Greetings,
Assigning a static IP to a persistent device like a printer, web server, NAS, etc is not mandatory. It's considered best practice.
Your router uses DHCP and manages a pool of IP addresses it hands out to devices when they make a connection request. IP's are generally leased to a device for a specified period of time. Another function of this protocol is monitoring the network for devices which have left the network. The router will then reclaim the issued address and put it back into its pool of available addresses making it available to new connection requests.
So you connect your printer. You install it on your computer. You can print. Now you turn the printer off, or it goes to sleep or you go on vacation and don't use it for a period of time. The router tries to check in with it. It doesn't reply back. Router says ok, its no longer present and reclaims the IP. Now a family member, neighbor whomever comes to visit. They connect to your Wi-Fi. The router gives their device the IP that it had given to the printer. Remember it now thinks it's gone.
Now you try to print. The computer tries to use the connection that worked previously. Well, the IP has changed. Now the printer shows offline.
Still networks are resilient and now the router tries to use its ARP table to identify the MAC address associated with the IP the printer had last (when it worked) but, consumer grade products like the one issued by your ISP probably don't maintain and ARP table for more than 24-48 hrs. Why because this requires resources, like memory and as I mentioned ISP issued hardware isn't the most robust.
Probably way more information than you wanted to hear. 😂
If you provide me with the brand and model of your router, I'll try to find the documentation. If it's starlink you're out of luck. If it's a relatively new manufacture, I'm sure it will support address reservation. I can walk you through it. It only has to be done once. Now the IP of your printer will be static. It will never change, never get assigned to another device and any device connecting to your network will always be able to find it at its static address. The only time it will ever be offline is if you turn it off and as soon as you turn it back on the router will see it, (recognize it) and immediately give it the IP that you have reserved. This is the way to ensure consistent, reliable connectivity with any device on your network.
After the IP is assigned on the router, we will uninstall it from your system, restart it and install it as an IP printer.
~Rick
Bay Area - CA
~R5 C (1.1.2.1), ~R50v (1.1.1) ~RF Trinity, ~RF 100 Macro, ~RF 100~400, ~RF 100~500, ~RF 200-800 +RF 1.4x TC, BG-R10, 430EX III-RT ~DxO PhotoLab Elite ~DaVinci Resolve Studio ~ImageClass MF644Cdw/MF656Cdw ~Pixel 8 ~CarePaks Are Worth It
