topic Re: Pixma TR8520 and connecting to 2.4ghz in Printer Software & Networking

Pixma TR8520 and connecting to 2.4ghz

rphatpharm620 — Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:43:28 GMT

Just bought the new Pixma TR8520 and on setup was trying to connect to wireless. I have a dual band 2.4ghz and a 5ghz. However, there is only one passcode to log into my router. How do i tell the Pixma on setup that i want to connect to the 2.4ghz and not the 5ghz? I didn't see any option...please help!

Re: Pixma TR8520 and connecting to 2.4ghz

shadowsports — Sun, 15 Dec 2019 04:11:32 GMT

Greetings,

Based on your description, it sounds like your router is configured for "SMART Connect" or similar feature... which means one SSID broadcast (supporting both bands) with only one password.

This should not matter as the printer is only capable of connecting to a 2.4Ghz broadcast. It will not associate or connect with a 5Ghz broadcast.

Even with one SSID the radios still operate separately. There are pros and cons using this configuration. Dual band capable devices may not connect to the band you want or the one which might yield the best overall performance.

Again however, you don't have to tell the printer to connect to a 2.4Ghz broadcast. I doesn't have a 5Ghz radio and cannot see the 5Ghz band.

We have no idea what OS you are working with. If you provide that info, we can advise on the next steps.

Brand and model of your router might also help.

Re: Pixma TR8520 and connecting to 2.4ghz

Jetface — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 01:48:10 GMT

I just had the same issue. Once you finished putting everything together, installing ink cartridges, etc. and get to the wireless set up, throw the manual away. It is useless.

I tried it the manual's way, got the 5 GHz error message and thought what? My router uses both. In fact, if your router broadcasts at 5 GHz, it most likely does at 2.4 GHz as well. The problem is most routers made in the past 10 years will allow your device to switch between them based on speed. There's two options, the wrong one is first

1 (don't do this). You can turn off smart select or whatever your router calls it and it will then broadcast as two routers, one at 2.4 GHz and one at 5 GHz. Then you can use the software on your computer or smartphone to connect the printer as described in the manual. However, now whatever device you want to print from must also connect to the same network, which kind of ruins the point of having a router that allows you to move between frequencies to improve overall speed. So don't do this.

2 (Do this!). Leave your router alone. Throw away the manual. Use the little screen on the printer to set up your wireless network. Instead of easy mode or whatever, just pick manual. It will list your wireless networks just like on your phone and computer. You then enter the password. Takes like 10 seconds. The printer has no issues connecting to a router that switches between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. It just picks the 2.4 GHz signal. Your computer, however, was probably on the 5 GHz signal for speed reasons and that caused the issue.

Hope that helps someone. They should just rewrite the manual to not use their strange installation software and just use the neat little screen that they provided. Works great!

Also, kind of annoying that you can't exit the installation software without killing the process. Once I realized what was going on I couldn't get out of the installation loop. Hooray for task manager!