SOLVED Do I need a Wireless Network Adapter

[Jasnick]

I have an Epson wireless printer that worked wirelessly until the other day I installed a new modem given to me by my ISP. All very high tech but I only need to connect the printer and two desktops. I managed to get online though the installation was not as easy as expected because it seems neither of my desktops (only about 3 years old) have a wireless network adapter so I was not able to choose the network I needed via an icon in the systray because I did not have an icon. So I did it manually and am now online. Not sure how my old wireless modem let the printer work wirelessly but it did.

With this new modem the printer does not work so I uninstalled it and tried to re-install it. Several times in fact. When I come to the bit about connecting to wi-fi, it just doesn't respond and never picks up the network or whatever. I am almost resigned to buying a printer cable and connecting it to one of the desktops manually. However, there must be some way to get the printer recognised. It is listed in Settings/Printers but if I try to print something it says it is offline and there is no way I can get it online. So annoying that the old modem worked just fine and the new one doesn't as far as the printer is concerned.

So I didn't need a wireless network adapter before - do I need one now? Or do I have to set it up some other way? Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Tim Locke]

The only wifi you use is for the printer?. Your PCs are connected ethernet? If so then:
Is this new ISP provided modem in fact a modem/router/wifi access point? They usually are. I'll call it a router.

Is Wifi turned on in this new router? Does the device have a button marked WPS?
Does the printer have a WPS button?
If they both do then press the one on the router and then the one on the printer. The printer should then connect to the router and be visible from your PC.

In my experience, the way to do these things is to log onto the router, set up wifi with a SSID, encryption method and a password and then do the printer, either WPS as above, or if the printer has a console to set up the printer with the same wifi credentials as the router and it will connect.

It sounds as if your printer has a wifi set up that was working with your old router and the new router just needs to be set up the same way.

 

[Jasnick]

Thanks for reply. No, I also use wi-fi for my mobile phone and Notebook, both of which ARE working with wi-fi. The Notebook does have a wi-fi adapter as I could select the network on that. Yes the PC's are connect Ethernet. Yes the new modem is all you say.

Is wi-fi turned on? I think so. It has the following things lit: Status, WAN, Internet, Wi-fi 2.4GHz (my network) and Wi-fi 5 GHz and Ethernet. Not lit is WPS. The printer has no WPS button. It has 2 Wi-fi buttons, one that is pushed to turn it on and another that flashes alternately red and green but never gets to stay green (as it used to) , so I turned the other button off to clear it. I used these buttons when asked during the printer setup but it never connected.

The "buttons" on the router are not pressable. They are just spaces on the front that light up green. Setup of the router is done via my online gateway. (There were no instructions provided for doing this so I have hesitated to change anything). The settings for wi-fi are: Wi-fi Radio - enabled; Wi-fi Channel which has stuff like MAC address, Speed, Region and so on which have been filled in automatically; then Wi-fi Network which has Network name, Security Mode and Network Key (all automatically filled in correctly) then WPS with a ticked checkbox, then an unticked checkbox for WPS AP PIN Enabled, then WPS AP PIN Code followed by a few numbers, then WPS Device PIN Code with a box to enter a pin and then a button to Set PIN code. Then it says : Connect Using WPS and a button Start. Not sure if I should do anything here or not - I didn't have to go to all this bother with the old modem.

Under these settings is a diagram of the connections. It shows a solid line to Ethernet/Wired and shows my 2 desktops each ticked and a dotted line to Wi-fi showing 2 items: one ticked is my mobile phone (I assume as it says android) and the other unticked, is my Notebook which is currently turned off hence it is not ticked.

I imagine the printer would show here if it can be connected. Thanks.

 

[Tim Locke]

I wonder if that led on the printer flashing alternately is a WPS button. And on the gateway the "connect using WPS..." and the Start is WPS there. Might be worth turning the wifi button on the printer on, hitting that Start on the gateway and then pressing the flashing button on the printer for a couple of seconds. ( A friend has a printer that connects exactly that way although it is HP not Epson)


This is one of those problems that once it is fixed you'll wonder why it took so long!

 

[Trouble]

Check the printer documentation if you have it on hand or check the manufacturer's website for online manuals.
Usually wireless printers support configuration through the front panel display.
My only experience is with HP wireless printers but I assume Epson has something similar.
See if you can find the wireless menu on the front panel and try the option that says something about clearing and or resetting the wireless configuration.
It's possible that you need to clear some cached settings from a previous configuration that might be lingering

 

[Jasnick]

Tim - I'll try entering a Pin on the WPS on the online gateway page and then see what happens. I did try the Start button but as no Pin had been entered it might not have worked.
Trouble - all there is on the front panel display (apart from usual printer stuff like Power,Copy, ink stuff and so on) are the 2 Wi-fi buttons: one to turn it on and the other where it actually connects - if it could! Pressing the wi-fi button again clears the flashing red light one.

Forgot to mention: when I looked at Ethernet Status (somewhere in config of some sort) it said:
IPv4 Connectivity Internet
IPv6 Connectivity No network access

I am online however so have no idea what that means.

Well I tried enabling WPS entered the code given, saved and Started but the flashing red/green lights on the printer didn't change to green. I read up on WPS and it seems it is only used if you don't have the proper SSID and security key etc which I have and which is already entered and enabled on the gateway wi-fi page.