S9 not "finding" printer

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Had a problem with our HP All-in-One printer getting stuck in it's queue. After 3 maddening and frustrating days I finally got it all figured out. Now neither mine nor my wife's Galaxy S9 phones will connect/find the printer with Bluetooth. Can't seem to figure it out and we really need that convenience.
 

B. Diddy

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Welcome to Android Central! How did you figure out the initial printer problem? Did you have to reset it or something?

What's the exact printer model? Have you looked through the manual regarding its Bluetooth function? Make sure its Bluetooth is still on, and that it's discoverable.

Please register on this forum, which will allow you to engage in discussion more easily, as well as post images. https://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/409154-join-android-central-community.html
 

Chris623

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Sorry, it took a while to find the location of the new (to me) login in box.

The printer is an HP OfficeJetPro 6978. Nothing in the manual addresses Bluetooth that I can find. HP Support is most often useless, so I gave up on them years ago. I don't have a Bluetooth app on my phone. Neither does the wife. We are both having the problem. I honestly don't remember how we got our phones connected to the printer when we purchased them 2 1/2 years ago. We've just always been able to send things to the printer from them.

We have the HP Smart App on our phones but when you click on it all you get is HP's useless virtual assistant. I just don't understand what happened........and it happened the minute I got a Windows 10 update. Everything went haywire!
 

Laura Knotek

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Sorry, it took a while to find the location of the new (to me) login in box.

The printer is an HP OfficeJetPro 6978. Nothing in the manual addresses Bluetooth that I can find. HP Support is most often useless, so I gave up on them years ago. I don't have a Bluetooth app on my phone. Neither does the wife. We are both having the problem. I honestly don't remember how we got our phones connected to the printer when we purchased them 2 1/2 years ago. We've just always been able to send things to the printer from them.

We have the HP Smart App on our phones but when you click on it all you get is HP's useless virtual assistant. I just don't understand what happened........and it happened the minute I got a Windows 10 update. Everything went haywire!
I just looked up your printer and don't see anything about Bluetooth, just WiFi. Do you have the following app installed? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hp.android.printservice
 

Chris623

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Our printer is connected via Wi-Fi..............has been for years. Yes, we have the HP Print Service Plugin App.........but only installed it yesterday. Have never used it before because we didn't need it. Tried to print with it today and couldn't. All I get is a notice "This printer isn't available right now"
 

Laura Knotek

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Our printer is connected via Wi-Fi..............has been for years. Yes, we have the HP Print Service Plugin App.........but only installed it yesterday. Have never used it before because we didn't need it. Tried to print with it today and couldn't. All I get is a notice "This printer isn't available right now"
Is this a local or a network printer? Are you able to print using your PC?
 

Chris623

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As I mentioned previously, the printer is connected via Wi-Fi. Got the printer and PC matched up but then couldn't connect to printer from our phones via Bluetooth.............which is why I started this thread.
 

Laura Knotek

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As I mentioned previously, the printer is connected via Wi-Fi. Got the printer and PC matched up but then couldn't connect to printer from our phones via Bluetooth.............which is why I started this thread.
You can't use Bluetooth to connect the printer and the phones. You need to use WiFi.
 

B. Diddy

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For an older printer, you might have to manually enter the printer's local IP address into the phone's Default Print Service.

On the printer, open the dashboard and go to the Wireless menu. You should be able to find the local IP address there.

Then on the phone, go to Settings>Connections>More Connection Settings>Printing. Tap Default Print Service (the words, NOT the toggle switch), then tap the 3-dot menu button at the upper right. Tap Add Printer. Now enter the IP address. The printer should now be available. (Make sure the phone is connected to your wi-fi network before you do this.)
 

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Okay, did that. Received a message on my phone saying "No printer found at this address".

"You can't use Bluetooth to connect the printer and the phones. You need to use WiFi." We've been able to send things from our S9 telephones to the printer ever since we got our phones. I just assumed it was with Bluetooth.
 

B. Diddy

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Hmm. Can you tell us (or show a picture of) what exactly the Wireless menu on the printer shows for local IP address?

Also, you're absolutely sure that the printer and your phone are connected to the same wi-fi network, right? Some people might have more than one network at home. Also, I'm not sure if wi-fi extenders might cause some glitchiness as well.
 

Laura Knotek

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Hmm. Can you tell us (or show a picture of) what exactly the Wireless menu on the printer shows for local IP address?

Also, you're absolutely sure that the printer and your phone are connected to the same wi-fi network, right? Some people might have more than one network at home. Also, I'm not sure if wi-fi extenders might cause some glitchiness as well.
The other reason I asked about the network is because it's possible that the IP address for the printer is dynamic, rather than static.

It may be necessary for the OP to disable DHCP on his printer and use a static IP address.
 

hallux

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I set a reserved address in my router for devices that should maintain the same IP. No special configuration needed on the printer as it's still assigned a DHCP address but the router always gives it the same address...
 

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You might want to just have a local tech person come in and set up your printer for you. Someone who is familiar with such things will be able to get your printer working for all your gadgets (computers, mobile devices, etc.) on a reliable and consistent basis. At this point you're just frustrating yourself working off of assumptions and misconceptions.
 

Laura Knotek

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I set a reserved address in my router for devices that should maintain the same IP. No special configuration needed on the printer as it's still assigned a DHCP address but the router always gives it the same address...
That's actually how I set up the devices on my network using my router.
 

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