[SOLVED] Trying to get printer on 2G router network working with 5G network again

[oisjdfoijwefsoijhwef]

I had this working before with my modem and since resets or whatever (thanks [unnamed ISP]) now Windows (using 5GHz or 5G band) can't find the printer, and the printer can only connect to 2G (2.4GHz band).

I had the modem set up previously to somehow have Windows find the printer from 5G through 2G, and I just don't remember exactly what I clicked, and the modem admin settings are looking ambiguous or vague, docs aren't explaining much, and online searching appears to show unrelated solutions. I think it had something to do with connecting the two networks together... which I think I'm OK with, since I have some older devices only compatible with 2G that I sometimes move files from to 5G devices.

Anyway, I think this is partly a terminology problem; I don't remember the exact terminology, and it may be specific to Motorola or the modem. I'm using an MG7550 (I know it's old but it should work until 2025), which is dual-band and allows 2G and 5G simultaneously. The issue is there's two or three admin pages that may be what I'm looking for; I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do now.

There's one section in Advanced > Wireless > Scan/Bridge which may be what I'm looking for, but I'm not understanding what I'm supposed to do here. There's an "Enable" option under Wireless Bridging, but then it appears I need to add Remote Bridge MAC Addresses... WTF? Like, or the Printer...? In the 2G tab? Do I also need to enable it for 5G? Then add 5G devices I want to print from...? I'm confused. There's other areas for "bridging" but they appear to be something else... way more complicated, using terms I don't understand. I don't remember it being that complicated last time.

I'm not seeing how to add a screenshot as a new user, so here's an imgur link (from Motorola's PDF manual):

https://imgur.com/cEtNQS1

View: https://imgur.com/cEtNQS1

 

[kerberos_20]

bridge is for bridging multiple routers together, thats not what youre looking for.
Post pictures from wifi basic and radio pages

 

[oisjdfoijwefsoijhwef]

bridge is for bridging multiple routers together, thats not what youre looking for.

OK, thanks for clarifying...

Post pictures from wifi basic and radio pages

If I log into Admin, then click Advanced, then Wireless, then Basic, I get these first two sections:

1. 2.4 GHz tab show Primary Network Status Enabled, [my SSID and PW], Channel Auto, Bandwidth 20 Mhz, Sideband for Control Channel Lower (uneditable), Protected Management Frames Off. I haven't modified these.
2. 5 GHz tab is identical except that Bandwidth is 80 Mhz.

In the Radio tab, in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz tabs, it shows Radio Enabled.

Not sure what this is has to do with getting my printer connected to the 2G network viewable on my computers connected to the 5G network.

Also I noticed that my computer connected directly to the modem using ethernet cable can't find the printer either. I tried re-connecting the printer to the WiFi again and it said it connected fine.

All I know is I did something last time to get the printer to be recognized on all computers, but I don't remember what. I was using separate SSIDs for 2/5G, but that didn't work after modem reset so I don't know what I'm supposed to do in settings. I'd prefer to just keep my 1 Wifi for both bands, which should work better with the printer, but I don't see what's wrong.

 

[hang-the-9]

Sounds like you have the newer options that merges the management of the 2.4 and 5 ghz bands into one. There should be an option there to set them up as originally.

What band the devices connect to does not matter, they are all going to the same network connection and router/modem, so the fact one is on 2.4 and one is on 5 does not matter to what the network devices see.

Does your printer actually connect to the router fine? If it does what exactly is the issue? You can't print? It is very likely you just need to setup the printer again on the computer since the IP is likely to have changed on the printer and your old setup just can't see the new setup.

 

[oisjdfoijwefsoijhwef]

Sounds like you have the newer options that merges the management of the 2.4 and 5 ghz bands into one. There should be an option there to set them up as originally.

What band the devices connect to does not matter, they are all going to the same network connection and router/modem, so the fact one is on 2.4 and one is on 5 does not matter to what the network devices see.

These two paragraphs look contradictory; the "original" way I had it (when the printer worked) was dual mode, so saying there should be an option to set them up the original way implies that dual mode would fix it... but doing it that way after the first reset was when I noticed the problem. Note that the first reset (selecting dual mode) was after some Comcast cable issues, and the second (selecting single mode) was to try to fix the printer problem. All I know is that I got the printer was recognized before all of this but I don't remember exactly what I did to make it work, and I'm not seeing what to select in modem settings to do this.

I agree with your second paragraph that single/dual mode has nothing to do with it; the printer should be recognized by other devices regardless of single/dual mode or the band each devices use. The modem allowed the printer on its own 2G network to be recognized by 5G devices on their own network, so why wouldn't it allow them to communicate on the same network in single mode?!

The point is I need to know what to do in modem settings to get 5G devices on the SSID to recognize the 2G printer on that same SSID. Motorola's manual on this is not clear; I don't know what to click or type in Admin. You can view the manual here - https://motorolacable.com/support/MG7550/ - if you click the "Download User Manual" (https://motorolacable.com/documents/MG7550-UserManual-revB.pdf). Have you used the modem before? Can you translate where the manual says how to fix the problem? What the hll did I click before to enable the 5G devices to see the 2G devices?

Does your printer actually connect to the router fine?

Yes. When it doesn't it shows me an error. When it works it says "Connected" on its screen and shows a green WiFi icon. Also, the modem showed a new lease that appeared to be for the printer. The modem is recognizing the printer on the dual-band single SSID.

If it does what exactly is the issue? You can't print?

I already described the issue; the 5G-connected devices on the SSID network aren't seeing the 2G-connected printer on the same SSID network.

It is very likely you just need to setup the printer again on the computer since the IP is likely to have changed on the printer and your old setup just can't see the new setup.

This is possible, since last time it worked, I ran through Brother's CD install while the printer was connected through USB (before it was connected to WiFi), and I guess the Windows Brother app just made it all work. This seems silly though considering the printer's interface lets me connect to WiFi; why does it require installing a Windows app to get Windows to recognize the device on the network? I don't like Brother's software, and who knows if it'll always be supported anyway. I don't even know where the CD is anymore 😆

I guess I'll have to try going through that process again just to get Windows to recognize the printer on the network 🤦‍♂️ This is so dumb. If Brother's gonna require this, they shouldn't let the user connect to WiFi from the printer when it's not gonna be useful.

 

[hang-the-9]

So if the printer is on the network, get the IP of the printer and install it using that IP using the add printer wizard. Just select a manual setup, use a TCP/IP port and plug in the IP of the printer. You should have the drivers for the printer downloaded since it's likely to ask you what driver to use. If it's not listed already, point the setup to the drivers you downloaded.