Printer Won't Connect to WiFi? The Router May Have Lost Its 2.4 GHz Band
An HP Smart Tank printer would not join the WiFi. The printer was fine; the provider gateway had stopped broadcasting its 2.4 GHz band, the only band home printers use. First visit diagnosed it for free, the provider replaced the gateway, and a second visit put the printer back on the network.
“Justin is great and he knows his job. He came to my home and solved the problem. I highly recommend him for your computer problems and needs!”
— Dade D. · Google review · Read the full storyA customer called about an HP Smart Tank 5100 that would not connect to the WiFi. It had been fine, then it was not, and the usual advice (restart the printer, restart the router, run the HP Smart app again) had been tried more than once. The printer sat there with a blinking WiFi light and no way to print.
This is one of the most common calls I get, and it almost never ends with a broken printer. This one did not either.
The printer was fine
First visit: I checked the printer itself. Full ink, no errors, printed a test page over USB without complaint. Then I looked at what it was trying to join. The home’s internet gateway from the provider was broadcasting its 5 GHz WiFi normally, and every phone and laptop in the house was happily on it. Its 2.4 GHz band was not broadcasting at all. I restarted the gateway several times to be sure. Same result: the 2.4 GHz radio was dead.
That was the whole problem. Nothing to fix on the printer, and nothing I could fix on the gateway, because it is the provider’s hardware and the radio inside it had failed.
Why a home printer only sees 2.4 GHz
Most home printers, including this HP Smart Tank and nearly every inkjet and laser printer sold for home use, connect on the 2.4 GHz band only. Phones and laptops use 5 GHz when they can because it is faster, and modern gateways run both bands under one network name, so nobody notices which one a device is on. Until the 2.4 GHz radio stops. Then the phones keep working on 5 GHz and the printer, which cannot see 5 GHz at all, has no network to join. It looks exactly like a printer problem. It is a router problem.
The fix took two visits, and the first one was free
The diagnosis is the visit I do not charge for. I told the customer what had failed and what to do: call the provider and get the gateway replaced under their service. Then I left. There was nothing to bill for yet, and no reason to pretend otherwise.
The replacement gateway arrived preset with the same WiFi name and password, which is the good version of this story: every other device in the house reconnected on its own. The customer called, I came back, confirmed the new gateway’s 2.4 GHz band was live, reset the printer’s network settings, and joined it to the home WiFi. Solid blue WiFi light, test page printed over the network, done. That second visit is the one on the invoice: printer or WiFi problems are a flat $85, no trip charge, and both visits together still came to that.
What I told them for next time
- To print from a phone or computer, that device has to be on the main home WiFi, the same network as the printer, not a guest network.
- iPhones, iPads, and Macs print on their own through AirPrint once they are on the WiFi. Windows and Android use the free HP Smart app to add the printer.
- If a device ever cannot find the printer, the fix is almost always checking which network that device is on.
Before you call anyone
If your printer suddenly cannot find the WiFi and nothing else in the house has changed, look at the gateway’s lights or its status page for the 2.4 GHz band. Some provider gateways also let you turn 2.4 GHz off by accident in the app, and some mesh systems hide it. If the band is there and the printer still will not join, that is when the printer, or its settings, becomes the suspect.
And if you would rather have someone sort it out at the house, that is what I do. Call or text 770-356-4462. The first look at a printer that will not connect is free, and if it turns out to be the provider’s box, you will hear that instead of a bill.
Questions people ask
Why won't my printer connect to WiFi when my phone works fine?
Most home printers only see the 2.4 GHz band. Phones and laptops use 5 GHz. If the router's 2.4 GHz radio stops, everything else keeps working and the printer has nothing to join.
How do I know if my router's 2.4 GHz band is off?
Check the gateway's status page or app for the 2.4 GHz network. If only 5 GHz shows, or an older device cannot see the WiFi at all, the band is off or the radio has failed.
Do you charge for the diagnosis visit?
No. If the first visit finds the problem is the provider's gateway, you hear that and the visit is free. The printer or WiFi fix itself is a flat $85.