PIXMA G6020 printer keeps going offline

[catonfour]

Does anyone ever get a satisfactory answer to this problem? How can a printer disconnect in a middle of a print job, on a wireless router and operating system it has been using for many months? And I have done all of the above too.It accepts the wireless password, acts like all is fine, and then it won't connect. how could it work with 5G for months, and then suddenly decide it doesn't want to do that any more?  I shouldn't have to be an IT specialist to try to make an expensive printer work (G6020). It told me "your computer is currently connected to a network with a frequency not supported by your printer". well, it has been for months up until now. so it's not an IP address issue, obviously. something changed - mid print job?!?!

[catonfour]

and if I can't connect to the internet with it any longer, then I can't update the firmware either. so there's that. What a waste

[catonfour]

I finally got it to manually connect to my wifi - but it still won't print. It just states "paused" and "waiting" on the print job on the print center page. I can even see how much ink is in it - I can check supply levels - but it won't print. 

It has been horrible and not printing color lately anyway - even though I've cleaned all the heads and maintenanced it. I'm done with this - I bought it on amazon, so I'm going to have to go leave a review. I haven't even used half the ink that came with it.

[catonfour]

well I finally revived it - on 5G. Wish me luck that this holds. I wish the error messages were accurate - obviously it still works with my network frequency. 

[shadowsports · Accepted solution]

Greetings, 

A quick review of the printer's specifications here:

G6020

Indicates the printer supports a 2.4Ghz wireless broadcast only.  It does not have a 5Ghz radio and thus cannot connect to a 5Ghz network.  While some Canon printers do support 5Ghz, the G6020 is not one of them. 

I realize that you might believe the printer isusing 5Ghz because your computer is, but its not.  Your router allows devices regardless of band or interface (wired, wireless, 2.4 or 5Ghz) to communicate.with one another.  

I would suggest assigning a static IP to the printer on your router and installing the printer as a TCP/IP device on your computer.  If you'd like assistance with these steps, please let us know.

[catonfour]

thanks, I might take you up on that soon. It still doesn't explain why I was able to get it back up and running after 2 plus hours of trying without taking those steps you listed - which only exhausts semi-tech people like myself more. don't even get me started with the disappointing routers service providers distribute these days - they are not always so intuitive either. 

[DerrickL]

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) automatically assigns IP addresses to devices on a network, which can be affected by power cycling those devices. When a device is turned off and then back on, it may request a new IP address from the DHCP server, which can lead to issues like IP address conflicts if not managed properly. However depending on the power off and on sequence  a disconnected dynamic IP address may be re-assigned by the network server (router) to the device that originally had it. 

[catonfour]

good to know, but oddly, I haven't had this issue when it automatically powers down. And this stoppage that was so difficult to fix happened mid-printing of a 5 page document - so it's not from powering down

[DerrickL]

I wonder if the message paused and waiting was indicating a print spooler issue. They happen way to often with Windows. Turning the PC and the printer off and rebooting clears the buffer, although sometimes the printer starts shooting out paper. If this should happen again, let me know. I have good instructions for fixing that issue.