Question To connect a new HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e printer via Ethernet twisted-pair or wireless . .

[BonzaiDuck]

Just looking for quick second opinions and insights here. I don't like to "experiment with stuff" on our household network. I need to know why and how before I set something up, trying to anticipate the consequences.

These newer printers provide for USB, Ethernet or wireless connection. My brother needed a new printer, and he considers himself superior to me because he's weaned himself of his desktop PC, thinking that he's the great Apple i-Phone expert. Because of his disenchantment with his Win 7 PC (I can explain how he has Win 10 installed as a dual-boot system but never used it), I bought him an Acer Nitro 5 laptop as a Xmas present. He has a cramped bedroom, anyway. But before I settled on the laptop purchase, he needed a new printer.

Ordinarily, with this type of printer, I would just abjure setting it up as a wireless device (like our cellphones, Android tablets and robotic security cameras), and plug it into the router with an RJ-45 Ethernet cable. It would still be available to wireless devices on the household LAN.

My brother almost insists that the printer be connected using its wireless capability. In my experience, the wired connection would still be more reliable -- for instance -- if Bro decides to fix lunch with his microwave upstairs, it could interrupt communications with the printer. I even think that gigabit ethernet is still faster than 5G wireless. I'm inclined toward a wired printer connection if it's available.

the printer manual notes that the "HP Smart" app for setting up the printer requires the household wireless network name and password -- the wireless name and password to our NightHawk router.

But that's the same factor in accessing the LAN, security cameras and other things on the LAN anyway. I can't see any difference in using the twisted-pair connection versus the printer wireless features. He's still going to access that printer through the wireless connection of his mobile devices to the household LAN.

Am I missing something? Or do I see this clearly?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Am I missing something? Or do I see this clearly?

Nope, you're right-on. Wire the printer to your router/LAN infrastructure, and then the wireless devices also on the LAN wirelessly can access it wirelessly as well.

This has the added benefit of being able to upgrade your wireless infrastructure on your LAN, say to AX wifi and WPA3 encryption, without being held back by the limitations of your wireless printer's older wireless standard. (For example, my Brother 825J doesn't do WPA2-PSK/AES.)

 

[fkoehler]

If you have physical cabling to the printer already, its a no brainer to use that for every reason under the sun.
However, if this is primarily for your brother's use, then set it up as he wishes and let him deal with the future issues. More than likely, thats going to be minimal, maybe occasional stalled job.
If this is however going to be for the entire family to use, put it on the wire for consistency and reliability.

 

[JackMDS]

1. Be carefull with HP printing Apps like the ""smart install"" they are very inrusive to the Home system.

2. If the USB cable works well directly connected to the Router then it is a Good solution.
If the USB has to be connected directly to a specific Computer in the Network is Not a good idea to use this way.

3. Study and be carefull of devices like iPhone that can do a direct connect to a printer. This type of connection is Not like regular Wireless connection and it can end up blocking other Network devices to connect to the printer.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

1. Be carefull with HP printing Apps like the ""smart install"" they are very inrusive to the Home system.

2. If the USB cable works well directly connected to the Router then it is a Good solution.
If the USB has to be connected directly to a specific Computer in the Network is Not a good idea to use this way.

3. Study and be carefull of devices like iPhone that can do a direct connect to a printer. This type of connection is Not like regular Wireless connection and it can end up blocking other Network devices to connect to the printer.

That's a risk I thought of, but couldn't be sure, so your opinion here helps.

I also agree that their app-hooks sometimes seem clunky, but with my OfficeJet Pro 7740, it resolves scanning and printing communication problems at least 50% of the time. These troubles are occasional, but often enough to irritate me. I have to stop everything, run their app, possibly turn off the printer and turn it on again, and sometimes -- reboot the system with the communication issue.

The printers seem to grab a LAN address from DHCP, which has an expiration and renewal interval. I think the best I can do with these printers is to get into my router firmware or the local printer configuration and fix the address among the remainder of the 256 addresses I get from the router. I haven't bother to do it yet for the HP 7740, and might also defer it for the new 9025e.

We'll see how the officeJet Pro 9025e behaves. My brother, in his room upstairs, has no patience with mechanical or electronic items, and I'll need to decide if any troubles occur or happen with periodic frequency. If not, then it saves me a little extra work.

AFTERTHOUGHT: You mention the USB option, which is also included as a choice against either Eithernet or wireless. And -- of course -- it can still be shared through the connected PC. I've preferred using an Ethernet RJ-45 to share the printers generally in the household. If one printer is down for maintenance, another is available on the LAN for reassignment as a PC's default printer.

 

[mxnerd]

Wired ethernet is always better than wireless, wireless signal strength fluctuates greatly throughout the day, like you have experienced with microwave in the house, and any device shared by multiple uses should be considered as a server and always set a static IP, either using router's DHCP to reserve it or set it manually on the device. A shared device without setting a static IP is asking trouble.

The printer itself is a server, there is no reason to attach the printer to the router via USB, it's adding another device in between the PC and the printer. You lose scanning capability too if connect the printer to the router via USB. Attach the printer to a PC using USB than shared it over network is not a good option either as mentioned above.

 

[bba-tcg]

Wired ethernet is certainly the more desirable choice from the reliability viewpoint.

 

[JackMDS]

Wired ethernet is certainly the more desirable choice from the reliability viewpoint.

And also,k the least Negative effect on the rest of the Network performance as a stable Network.

 

[bba-tcg]

And also,k the least Negative effect on the rest of the Network performance as a stable Network.

Definitely.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

That was also my original impression. I remember that I was toying around and configuring wireless for my cousin's small-business LAN back in 2005. It wasn't hard to do; it wasn't hard to set up WEP encryption. But I did that because my cousin wanted it and he didn't want to run another twisted pair into another room.

For myself, I think the first time I used it in this household occurred when I wanted to set up wireless robotic cameras. After that, our Android tablets.

With Android tablets and robot cams, you either cannot easily have a permanent wired connection or you chose wireless cameras to avoid stringing wire.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Nope, you're right-on. Wire the printer to your router/LAN infrastructure, and then the wireless devices also on the LAN wirelessly can access it wirelessly as well.

This has the added benefit of being able to upgrade your wireless infrastructure on your LAN, say to AX wifi and WPA3 encryption, without being held back by the limitations of your wireless printer's older wireless standard. (For example, my Brother 825J doesn't do WPA2-PSK/AES.)

This, or when it breaks tell him to fix it himself. Whammy.

 

[sdifox]

Pretty sure you can set static ip on printers. Or just reserve on router.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Pretty sure you can set static ip on printers. Or just reserve on router.

Yep, I do a static reservation and just let the printer use dhcp. easiest way