PIXMA TR8520 won't set up to primary Wi-Fi, OK on extender, computers don't see it

[wattski]

My TR8520 will not setup to my primary Wifi, but will setup to my Wifi Eero extender (both with same network name).  But my Windows PC and my Apple Macbook Air will not find the printer on the Wifi network.  I've tried eveyrthing to no avail. Getting ready to buy a new printer...:)

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

The printer supports 2.4 GHz wireless that uses WPA2/AES encryption.  Some eero products come set from the factory to use WPA3.  The printer does not support this encryption standard. 

I I would suggest logging into your router and giving each Network a unique name.  Also make sure they are using WPA2 encryption or WPA3/WPA2 for backwards compatibility.  You can also temporarily disable the 5 GHz broadcast, make the connection and re-enable it.

Since you will be in your router settings, I suggest you assign a static IP to the printer.  Your router will have a list of attached devices. This is where you can verify and confirm it's connected.  

Depending on the type of equipment, and configuration some extenders use one of your bands for wireless backhaul.  Meaning the extender might be using the 2.4 GHz broadcast on the main router for communication, leaving only the 5 GHz broadcast for connecting devices.  This is one possible explanation.  Third party antivirus can also cause connection issues. You'll need to confirm this for us.

[wattski]

Thanks for your response.  I had seen a note about WPA 2/3 so I took a look at my network gateway connection and it shows WPA3 for both 2.4 and 5 Ghz and no way to change it. Unless there is some other way around this my "old" printer may be toast.  Yes?

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

What model is the wireless router?  They usually have the ability to set WPA3/WPA2 or WPA2 for backwards compatibility.

If you are using the same SSID name for all networks, separate them and use 2.4ghz with WPA2.  I'm sure its possible.  Take another look.  

As I suspected....  WPA2 is supported.

Optional Advanced Features – eero Help Center

[EagerHarebell]

It sounds like your printer may not be compatible with WPA3, which could be the issue. Unfortunately, if the printer only supports WPA2, it might not connect to a network using WPA3. One workaround could be to set up a separate network with WPA2 if your router allows for dual-band support with different security protocols. That way, you could keep your WPA3 network for other devices and connect your printer to the WPA2 network. Hopefully, that helps! OneBloodRewards

[wattski]

Thanks for the replies.  Exactly - WPA2-WPA3 problem.  Printer retired (didn't want to deal with multiple networks); new printer works flawlessly. Thanks again for the great help.