Wifi at apartment w/ multiple networks same name, ts3522 isn't on same network as other devices

[techstar25]

I have a pixma ts3522. We are able to get it connected to Wifi. Our other devices are also on Wifi.

The problem is we can't get them both onto the SAME wifi network so we can't ever find the printer. This apartment building has multiple wifi access points all with same SSID and password. A look at the available networks shows 100 and they all look identical. How do we identify which network our printer is on, so we can put our computers/phones/etc on the same network? 

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

I have a few questions. 

Do you have control of the wireless broadcast you are connecting to?  Meaning can you administer it?

If yes, give the 2.4Ghz broadcast a unique name. 

If you don't have control of this, who does?  

A common misconception of dual or tri-band wireless networks is that if my printer is connected to the 2.4Ghz broadcast, my phone, computer, tablet etc has to be on the same network in order for me to print.  This is not the case.  Unless you specifically enable wireless isolation or create separate vLANs for each network and exclude them through ACL's (access control lists), all devices on the network, regardless of how they connect, wired or wireless on 2.4Ghz or 5G can see and communicate with one another.

What isn't apparent or clear to me.  Do you have your own internet connection and hardware that is you are able to manage and administer?

Please describe your situation a little more so we can better understand the issue you are facing.  

[techstar25]

I do not have control over the routers. These are student apartments. Wifi is one of the utilities included. We are given the SSID of say, "Apartment WIFI" and the password.

We have iphones and ipads. When we search for a network to connect to we see multiple instances of "Apartment WIFI" and we can connect to any one of them (all using the same password). We connect to the printer via it's own broadcasting wifi and we can set up the printer to use "Apartment WIFI" and we provide the password to the printer. The printer is now on wifi. 

Then we disconnect our phone from the printer, and our phones reconnect to the "Apartment WIFI" except now it's a different "Apartment WIFI". And now our phone and ipad can't find the printer because *it seems to be* connected to a different network.

My best guess is that each identically named network is broadcasting on a different channel. If that's the case how can you set the printer to connect to a specific channel? Maybe there are other options I'm not thinking of?

[Stephen]

Hello! I'm not a tech, but I do have a tiny bit of experience with a WiFi system like this, and it likely has what's called device isolation turned on - this is a security feature that is usually enabled on public systems to prevent personal information from being viewable on other devices. It doesn't allow any device to communicate to any other device locally - they're all isolated. 

What that means is that you'll need to rely on the Internet (or cloud) to print your documents. 

If this is what's happening (isolation), it's a limitation (or security feature, depending on how you look at it) of the WiFi system, not a limitation of the printer. 

[techstar25]

Ah, yes. Thank you for the insight!

It sounds like we should go ahead and try the "Wireless Direct" method. I found it in the PDF user manual on pages 44-45. Once that is setup, it looks like we can use the app for printing. I'll give that a try.

[Stephen]

Absolutely! 

[shadowsports]

Stephen is correct.  I alluded to isolation in my initial reply.  Based on your description, I suspected this was a College Dorm / Apt type situation. 

You are not the first user who has faced this issue.  The college or complex is not able to cost effectively provide individual wireless to all of its tenants.  So, depending on the device, USB or wireless direct makes the most sense.  I realize its not the most convenient, as the wireless method requires you to connect directly to the printer on an adhoc basis, but its the safest method for you and them.