Recently I replaced a Lexmark wireless inkjet printer with a Dell C1760nw wireless color laser printer because Lexmark is abandoning the inkjet market and the C1760nw cost about the same as two sets of inkjet cartridges.
The C1760nw worked fine at first, but it kept going offline and didn't respond to print commands. Its icon in my Windows 10 Printers folder also showed "Offline" instead of "Ready." Double-clicking on the icon opens the sprint spooler, where print jobs were piling up. Running services.msc and restarting the print spooler did not help. Using the printer's menu to print out the settings showed the problem - its IP address had changed.
The solution involved checking the printer's web page (found by putting its IP in a browser), where the Print Server Settings showed the printer obtained its IP address automatically by DCHP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). So the print connection works only until the printer goes to sleep; when it awakens, it gets another and likely different IP, meaning the previous connection no longer works.
To fix this, the printer needs a static IP address, which involves 3 steps. First, on the Print Server Setup page, click on the Print Server Settings tab and then TCP/IP. Change the IPv4 IP Address Mode from AutoIP to DCHP. Move down to DNS and check the box to enable “Get DNS Server Address from DHCP." Scroll down and click "Apply New Settings." Here you'll need the default administrator login - if you didn't find this in the online printer manual, you can find Dell's default logins at https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/sln143048/default-ews-username-and-password-for-dell-laser-printers-1133-1130n-1135n?lang=en.
Then also take a minute to reset your password for security's sake.The C1760nw worked fine at first, but it kept going offline and didn't respond to print commands. Its icon in my Windows 10 Printers folder also showed "Offline" instead of "Ready." Double-clicking on the icon opens the sprint spooler, where print jobs were piling up. Running services.msc and restarting the print spooler did not help. Using the printer's menu to print out the settings showed the problem - its IP address had changed.
The solution involved checking the printer's web page (found by putting its IP in a browser), where the Print Server Settings showed the printer obtained its IP address automatically by DCHP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). So the print connection works only until the printer goes to sleep; when it awakens, it gets another and likely different IP, meaning the previous connection no longer works.
To fix this, the printer needs a static IP address, which involves 3 steps. First, on the Print Server Setup page, click on the Print Server Settings tab and then TCP/IP. Change the IPv4 IP Address Mode from AutoIP to DCHP. Move down to DNS and check the box to enable “Get DNS Server Address from DHCP." Scroll down and click "Apply New Settings." Here you'll need the default administrator login - if you didn't find this in the online printer manual, you can find Dell's default logins at https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/sln143048/default-ews-username-and-password-for-dell-laser-printers-1133-1130n-1135n?lang=en.
Step 2 is to reserve a fixed IP address on your network router, preferably a number higher than most wireless traffic on your network. If you don't know how, you can search the internet for "reserve IP address" plus the name of your router.
Step 3 is to enter the IP address into your printer driver. In each PC on the network, open the Printers folder, right-click on the printer icon and select Properties. In the window that opens, select the Ports tab and then Add Port. Select a Standard TCP/IP Port and enter the IP address. This replaces Microsoft's unreliable WSD port. Click OK and print a test page to verify that the PC can awaken the printer and print. You may also find that Dell Tools can now locate your printer.
Restart the router and then the printer. If other PCs are on your network, repeat Step 3 for each one.
