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Canon ImageClass MF632Cdw Connection issues...

RallyDarkstrike
Apprentice

Hi all - getting very frustrated.

I work as the IT tech for a local library. They have a Canon ImageClass MF632Cdw. It's connected via IPv4 to the local network with a hardwired ethernet connection. It has a static IP address set on the network. There about 6 public access computers in the library that patrons can use that are all also hardwired to the same network. The computers are all running the latest version of Windows 10 and are all fairly recent HP machines. The network setup is just your run of the mill plain old network rack with a switch. There are no firewalls other than the firewalls built into Windows 10 which are active and should not need to be disabled to get a printer to work. The printer has the latest firmware, I have tried factory resetting it and setting it back up at least twice and I have deleted it and reinstalled it on the computers MANY times....it STILL drops connection.

All of the computers have the latest Canon drivers installed and were connected to the printer through the Control Panel using the computer's static IP address......

....but no matter what we do, the printer randomly loses connection to ALL the computers. Sometimes some can still print to it, other times completely different computers can still print to it, but almost always some of the computers and sometimes all) lose connection to the printer. No changes are ever made to anything, the computers just lose connection to the printer.

I have troubleshooted everything, there is nothing set up incorrectly and nothing working incorrectly. I have set up MANY networks in my life and also manage the computers/printers at the library's other two branches. The other branches have an HP and a Xerox printer, and I have NONE of these issues at those buildings despite the network setup/equipment and the computer models all being EXACTLY the same....the only variable is the printer.

is there a trick to get this ImageClass printer to STAY connected?

Thanks for any help or suggestions...

Signed,
 - One frustrated tech...

8 REPLIES 8

shadowsports
Legend
Legend

Greetings,

Flat network, no VLANs.  What is performing DHCP on the network?

 

Or is there literally a switch with 6 PCs and a printer connected, all set with static IPs?

 

"Drops connection" means what exactly?  Cannot Ping it, displays error message or what?

 

Try disabling IPv6 on the PC's network adapters

 

Other thing thats comes to mind is power management settings on the printer's NIC.

 

 

~Rick
Bay Area - CA


~R5 C (1.0.6.1) ~RF Trinity, ~RF 100 Macro, ~RF 100~400, ~RF 100~500, +RF 1.4x TC, +Canon Control Ring, BG-R10, 430EX III-RT ~DxO PhotoLab Elite ~DaVinci Resolve ~Windows11 Pro ~ImageClass MF644Cdw/MF656Cdw ~Pixel 8
~CarePaks Are Worth It

RallyDarkstrike
Apprentice
The router is doing DHCP, no VLANS.

By drops connection I mean that Windows randomly starts seeing the printer as offline and the only way I can fix it is to delete it and re-add it through the control panel again. SOMETIMES just restarting the PC in question, or restarting the printer works too, but rarely!

Can't remember if I can ping the printer when this happens if not, but I know the PCs still have internet when it happens, the only thing they lose connection to is the printer, so it's not a networking issue.

I'll try power management on the printer...any other ideas?

Greetings,

 

"The router is doing DHCP"..  so there is more than just a rack and switch..  Note, unless the router is running in Access Point mode... its acting as a firewall.

 

Also: If this isn't related to the printer's power management which has been known to be problematic on the 632Cdw across multiple FW versions, then the issue is absoilutely related to the network.  Since the behavior is intermittent and not absolute, (some devices can print, some can't) I am inclined to think network.

 

Back to your issue.  Steps I would take:

 

Printer:

Ensure the printer's power management settings are correct, default should work - Check in its webserver.  Type its IP in a browser when its "online".  You'll also need to set a PIN.

 

PC's 

Ensure the Network Type was set to "Private" not public on all of the PC's

Ensure Network Discovery" is enabled  on all PC's

Add the printer to each as an IP printer, specifying its IP during install

Do not install as WSD Device

Verify the port (IP) being used for communication is IP based and does not use WSD or have duplicate ports created - Example (192.168.1.x_1)

 

Router:

What kind of router is it..  Consumer grade or enterprise?  Model?

 

Use as an example and modify to your use case.

 

Router's LAN IP 192.168.1.1

Set DHCP Pool range: 192.168.1.100 ~ 192.168.1.254

Adjust size of pool based on your needs.

 

Does your DHCP have a lease time set?

This can effect your routing or ARP table

 

Reserve or statically assign an IP for the printer's NIC by MAC address (example) 192.168.1.3

You can do the same for the PC's.

 

Depending on what you find / report, I may have other suggestions.

~Rick
Bay Area - CA


~R5 C (1.0.6.1) ~RF Trinity, ~RF 100 Macro, ~RF 100~400, ~RF 100~500, +RF 1.4x TC, +Canon Control Ring, BG-R10, 430EX III-RT ~DxO PhotoLab Elite ~DaVinci Resolve ~Windows11 Pro ~ImageClass MF644Cdw/MF656Cdw ~Pixel 8
~CarePaks Are Worth It

Hey Rick - thanks for the reply.

Sorry, was getting mixed up with another place I do work for. The switch IS doing DHCP, not the router. The router is just the consumer grade unit that was provided by the ISP - I can't recall the model off-hand as I'm not there, but they tend to use Arris hardware, so it would be a model from Arris.

I'll look into the power management when I am at that branch next - guessing that is accessible through it's web interface?

I had factory reset the printer, so power management should be at default as the only thing I changed on it was set a static IP. I'll be surprised if it's network as the other two libraries have the EXACT same network setup using the same hardware and this is the only branch where I have issues with the printer - the other two branches have different makes/models of printers, which is why he seems like an issue with the printer to me.

The PCs were wiped and reinstalled with a fresh install of Win10 a few months ago. 99% sure they are set to Private and not public. I'l have to check on the 'Network Discovery' setting. I usually turn that on out of habit, but maybe I missed it on these.

I did set a static IP on the printer and connect all the PCs to it using that IP, yes, Printer is definitely not installed as WSD.

One annoyance is that I have access to the network hardware EXCEPT for the router. The building the library is in is not owned by the library and we were never given the login info for the router and it's locked in a separate room, so I'll try everything else first before I need to mess with that,

Hello there,

 

It does sound like there might be a problem with the network communication if some computers can access it but others can't. You can try adjusting the power settings from the operation panel using the steps in the link HERE. If you still have the same issue, I would suggest, trying a ping from the computer that can't reach the printer and let us know if it times out or if you get any destination host unreachable messages.

 

For a more immediate resolution to the problem, you can also contact our support team at 1-800-652-2666. Our agents would be happy to help.

fungames43232
Apprentice

I have this exact same issue at home and have not found a solution.  Mine is just a desktop PC and printer plugged into an ASUS AC5300 router.  

I have the same problem with a Canon MF645C at home: it looses connection regularly. I have to delete and reinstall the printer, and then it works fine.

I have a Samsung printer on the same network: never a problem. I have used an HP MF printer earlier, no problem. 

My conclusion: it must be the behavior of the Canon printer or an issue related to printer-network behavior, rather than the network or the PC's and Macbooks. Anyone a solution, as this must be a common problem? 

Dirko
Apprentice

Solved. The problem of losing connection to the Canon MF645C has been solved by changing the printer's IP address from fixed to dynamic ( DHCP).

I used the Remote User Interface (RUI; you can change the settings on the printer itself as well). Log in as administrator, choose "Settings/Registration", "Network Settings", "IPv4 Settings", "Edit", "Select Protocol": set to "DHCP" and "Auto IP": set to "on", finish with "OK". Remember to also activate the DHCP options.

I used earlier a fixed printer IP address, set in the printer. This caused problems in conjunction with my router. The router is provider provided, very stable and well-maintained. For the sake of reducing complications, the option to define fixed IP addresses in the router itself has been suppressed.  Most routers that are fully under your control do have this option, so you can try to fix the printer's IP address in the router, rather than in the printer. The communication between the printer and router caused connection losses.

The root cause seems to be with the printer, as I have two other brands of printers that are connected with fixed IP addresses, working without problems. I'm much impressed with this printer, with an avalanche of settings, which BTW may be the reason for this discrepancy.  If a Canon staff reads this, may I suggest that this issue is internally notified. A small change of the firmware could possibly resolve this once and for all.

I hope this helps, please provide feedback.

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