Question Printer no longer recognized by Windows 10

RickVS · Jun 30, 2023

I have a Lexmark XS463de printer that I inherited a few months ago. It connected easily to my PC via Ethernet. The PC found it right away. I tried to print tonight and Windows reports it offline. I tried everything that Google suggested to no avail. So I deleted the printer from Windows and rebooted the printer. Now Windows doesn't see it at all so I can't reinstall it. My setup is very simple. I have an Ethernet cable from the printer to a switch. I have an Ethernet cable from my PC to the switch. I connect the switch to my router. It's been working fine for 3 months until this latest attempt to print. The switch seems to be working fine. All of the lights are flashing. Any thoughts on how I can get this printer to again connect to my PC? Thanks!

Edit: I replaced the switch with another switch and it worked. Then I went back to the original switch and it also saw the printer. So the act of unplugging the Ethernet cable from the switch and plugging it back in again seemed to fix the issue. Any thoughts on why that would be and how to prevent it happening again? Thanks.

dwd999 · Jun 30, 2023

RickVS said:
I have a Lexmark XS463de printer that I inherited a few months ago. It connected easily to my PC via Ethernet. The PC found it right away. I tried to print tonight and Windows reports it offline. I tried everything that Google suggested to no avail. So I deleted the printer from Windows and rebooted the printer. Now Windows doesn't see it at all so I can't reinstall it. My setup is very simple. I have an Ethernet cable from the printer to a switch. I have an Ethernet cable from my PC to the switch. I connect the switch to my router. It's been working fine for 3 months until this latest attempt to print. The switch seems to be working fine. All of the lights are flashing. Any thoughts on how I can get this printer to again connect to my PC? Thanks!

Edit: I replaced the switch with another switch and it worked. Then I went back to the original switch and it also saw the printer. So the act of unplugging the Ethernet cable from the switch and plugging it back in again seemed to fix the issue. Any thoughts on why that would be and how to prevent it happening again? Thanks.

How far is the printer from the computer; usually I would recommend connecting it via usb if possible for better performance.

MrLitschel · Jul 1, 2023

Sometimes network printers get a new IP address from the router making Windows show it as offline.

I would set the network card on the printer to a static ip vice using a default DCHP address.

(Page 163 of the user guide)

Ralston18 · Jul 1, 2023

"Edit: I replaced the switch with another switch and it worked. Then I went back to the original switch and it also saw the printer. So the act of unplugging the Ethernet cable from the switch and plugging it back in again seemed to fix the issue. Any thoughts on why that would be and how to prevent it happening again? Thanks."

Ethernet cable may be faulty in some manner. Likely one or more of the conductors is not fully secure and "makes and breaks" at random. Likely in the plugs.

Connect the cable as normal, then gently wiggle, twist, and pull the cable along its' length and especially at the plug ends.

Determine if doing so causes the printer to appear/disappear.

Swap in another known working (no disconnects or other issues) Ethernet cable.

RickVS · Jul 1, 2023

Hi. Thanks. So the printer is connected via a 50 ft Ethernet cable. Does Ethernet have a limit in terms of reliably connecting devices? I've used 50 ft cables to connect my PC to the router many times without issue.

RickVS · Jul 29, 2023

Hi. So today this is again an issue. Windows Help suggested unplugging the printer for 30 seconds and rebooting the PC. This fixed the problem and the printer is back online for another month until it goes offline again. Google doesn't seem to know why this printer keeps going offline. Anyone have any other ideas as to why this happens so I can prevent future occurrences? Also, the user manual I got on Lexmark's site doesn't talk about IP addresses on page 163. Thanks.

MrLitschel · Jul 29, 2023

You need to go through the printer menu and find the Network Setup page to set the IP address from dhcp to a static IP. In there, you should find the portion for TCP/IP

The below manual for the x46x printers has information on it in the "Understanding Printer Menus - Network Port Menu"

X46x Series

RickVS · Jul 30, 2023

I'll try that. Thanks. Though I don't see how it works fine for a month if the IP address isn't optimized.

MrLitschel · Jul 30, 2023

RickVS said:
I'll try that. Thanks. Though I don't see how it works fine for a month if the IP address isn't optimized.

I don't know what your router is, but most renew DCHP addresses every 24 hours, but some are set for 1 week, etc..

If your printer is asleep, it may not wake up when the server pings it to re-assign the IP. When the printer does wake up, it thinks its a new connection and assigns another address.

My Epson Workforce 740 did that every other day when I first connected it. After setting to static address, haven't had a problem since.

RickVS · Aug 4, 2023

So the manual isn't all that helpful. I can navigate to the 'IP address' and put something in. It's currently set for 192.168.2.23. I don't see an option to choose static vs a non static address. So I don't know if in a month that address would be different or the same. I would attach some images of the screens that I'm looking at however: when I click on this thread's picture icon it comes up with link insert instead. It says I can use CTRL P to attach an image however that just prints the page ????

MrLitschel · Aug 4, 2023

RickVS said:
So the manual isn't all that helpful. I can navigate to the 'IP address' and put something in. It's currently set for 192.168.2.23. I don't see an option to choose static vs a non static address. So I don't know if in a month that address would be different or the same. I would attach some images of the screens that I'm looking at however: when I click on this thread's picture icon it comes up with link insert instead. It says I can use CTRL P to attach an image however that just prints the page ????

Use the following menu items to view or set the TCP/IP information. You need to input the IP Address, NetMask and Gateway.

This will automatically turn the "Enable DHCP" to "off" (Makes it a Static IP)

This menu is available from the Network/Ports menu:

Network/Ports > Standard Network or Network <x> > Std Network Setup or Net <x> Setup > TCP/IP

Menu item	Description
Activate On Off Click to expand...	Activates TCP/IP Note: On is the factory default setting.
View Hostname	Lets you view the current TCP/IP hostname Note: This can be changed only from the Embedded Web Server.
IP Address	Lets you view or change the current TCP/IP Address Note: Manually setting the IP address sets the Enable DHCP and Enable Auto IP settings to Off. It also sets Enable BOOTP and Enable RARP to Off on systems that support BOOTP and RARP.
Netmask	Lets you view or change the current TCP/IP Netmask
Gateway	Lets you view or change the current TCP/IP Gateway
Enable DHCP On Off Click to expand...	Specifies the DHCP address and parameter assignment setting Note: On is the factory default setting.
Enable RARP On Off Click to expand...	Specifies the RARP address assignment setting Note: On is the factory default setting.
Enable BOOTP On Off Click to expand...	Specifies the BOOTP address assignment setting Note: On is the factory default setting.
AutoIP Yes No Click to expand...	Specifies the Zero Configuration Networking setting Note: Yes is the factory default setting.
Enable FTP/TFTP Yes No Click to expand...	Enables the built-in FTP server, which allows you to send files to the printer using the File Transfer Protocol. Note: Yes is the factory default setting.
Enable HTTP Server Yes No Click to expand...	Enables the built-in Web server (Embedded Web Server). When this is enabled, the printer can be monitored and managed remotely using a Web browser. Note: Yes is the factory default setting.
WINS Server Address	Lets you view or change the current WINS Server Address
Enable DDNS	Lets you view or change the current DDNS setting Note: Yes is the factory default setting.
Enable mDNS	Lets you view or change the current mDNS setting Note: Yes is the factory default setting.
DNS Server Address	Lets you view or change the current DNS Server Address

RickVS · Aug 4, 2023

Thanks. You can pretty much tell I don't have really technical skills 🙂. Appreciate the patience. So I have no idea what the values would be for the IP Address, NetMask and Gateway.

MrLitschel · Aug 4, 2023

Prior to putting in the IP Address, go to the "Reports Menu" on your printer.

Find the "Network Setup Page" and the only option should be to print it.

Then just manually enter in the exact same information listed for the IP Address, Netmask and Gateway

then double check that the Enable DHCP is " off "

RickVS · Sep 26, 2023

Thanks for the help everyone. Creating a static IP address seems to have resolved this issue.

Question Printer no longer recognized by Windows 10

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Splendid

Reputable

Titan

Distinguished

Distinguished

Reputable

Distinguished

Reputable

Distinguished

Reputable

Activate​

View Hostname​

IP Address​

Netmask​

Gateway​

Enable DHCP​

Enable RARP​

Enable BOOTP​

AutoIP​

Enable FTP/TFTP​

Enable HTTP Server​

WINS Server Address​

Enable DDNS​

Enable mDNS​

DNS Server Address​

Distinguished

Reputable

Distinguished

Share this page

Activate

View Hostname

IP Address

Netmask

Gateway

Enable DHCP

Enable RARP

Enable BOOTP

AutoIP

Enable FTP/TFTP

Enable HTTP Server

WINS Server Address

Enable DDNS

Enable mDNS

DNS Server Address