Pixma MG5420 WiFi connection problem

[Hal2k]

The WiFi (WLAN) set-up works good all day after it starts.   But overnight when the printer is inactive it looses it.  When trying to print first thing in the morning I have to re-configure it using the "Standard Setup" method which involves typing in my WiFi password (a long and cumbersome process).  This machine is new (only 3 days old) and maybe this problem will eventually go away, but it hasn't for the last two mornings.   Anybody have this problem?  If so, how to fix?  Thanks.   

[richk]

HI. I just got a new wireless modem from Xfiinity and subbed it out for my old modem and router combination. The printer was working fine before I made the switch. I can't seem to configure the printer to pick up the new modem even though I've found the network and added the password (many times). I keep getting a timeout message on the printer. I printed out the network configuration page if that helps. Says I have 0% signal strength. I'm not sure what else to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

thanks.

[Patrick]

Hi richk,

How far from your router is your PIXMA MG5420?  The signal strength should be as close to 100% as possible.  For testing purposes, please move the router 3 - 4 feet from your PIXMA MG5420.  Is the signal strength still 0% ?

[cssieppert]

Hi there, has anyone found a solution to this, yet?  I am having the same problem on two Canon printers.  One is an older MP620 that worked fine for a number of years but a few months ago started losing its wifi connection after inactivity.  The other is a MG7120 that i bought a few days ago thinking perhaps it was just time for the old one to be replaced (on a side note, it's pretty sad when you can upgrade to a new printer for only slightly more than the cost of replacing the ink cartridges in the old one!).

Needless to say, I'm having the same problem with the new printer.  I am using an iMac and apple router and the printer is less than six feet away, lots of signal strength.  I thought perhaps it was a problem caused by one of the OS updates, but it sounds like it happens with Windows computers, as well, so more likely a problem with the printer drivers?

BTW, the old printer had been connected both by USB and wirelessly during its life, but the new one has never been connected via USB.

@Another_Victim wrote:

I may have solved the problem.  Two days ago I used Windows' Control Panel's "Programs and Features" to uninstall all Canon-related software, and then reinstalled the wireless printer.  Since then, no problems.

Assuming the problem has been solved, I suspect the problem is caused by Canon's software engineers' incompetence at letting the user switch the printer from a USB installation to a wireless installation.  If it's necessary to uninstall the USB installation software before (re)installing the printer as a wireless printer, then the Canon documentation needs to mention it.

Perhaps I uninstalled more software than necessary.  There were about 8 different Canon items installed.  Uninstalling all of them lost my preferences and the printing presets I'd saved (during the months the printer had been connected via USB).

In my opinion, uninstalling the USB installation shouldn't be required.  The driver ought to be redesigned so it will detect the printer no matter how the printer is connected.

UPDATE (2014-08-25): No, the above failed to solve the problem... yesterday the printer again failed to stay connected after inactivity.  However, I stand by my opinion regarding the unnecessary difficulty switching from USB to wireless.

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[Another_Victim]

I seem to have stumbled on a solution.  I was looking for a better workaround than turning the printer off and on (which wastes time and ink).  It occurred to me to check whether the printer would wake up if one of its internal settings is modified using the printer's web interface.  The printer's web interface, which can be reached by entering the printer's IPv4 address into a web browser, works even when it won't print or scan.  While I was looking at the various settings trying to decide which one to modify for this test, I noticed that the printer's "Location" setting was blank, so I entered a value into that field and saved it.  That caused the printer to function properly. 

Since then, the printer hasn't had a problem, even after days of inactivity.

I hope this works for other people.  After I posted this last night in a similar Canon forum ("Mx920 Wireless printing problem") another user replied that it is working for him/her too. (But s/he hasn't tested it long enough to be sure, in my opinion).  Please post here whether or not it solves the problem for you.

Good luck!

[Joeknc22]

I have fixed my problem, even to point of not using printer for a week and it was online when I got back home.  I connect to my printer thru a TP-Link range extender (TL-WA901ND) set to access point mode.  I changed my access point and my printer to static addressing rather then DHCP.  Found that the router for sure was chaning addresses occasionally.  Next in the access point settings under system tools I turned on "Ping Watchdog", this sends a ping to the printer tcp/ip address every 300 seconds. 

I added the access point to my network to extend the range not to fix the dropping problem.  The access point is relatively inexpensive in the $75 range thru amazon.

[Another_Victim]

Joeknc22's solution is clever and I expect it will work well since access points (and routers) are typically left on all the time.  But I suspect it doesn't allow the printer to enter its low power consumption idle mode.

I recommend customers first try my solution: type the printer's IP address into the computer's web browser so the printer's Settings webpage can be accessed, then type a value into the "Location" field on that webpage and click the "Save Settings" button.  It's free and easy to try, and doesn't require any equipment be left on all the time.  I did it many weeks ago and the problem immediately went away and never recurred.

By the way, the TP-Link TL-WA901ND access point that Joeknc22 mentioned is selling for $38 at Amazon.  Some cheaper TP-Link access points also have the ping watchdog feature.

I read about a free website (PingAlive.com, located in Britain) that will periodically ping any IP address you want, but I'm unsure whether it can ping a printer that's behind a router that's using NAT translation (sharing an IP address) because PingAlive is intended to keep websites alive.

Customers who leave their computer on all the time could simply run their computer's ping utility, with the appropriate command-line options (the printer's IP address, the desired time between pings, and the switch to make it repeat forever).

[Joeknc22]

Printer still drops into energy saver mode

[obi]

I found a work around for this problem.  See if it works for you as well:

The problem returned if the printer is turned off and then power on again even though WLAN DRX is already disabled.
I have to toggle WLAN DRX Enable and then back to Disable to obtain IP address for the printer.  Without IP address, printer won't connect.  So my work around is to navigate to the submenu where you have access to the WLAN DRX parameter (see the first post on page 2 for direction to  navigate to this setting).  If it is Enable, change it to Disable.  If it is Disable, change it first to Enable, wait for the printer to complete the Enable process. Then go back to the WLAN DRX setting and select Disable this time and wait for the Disable to complete.  If all works out, you should see an IP address assigned to your printer when you navigate to the WLAN settings, confirm LAN settings, and print/display LAN settings.

If this workaround does not work for you, then the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses will be empty when you print or display your WLAN settings.  Once you see the IP address displayed, you should be able to connect to the printer from your PC.

Potential fix to this problem: 
I think this is a CANON printer firmware issue as if the printer power on sequence is ignoring the WLAN DRX Disable setting set by the user and use the default setting of Enable instead.  This is why the printer lost network connection when the power is recycled or the printer is idle for too long to require a network restart.

I have sent a message to Canon Tech support to fix the firmware and make a downloadable version in the support site for the MG5520 and other affected printers.  The firmware currently downloadable in the support site is very old (version 2.050).  My MG5520 printer has 3.040 firmware but the support site firmware is 2.050.  The only way to get to the latest firmware is using the firmware update from the printer menu.  However, we cannot use the wireless firmware install function from the printer because it will first reset the printer as if the printer is rebooted before it will download the new firmware.  That reset process also resets the DRX setting to default Enable and the printer will not be able to download the new firmware 3.080 because the printer now has no ip address to communicate once it is reset to WLAN DRX Enabled.  I am not sure if 3.080 will fix this issue since I cannot get to it.  If not, Canon will need to release a new version of the firmware for all affected printers that will read and use the WLAN DRX setting when the printer is turned on or reset.

[taristoblus]

I have Pixus MG7530.

Also here, the WiFi connection set up ok, but then loses connection often. I work around by each type powering off the Pixus printer and powering it back on and then it immediately re-connects -  but, annoying!

Its clearly not a router problem, as all other devices don't have this problem.

[Ustlach]

I would suggest going to the Canon website and find the section that has to do with drivers, for your printer, then use the link provided there for setting up your printer.  I recently went through a scenario similar to the one you described and that this was the solution that got me going again.