2 STEPS TO ROCK SOLID PIXMA MX922 NETWORK CONNECTION (& STEP 3 ROCK SOLID CLOUD SERVICE CONNECTION)

[KruseLudington]

This will resolve ALMOST ALL of your printer reliability issues! Be sure to click the "Kudo" button if this helps!

PRINT THIS (WHEN you can - AND KEEP IT WITH YOUR PRINTER DOCUMENTATION)! SIX main sections:

------- Basic Network Configuration - optimal setup

------- If you STILL have issues note "A"-"D" - regarding Canon software on your PC.

------ If you STILL have trouble with Google Cloud Printing / Canon Print From Email services.

==== Other problems via network printing - how to find those and now good to go!

------ Additional "Tip" - buried setting - when you scan from the printer panel it only shows you "Local USB Cable" even if you are using the printer on a network?

------- Final Thoughts

------- Basic Network Configuration - optimal setup

(After the settings below, my reliability was still not rock solid because I had selected under Lan Settings "Other Settings" / DRX settings selected "Disable" for both wireless (and scoll down further - for wired). I had seen other people on this forum told to do that by other users - and once by support - and it resolve their issue. This setting specifies stopping the LAN connection from going into sleep mode (unrelated to printer going to sleep) during intervals between signals from the access point to printer - reducing power consumption. However once I had made all the changes below and had DRX DISABLED caused miscommunication problems between the printer and the device trying to print, either the printer is waiting for more info which it never gets, or the computer thinks the printer is busy when it's not. It could be my router had some logic built in enabling DRX which my printer ignored... So to be safe, be sure to leave these both ENABLED for LAN DRX Wired/Wireless).

Ethernet is the fastest most reliable connection. You should use this (or at least wifi) instead of a direct connection to your PC because of the newer "Google Cloud Printing / Canon Print From Email" services (WHICH ARE FREE) offered by this printer. This printer can be a PITA to get set up in a network. But it is really, really reliable if set up properly - believe it or not it is NOT a piece of junk and you should NOT throw it out the window! After some struggles I've got it down cold and guaranteed to work.

1. Launch your web browser. On your router's web settings web site (typically "http://192.168.1.1" - and this is your DNS SERVER IP ADDRESS) find the connected device that is your printer and write down the IP address (PRINTER IP ADDRESS). Then change the connection for that IP address (PRINTER IP ADDRESS) from dynamic to static.

2. Then go to "http://<PRINTER IP ADDRESS>" - it may seem very very very slow (but it won't be after this!) - once the web site comes up, click on the advanced button. Then next to "Use IPv4:" select "Use following IPv4 address:". For IPv4 Address, type in the address you wrote down before for the printer connection (PRINTER IP ADDRESS). For IPv4 Subnet Mask put 255.255.255.0, and for IPv4 Default Gateway put down your DNS SERVER IP ADDRESS. I also select "Disable IPv6" as well as that does actually speed up the resolution of the connection ever so slightly as well (and my house's main router has that turned off by default - so yours may as well). Also from the first note above, click "Save" on the button on the website and click 'Other Settings' and ensure "Wireless LAN DRX setting:" and "Wired LAN DRX setting:" are both set to "Enable".

3. You should use "Google Cloud Print" and "Print From Email". These allow you to print photos and documents - from any internet connected device directly to your printer! (BEFORE YOU READ THE MANUFACTURER'S DIRECTIONS FOR SETTING UP THESE SERVICES - it might fail often, not being able to connect it says - so this simple step below will help resolve that issue as well...) These web connections are REALLY FLAKY AND UNRELIABLE UNLESS YOU DO THIS FIRST: On the physical printer itself, click MENU / select Web Service / Web Service Setup / DNS Server Setup / Manual Setup, set DNS SERVER IP ADDRESS. It forces you to enter four sets of three digit characters - so be sure to set it, for example, if your DNS SERVER ADDRESS is 192.168.1.1, as was mine, to the values "192.168.001.001". I have noticed that if I use the cloud service WITHOUT this setting, sometimes the printer cannot tell the web service it finished printing, so a document will get printed over and over (UGH!)!

Turn the printer off and reboot your router and PC - reboot everything (wait until routers and switches etc. have finished rebooting before turning your printer and PC back on).

------- If you STILL have issues note "A"-"D" - regarding Canon software on your PC.

Ok - still having problems? I use Windows 10: this should help and is what I did and tempts me to give the rating for this printer one less star:

A. Create a directory on your C: drive for updated printer drivers. Download them all in their own subdirectories - use these going forward instead of the drivers on the CD (which may be old)...

Here is the web page with the driver downloads: https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/details/printers/inkjet-multifunction/mx-s...

Here is the web page for the software downloads: https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/details/printers/inkjet-multifunction/mx-s...

B. Turn off the printer. If it doesn't turn off, then freaking unplug the stubborn thing.

C. Uninstall all the Canon applications. If you go into the control panel and try to uninstall applications and it doesn't work, use the older windows uninstall method (at least you won't have to dig through the registry, yuck!) -  in the bottom left status bar menu of windows, search "uninstall". The OLD version of the window for uninstalling apps will appear, and that works better (go figure). Uninstall ALL the Canon apps. At least one of them will ask you to reboot. Do that. But also be sure to reboot AFTER you have uninstalled ALL the canon apps as well.

D. Install the MP driver first. It will ask you at one point about the connection type. Select wired or wireless (whatever you used) but NOT the direct connection (poor way of doing it - needed for cloud services above). Then it will tell you it cannot find the printer - so plug it in and turn it on. If it does not find the printer IMMEDIATELY (after a minute or so because the printer needs to boot up) then go to the steps #2 and #3 above and enter the IP address settings. Note the first time you print it'll ask you to make sure you have paper in the printer (stupid)....

------ If you STILL have trouble with Google Cloud Printing / Canon Print From Email services - (such as the printer as being seen offline from those services on the internet, see items I and II below...

Issues with Google Cloud Print / Canon Print From Email sometimes not working - in these cases the external service is often seeing the printer as offline...

These services try to communicate with your printer using specific ports. Essentially the router (DNS SERVER) is between the internet and your printer - and the router is often 'blocking' or not allowing communication to those ports on your printer. This is where "port forwarding" comes in. In your router you specify the IP address of your printer and then specify for that IP address which ports can be allowed to communicate with the internet. From some help documents:

I Fix offline printer issues (Google Cloud Print - from here: https://support.google.com/cloudprint/answer/2541903?hl=en&ref_topic=4456299)

If your printer can’t be reached when you submit your print job (e.g. the computer running the Google Cloud Print connector is turned off, or your Cloud Ready printer is disconnected or shows offline), your job will wait in the print queue in the cloud. Your printer will print the job normally as soon as it comes back online. How to fix offline printer issues. You may need to check how Google Cloud Print is set up for your network. Check ports on your router (i.e., DNS Server):

Ports 80 and 443 open to allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic
Port 5222 open to allow XMPP message traffic

Check firewalls

Your router might include a firewall or use IP filtering. Sometimes these applications block your printing jobs from being completed. To fix this issue, follow these steps:
1.Access your router.
2.Select the firewall configuration.
3.Allow traffic on port 5222.

II Information from Canon regarding ports (from here: https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART109227). Make sure that necessary ports and programs are not being blocked by security or firewall programs. Solution: Blocked Ports and Programs - in some cases, third-party security or firewall software may be blocking or restricting port traffic or programs causing unexpected results such as inability to install or loss of functionality. Check with the software manufacturer for information on unblocking ports or adding exceptions for specific programs. The following are ports necessary for your printer to function properly depending on the intended use:

TCP 80  -  For HTTP communication
TCP/UDP 161 - For SNMP communication (MAXIFY Printers)
TCP/UDP 162 - For SNMP communication (MAXIFY Printers)
TCP 443 - For HTTPS communication such as cable-less setup operation (Applicable models only)
TCP/UDP 515 - For printing using LPR protocol
TCP/UDP 9100 - For printing using Raw protocol
TCP/UDP 1900 - For Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) operation
TCP/UDP 5222 - (MAXIFY Printers)
TCP/UDP 5357 - For acquiring the printer information (WSDAPI)
TCP/UDP 8611 - Canon BJNP port for printing
TCP/UDP 8612 - Canon BJNP port for scanning (Applicable models only)
TCP/UDP 8613 - Canon BJNP port for sending and receiving faxes from the PC (Applicable models only)
UDP 3702 - (Windows 7 / Windows Vista)
The following port list applies only to models with memory card slots:
TCP/UDP 137
TCP/UDP 138
TCP/UDP 139

It's probably overkill and most of it not needed but I just opened ALL those ports above from both help documents by adding port forwarding as specified in this section for every one of those ports on my router (DNS SERVER) for my printer's IP address. What harm could it do - to have some hacker be able to talk to some not very useful port on my printer? So security is not a very big issue here!

==== Other problems via network printing - how to find those and now good to go!

Between my printer and the router (DNS SERVER - see first section for definition) I had a somewhat ancient wired router I was using as a simple switch - has 4 things plugged into it but they always communicated to each other with no issue at all. I still had INTERMITTENT problems accessing the printer and sometimes the cloud services would see the printer as offline. From within the router (DNS SERVER) web site, it has the ability to test connectivity and sometimes the test would fail trying to communicate with the printer. I decided to buy the TP-Link model TL-SG105E wired switch. It was at my local Micro Center and cost only $25. HOWEVER THIS MODEL ALSO HAS THE ABILITY TO TEST CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE DEVICES PLUGGED INTO IT AS WELL! I actually didn't need to do anything other than replace the old piece of hardware with this new switch and just plug everything into it. Once it was just plugged in and on, I did the same test from my router (DNS SERVER) web site to the printer again - (since this switch is between the two) and the communication was better, passing the test every single time.

There is a PING command sends a test message to one piece of hardware from the piece of hardware doing the test. So, when mentioning in the previous paragraph testing from the router to the printer the connection, the router is simply doing a PING command. You can easily do this from your PC - anything that has communication issues with your PC you can see right away - and if you just replace whatever old junk you might have sitting between those two pieces of hardware - and re-do the "PING" test and the communication is better - then that issue is resolved! So to test the connectivity between the items, for each item, just get the IP address of that item (you can usually see all of them listed in the list of connections on your router's (DNS SERVER's) web site. For instance, my printer IP address is 192.168.1.239. So, from my PC I can search "CMD" and select it then a blank screen with a blinking curser will appear (called a command window) waiting for me to type in a command. So, I type in this window on my PC:

PING 192.168.1.239

- to test the connectivity between my PC and the printer. Try this test on all your devices IP addresses that should be able to connect to the PC. Any device that should respond but does not respond - either the device is turned off, not working properly, misconfigured or something between your PC and that device is blocking the communication between the two.

------ Additional "Tip" - buried setting - when you scan from the printer panel it only shows you "Local USB Cable" even if you are using the printer on a network?

From your PC on the main menu under "Canon Utilities":

Run the "Canon IJ Scan Utility" and ensure the "Product Name" shows up as "Canon MX920 series Network".

Run the "Canon IJ Network Tool" and ensure it can find the printer.

Run the "Canon IJ network Scanner Selector EX" and click the button "Scan-From-Operation-Panel Settings" and ensure the printer is selected.

From the printer itself:

Press the "SCAN button. Choose select "PC"  - and the new choice will show up as the login name on the PC in addition to the local USB Connection.

--- Final thoughts:

Update the firmware on all your networking devices, at least those not communicating properly.

Scenario from this afternoon - my wife was shopping while I waited in the car (typical, right?!?!). I was reading a long article on my android phone when she got back, and I wanted to keep reading it and not lose it (but not make her wait), so I just printed it from my phone, using google cloud print. My wife thinks I am a dork and I probably am but I also took a picture of her and emailed it from my phone to the email address for my Canon Print From Email service - (both services come with the MX922 printer free for people) - and both the document on 8 1/2" x 11" paper, as well as the photo on 4"x6" photo paper - were both waiting for me in my sleeping printer's output tray when I got back home! (One last note - not sure about the Canon Print From Email service - I can see a history there but not any documents or print jobs - but with Google Cloud Print - I noticed if you go to the google cloud print website (under your login of course) you can still see all the print jobs that have already printed - you can select them and then reprint them or delete them (not sure if anyone would have an issue with the data being there but it is under your google login only and you can manually delete it). As this service is somewhat new I think they would be able to add features later to allow you to have them automatically deleted - if successfully printed or whatever. You can delete it from any browser anyway- and checking the website you would also be able to see, before deleting it, if it got printed. FYI printing photos remotely only works through the Canon Print From Email service as a .JPG email attachment, trying to send a photo through Google Cloud Print will put it on an 8 1/2 x 11 plain paper. 

It is March 18th. I'll update this again in a week or so with the date - and specify if I had any more issues at that point. Hope all the above helps. If it did, please click the "Kudo" button!

March 23rd - last report. Printer has stayed online and worked seamlessly.

March 25th - it dawned on me as per the last section above - my previous printer, another Canon model, probably was working fine and all my network/communication issues with that older Pixma MX___ printer was just because the freaking switch was faulty. JEEZ!

[KruseLudington]

I just got the lamest email from Canon... WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

-----Original Message-----

From: info@mp.c-ij.com [mailto:info@mp.c-ij.com]

Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2017 6:56 PM

To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Subject: [Print from E-mail] IMPORTANT NOTICE of Service Discontinuance

Thank you for using Canon's "Print from E-mail" service.  

The "Print from E-mail" service will be discontinued as of the date below.  

Service Discontinuation Schedule:  

   11/29/2017 19:00  

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the discontinuation of this service.  

After the service is discontinued, the following function(s) will no longer be available:  

Cannot log in to the service  

Cannot print documents  

The "Print from E-mail" settings will no longer be available from the printer's operation panel.  

When the service is discontinued, you will not need to unsubscribe.  

We will delete all user registered data by the end of 2017.  

Thank you for your continued patronage since the launch of this service.  

============================================================  

This e-mail was sent by the system automatically.  

Please note that we are unable to respond to any reply to this e-mail.  

For inquiries regarding this service, please access the URL below and contact the sales office that appears after you select your region.  

http://canon.com/support  

[KruseLudington]

Interesting how Canon never even responded to why they got rid of their own cloud print service...

[pscanon]

Please explain how the arcane explanation given is two steps.

v6 enabled, 

I have the both DRX settings off, static IPs from the day I installed my mx922 3 years ago, and didn't have ipv6 enabled until after I got device that could use it on my LAN. That reduces the function of the local router to being purely a router, not an address issuer.  It doesn't matter whether ipv4, ipv6 or both are enabled.

ipv6 addresses are not issued by local routers, they are hardcoded in the hosts, like the mac addresses upon which they are based.

Apparent "sleeping' was an issue, but I observed that the network card was not sleeping simply by monitoring its wireless transmissions.

What worked for me me when nothing else did for Cloud Printing, was to specify Google's DNS servers.  That eliminated the local router from being a DNS referrer.  WitI haven't had to h both DNS and ipv6 enabled, the router only needed to have a connection to the ISP for the printer to be "seen" over the internet.

Finally, I DO NOT use the menu to tell the printer to "look for" cloud print jobs.   

Once that service is congigured and working, the printer should and does check for Cloud Print jobs frequently enough that the LAN connections stay active.  I haven't had to do anything for the pastr 3 months besides change ink and load paper, even thkugh I took a week-long vacation from printing 203 jobs each day.

What is truly annoying is the discontinuance of the Canon print by email service.  I've jad bioth Cloud Print and Print by email working for months and find it easier to have dedicated Windows users who want no part of the Chrome broser, email me jobs than to print by Cloud Print.

[KruseLudington]

Freaking printer is showing as offline on "Google Cloud Print" again - but maybe I've got the permanent solution?

In reference to your comment:

"What worked for me me when nothing else did for Cloud Printing, was to specify Google's DNS servers.  That eliminated the local router from being a DNS referrer."

I could not find the IP addresses at first but I found this here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Public_DNS😞

"Google Public DNS operates recursive name servers for public use at the two following IP addresses: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 for IPv4 service, as well as 2001:4860:4860::8888 and 2001:4860:4860::8844, for IPv6 access."

I'm only using IPv4, and it allows you to specify multiple addresses, so I have set up both 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4:

It's on Mx922 under: Menu Button/Arrow down to Web Service/Click Ok twice/Arrow down to DNS Server Setup/Click Ok/Select Manual Setup/, then

enter

008.008.008.008, then Ok

Select secondary server. enter

008.008.004.004, then Ok

Viola!

[KruseLudington]

I would have given you a Kudo were it not for the rude "arcane" comment.

1. Thank you for the IPv6 explanation.
2. *The 2 steps were #1 and #2.

* Actually since I am using the IP of my local DNS server, under the cloud print settings menu I'll change that to the Google Server as it does show offline if the printer's could print service hasn't been used for a months or so. Quick question - isn't it bad practice to use a hard coded IP address for these? Wouldn't Google change them every so often?