photonotsosmart

September 10, 2009 9:40 AM

HP Photosmart won't play nice with Apple airport express. Help?

I can't get my HP Photosmart 4680 printer to connect to my wifi. I'm using an apple airport express (about 8 years old). The HP asks for the internet security code, then says it is trying to detect settings, then says the detection failed.

I was putting in the same code that I use as a password for the system on apple products which did not work.

I then tried to google fix it, so I know it should be a WEP code, which the internets tell me I should enter $ before the code. This does not help.

Printer sharing is enabled, not running firewalls other than what is on the MacBooks.

Ideas?

posted by cestmoi15 to computers & internet (2 comments total)

Wifi on All in Ones is always spotty and a PITA.

You have no problems connecting using the same key? I have never heard of using the $ prefix. Check the WEP Code: Sometimes it is looking for alphanumeric values versus a password (So 1DJKFH344890 versuse ilikefluffy).
posted by NotSoSimple at 10:07 AM on September 10

are you actually using WEP? if you're not, specifying a WEP code isn't going to work. I think the default now is WPA or WPA2 (it's been a while since I set up a fresh AirPort Express network), so you might want to check that in AirPort Utility.

if you are indeed using WEP, are you sure you're entering the code right? the $ is not a panacea - it tells the device that you're entering the code in a specific way. specifically, it tells the device you're entering the code using hexadecimal numbers. there's a key converter here - you put in what the code is and it tells you what it is in hexadecimal.

additionally, if you are using WEP, make sure you're entering in the actual WEP code, not the password. WEP codes are 5 or 13 characters long. you can set a specific WEP code in your router (which you'll then have to put in to your other wireless devices, like computers and all that) rather than using a password - if you use a password, the router/devices will use that to generate the WEP code. this is kinda simplistic, lots of technical data here.

if you're not using WEP (again, check in AirPort Utility), you might either need to start or need to tell the printer what you're actually using. the user's guide doesn't really seem to say how to do that, so you might have to do it from the computer (hooked in via USB). the documentation doesn't explicitly say anywhere that it supports WPA or WPA2, but it does say 802.11g, so it's likely it does support it.
posted by mrg at 10:22 AM on September 10