even remotely switch computers off. Download it Free.

www.advanced-ip-scanner.com

use this (can run as portable). scan your network - ensure its in the correct range - and see what is returned... .4 or .7

esebm · 2026-06-11T20:44:02-0400

OK, ran the IP scanner, here's the result:

The printer is listed under the mobo, it doesn't even show a separate IP address. I don't understand it.

dacrone · 2026-06-11T21:11:13-0400

what is the brw9c... is that a printer too?

esebm · 2026-06-12T09:37:57-0400

It looks like it but I'm not really sure, how can I find out? The reason why I have the printer under 192.168.1.7 is because it is on the network configuration page that the printer produced.

MisterEd · 2026-06-12T11:27:32-0400

esebm said:
It looks like it but I'm not really sure, how can I find out? The reason why I have the printer under 192.168.1.7 is because it is on the network configuration page that the printer produced.

I think there is still some confusion about how the printer is connected. I am not sure but seeing two different IP addresses may indicate that one is for Ethernet and the other for WiFi. You should be able to verify that in the printer configuration menu. You need to stick with one connection and stick with that.

In your case then I would stick to Ethernet since it is already connected that way. I would be less confusing if you turned off Wi-Fi on the printer until you sort things out. Note that if your printer is connected with Ethernet then any computer on your network can print to it. That is true even for a laptop that is connected with Wi-Fi.

Once you have the Ethernet connection only then run the Brother printer setup program on each computer. During the setup it should find the printer. Make sure to select it. Doing this on each computer will give full functionality using the printer.

esebm · 2026-06-12T14:25:21-0400

MisterEd: Are you saying my wife's laptop (via Wi-Fi) could print with Wi-Fi on the printer turned off?
I did not know that.

dacrone · 2026-06-12T14:31:51-0400

Correct. As long as they are all on the same LAN (or VLAN), you can connect to it (granted to explicit deny rules are in place). I concur with disconnecting the Ethernet cable from the printer, connecting it to your WiFi, deleting it from the PCs and then re-add it via Printer wizard as a network printer.

esebm · 2026-06-12T16:23:52-0400

OK, I have turned off Wi-Fi on the printer, removed the printer from my PC, reinstalled it, installed the driver, no test page. Sorry for apparently a bit dense guys, my bad.

dacrone · 2026-06-12T16:39:56-0400

esebm said:
OK, I have turned off Wi-Fi on the printer, removed the printer from my PC, reinstalled it, installed the driver, no test page. Sorry for apparently a bit dense guys, my bad.

just to narrow some things down for troubleshooting... what if you do that vice-versa and connect via wifi without hardline? same result?

esebm · 2026-06-12T16:47:51-0400

My PC has no wifi card installed, can't connect via wifi.
Btw, is there any way to connect the MAC address to the actual hardware?

dacrone · 2026-06-12T17:06:40-0400

your pc does not need wifi. if the printer is on your wifi and your pc is hardlined to the same LAN, they can connect. try that.

esebm · 2026-06-12T20:46:57-0400

Guys, you know what really confuses me: the many IP addresses of that darn printer. The printer's network configuration sheet show 192.168.1.7, the IP scanner shows .4 at the end. The printer properties in win 11 show the printer on 2 ports with 2 other IP addresses. When I try to edit one of them to the .4 address it refuses because that printer is "in use". No wonder the the PC doesn't know what to do.
I'd like to erase all traces of that printer from my PC and start from scratch if that would be the solution.

MisterEd · 2026-06-12T21:15:14-0400

Like I said if the printer is connect by wired (Ethernet) then turn off the printers Wi-Fi to avoid confusion. Once connected it doesn't make any difference what its IP address is. If you are curious then the setup menu on the printer should show you what it is.

You can connect the printer using wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Wi-Fi). If it already connected with wired then leave it that way. Once it is connected then you can print to it from any computer. As long as a computer is connected to your network it doesn't make any difference how it is connected.

For example, over the years I have connected the printer by wired or wireless. It didn't make any difference to the computers on the network. I could print from the desktop computers with a wired connection the same as the laptop computers with a wireless connection. What mattered was they were on the same network.

HeavyHemi · 2026-06-12T22:50:40-0400

MisterEd said:
Like I said if the printer is connect by wired (Ethernet) then turn off the printers Wi-Fi to avoid confusion. Once connected it doesn't make any difference what its IP address is. If you are curious then the setup menu on the printer should show you what it is.

You can connect the printer using wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Wi-Fi). If it already connected with wired then leave it that way. Once it is connected then you can print to it from any computer. As long as a computer is connected to your network it doesn't make any difference how it is connected.

For example, over the years I have connected the printer by wired or wireless. It didn't make any difference to the computers on the network. I could print from the desktop computers with a wired connection the same as the laptop computers with a wireless connection. What mattered was they were on the same network.

It's how I have my ancient (2009) Canon MP990 connected. It's plugged into the router. Any device that can access the router whether wired or wireless can use it.

Solved Printer problems

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