Convert Ethernet Printer To Wireless

Wade Garrett

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Jul 5, 2021, 9:37:42 AM7/5/21

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I want to set up a Canon MF216n Ethernet printer as a wireless printer.

I have a spare router to use-- though that router would not be able to
be connected to the internet. That's because my gateway is several rooms
away from where the printer is as that is where the internet cable comes
into the house.

So I connect the printer to the router-- then what?

nospam

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Jul 5, 2021, 10:28:25 AM7/5/21

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In article <sbv1v4$3ac$1...@dont-email.me>, Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net>
wrote:

the router needs to be able to act as a client bridge. not all can, but
assuming it does, you have it join the existing wifi network with the
printer connected to one of the lan ports. if it can't, you will need
another router than can, a dedicated client bridge or a new printer
with wifi. in general, travel routers can do it because it's common to
join the hotel's wifi and relay it locally.

Wolffan

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Jul 5, 2021, 10:49:55 AM7/5/21

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On 2021 Jul 05, Wade Garrett wrote
(in article <sbv1v4$3ac$1...@dont-email.me>):

If the printer is on the network, and if the router has wireless or there’s
a wireless access point on the network, then the printer will be visible to
wireless clients.

1 put printer on Ethernet connection to main router. Typical twisted-pair
Ethernet has a max segment length of 100 metres, that should be plenty for
most houses. I have my main router downstairs near the AT&T demarc, and have
run 1000baseT Ethernet to two 8-port switches, feeding various devices,
including two printers, and have a wireless extender on the upper floor to
feed wireless.

2 connect the wireless clients to the network. The printer should show up.

Do NOT use a second wireless-capable router unless the second router is
connected in bridge mode, preferably by Ethernet. You’ll either have two
wireless networks, one of which is not connected to the Internet, or possible
DHCP issues. And problematic Internet connections.

Wade Garrett

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Jul 5, 2021, 10:59:34 AM7/5/21

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The printer is not on the network. It's connected directly to my desktop
computer by a cable. The main router is several rooms away and
connecting it to the printer by Ethernet cable is not feasible.

I'll fool with setting the second router to bridge mode-- but won't be
able to try that until tomorrow.

Thanks for the tips.

nospam

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Jul 5, 2021, 11:02:32 AM7/5/21

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In article <0001HW.2693538D0C...@news.supernews.com>,

Wolffan <akwo...@zoho.com> wrote:

> > I want to set up a Canon MF216n Ethernet printer as a wireless printer.
> >
> > I have a spare router to use-- though that router would not be able to
> > be connected to the internet. That's because my gateway is several rooms
> > away from where the printer is as that is where the internet cable comes
> > into the house.
> >
> > So I connect the printer to the router-- then what?
>

> If the printer is on the network, and if the router has wireless or there零

> a wireless access point on the network, then the printer will be visible to
> wireless clients.

i don't think he would be asking if it was already connected to the
network.

another option is use a pair of adapters that link ethernet to the
mains wiring in the walls. put one where the gateway is and the other
at the printer. they're more than fast enough for printing.

nospam

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Jul 5, 2021, 11:07:36 AM7/5/21

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In article <sbv6ok$6tn$1...@dont-email.me>, Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net>
wrote:

> I'll fool with setting the second router to bridge mode-- but won't be
> able to try that until tomorrow.

it needs wifi client mode, otherwise it won't be able to join the
existing wifi network, as a typical wifi client would.

travel routers, which are small and sometimes have their own battery,
can usually do that (but not all), while normal routers generally don't
unless an alternate firmware is installed.

as i mentioned in another post, it might be a lot easier to get a pair
of ethernet over powerline adapters.

Percival John Hackworth

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Jul 5, 2021, 12:20:13 PM7/5/21

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Since it's connected directly to your system, it lacks the ability to queue
print jobs. Why not get a Rasberry Pi and set it up as a print server? This
assumes that your printer isn't a Windows-only printer requiring Windows to
print anything. If that's the case, toss it and buy a network capable printer.
It will be cheaper than buying a Windows license for a Rasberry Pi, installing
W10 on it, and using that as a print server.
--
DeeDee, don't press that button! DeeDee! NO! Dee...

Bennett Price

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Jul 5, 2021, 12:57:43 PM7/5/21

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since the printer has a usb port, consider getting a wifi-usb print
server, e.g.,
https://www.amazon.com/usb-print-server/s?k=usb+print+server

Wolffan

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Jul 5, 2021, 1:22:21 PM7/5/21

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On 2021 Jul 05, Wade Garrett wrote

(in article <sbv6ok$6tn$1...@dont-email.me>):

turn on print/file sharing. Note that if the computer the printer’s
connected to is off or asleep, the printer won’t be available. Note that
all print jobs go via the computer, which might slow larger print jobs down.

Andreas Kohlbach

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Jul 5, 2021, 3:35:49 PM7/5/21

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Substituting Ethernet with USB here, I connected the only USB capable
printer to my (Linux) PC, which has otherwise access to my cable modem
via Ethernet, and launched hostapd, to make the PC a WIFI master
node. Using CUPS I shared the print service to devices connected to it.

I suppose you can somehow do this with other operating systems
too. Apparently you use a MAC (since also posting in a MAC group). CUPS
is an Apple application (although it made it to the main print service in
Linux), so from the MAC point of view CUPS should be the answer.
--
Andreas

PGP fingerprint 952B0A9F12C2FD6C9F7E68DAA9C2EA89D1A370E0

Lewis

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Jul 5, 2021, 6:37:16 PM7/5/21

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In message <ikgppr...@mid.individual.net> Percival John Hackworth <p...@nanoworks.com> wrote:
> Since it's connected directly to your system, it lacks the ability to queue
> print jobs.

Nonsense.

--
But of course there were the rules. Everyone knew there were rules.
They just had to hope like Hell that the gods knew the rules,
too.

Dr Eberhard W Lisse

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Jul 5, 2021, 7:16:37 PM7/5/21

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This is not correct, per se.

You can of course queue from the system. And you can share it so that
it's seen on the network.

I have a Canon MF8200C, which is connected to my Mac which is on a
different network than my WiFi, to which the printer also connects. On
the WiFi it is seen via Airprint and printing works from those laptops
that have found and installed Canon's driver.

Google is your friend, by the way.

el

On 2021-07-05 18:20 , Percival John Hackworth wrote:
[...]

> Since it's connected directly to your system, it lacks the ability to
> queue print jobs.

[...]

Percival John Hackworth

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Jul 5, 2021, 11:56:19 PM7/5/21

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On 05-Jul-2021 at 4:16:32PM PDT, "Dr Eberhard W Lisse" <nos...@lisse.NA>
wrote:

When I wrote that, I was specifically thinking of a Windows-only USB printer.
Does W10 allow you to share a connected printer so that others on the network
can see it and print jobs to it? That'd be news to me.

Alan Baker

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Jul 6, 2021, 12:41:59 AM7/6/21

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Ummmm... ...yes.

If that's news to you, that's very sad.

Lewis

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Jul 6, 2021, 9:11:33 AM7/6/21

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Sometimes. Other times you cannot even print to your directly connected
printer. Because Windows. (My most frequent tech calls are "I can't
access the network shares" and "I can't print". Everything was working a
few minutes previous to the call, but now it's tuts up.

> If that's news to you, that's very sad.

Not really, it just means you have lived a happy life of not having to
deal with Winshit.

--
I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I
ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.

paul

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Jul 6, 2021, 1:05:56 PM7/6/21

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nospam wrote on 05.07.2021 10:02

> i don't think he would be asking if it was already connected to the
> network.

Alan Baker

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Jul 6, 2021, 1:11:44 PM7/6/21

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Regardless of whether or not it's working properly, Windows 10 does
ALLOW printer sharing.

>
>> If that's news to you, that's very sad.
>
> Not really, it just means you have lived a happy life of not having to
> deal with Winshit.

Not knowing that Windows has supported printer sharing since forever?

Really?

Stuart

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Jul 6, 2021, 2:48:18 PM7/6/21

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In article <875yxn1...@usenet.ankman.de>,
Andreas Kohlbach <a...@spamfence.net> wrote:
> Can't tell for Windows 10. But when I ran Windows 7 (even emulated in
> Linux) there was an option somewhere to share it to the network. CUPS
> running on the Linux host could also see it. Unless that was removed in
> subsequent Windows versions, Windows 10 can.

I've been running a shared printer on W7 pro (Dell Laser) for years.

--
Stuart Winsor

Tools With A Mission
sending tools across the world
http://www.twam.co.uk/

nospam

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Jul 6, 2021, 3:54:44 PM7/6/21

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In article <sc22he$fri$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, paul <nos...@nospam.invalid>
wrote:

> The OP should be able to connect any computer's Ethernet output to a
> transceiver which can beam his signal literally for miles if he needs to.

that isn't even remotely close to what he asked.

he wants to connect a *printer* to the router in the next *room*.

there are several options available, none of which needs to beam
anything for miles.

Lewis

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Jul 6, 2021, 5:36:15 PM7/6/21

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True enough.

>>> If that's news to you, that's very sad.

>> Not really, it just means you have lived a happy life of not having to
>> deal with Winshit.

> Not knowing that Windows has supported printer sharing since forever?

Why would anyone who has not use Windows need this knowledge? And I know
plenty of people under 30 who do use Windows and would not know this
because they have never printed anything.

> Really?

Really.

--
'An appointment is an engagement to see someone, while a morningstar
is a large lump of metal used for viciously crushing skulls. It
is important not to confuse the two.'

Alan Baker

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Jul 6, 2021, 5:38:04 PM7/6/21

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How could anyone who has used computers long enough to understand that
Windows 10 is not the only version of Windows NOT know it?

>
>> Really?
>
> Really.
>

paul

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Jul 6, 2021, 11:50:18 PM7/6/21

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nospam wrote on 06.07.2021 21:54

>> The OP should be able to connect any computer's Ethernet output to a
>> transceiver which can beam his signal literally for miles if he needs to.
>
> that isn't even remotely close to what he asked.
>
> he wants to connect a *printer* to the router in the next *room*.
>
> there are several options available, none of which needs to beam
> anything for miles.

The OP can simply substitute his printer for the computer in this example.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Gh22Sb2N/desktop.jpg>

The printer _is_ a computer, nospam, even as you don't realize that it is.
<https://i.postimg.cc/6QJqK6Cj/desktop02.jpg>

The OP already mentioned he had a spare router already handy by the way.
<https://i.postimg.cc/25NdBZ7f/horn-to-router.jpg>

What part of this simple equation do you _not_ understand, nospam?

I realize I'm dealing with a Mac group, which means I need to even further
dumb down the technical content of this suggestion, but I hope at least the
OP owns the basic adult cognitive skills necessary to understand the
resources I pointed the OP to have solved his problem _many_ times over.
<https://i.postimg.cc/JhyCRT69/horn-to-sw-itch.jpg>

If this was an Android newsgroup, they'd already _know_ all this stuff.
<https://i.postimg.cc/25v3FT6S/debug-on-android.jpg>

The printer has an Ethernet port which means the printer can be attached to
an inexpensive transceiver which can transmit/receive for _miles_ nospam.
<https://i.postimg.cc/QMNv5FBC/typical-range-ptp.jpg>

The fact his router is not that far doesn't change that basic equation.
<https://i.postimg.cc/s2c2L8Wd/mikrotik-router.jpg>

At the risk of having to dumb this suggestion down to the very barest of
bones for you Mac users, the computer connects to the router which connects
to the printer, all of which can easily be done wirelessly (as long as the
printer has a working Ethernet port, which the OP said it has).
<https://i.postimg.cc/vT0Krpfc/laptop-nanobeam-horn.jpg>

*Connecting an Ethernet-enabled printer over Wi-Fi to a router is child's play*
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.internet.wireless/c/Dpk9EhVreJk/m/Oyb-fuORDQAJ
<https://i.postimg.cc/XJChDCPr/spare-access-points.jpg>

Lewis

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Jul 7, 2021, 3:24:18 AM7/7/21

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Very easily, as I explained.

--
Demons have existed on the Discworld for at least as long as the
gods, who in many ways they closely resemble. The difference is
basically the same as between terrorists and freedom fighters.

Wade Garrett

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Jul 8, 2021, 7:44:05 AM7/8/21

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I disconnected the printer from my iMac by removing the USB cable, then
connected the printer to the spare router with an Ethernet cable, and
changed the selected WiFi network on my iMac to that router's network.

The good news:
I was then able to add the printer to my iMac and print to it wirelessly.

The bad news:
I could not print wirelessly from a Chromebook, iPad, or iPhone...none
of which could see the printer when connected to the spare router's
network.

A Dell Windows laptop could see the printer but I could not install a
working printer driver to it so it would not print.

--
Why is it that the people who want more government control over your
life are the same ones who want you to be disarmed?

Dr Eberhard Lisse

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Jul 8, 2021, 8:04:27 AM7/8/21

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Does

https://www.google.com/search?q=Canon+MF216n+airprint

help, perhaps?

On 08/07/2021 13:44, Wade Garrett wrote:
[...[> The bad news:

> I could not print wirelessly from a Chromebook, iPad, or iPhone...none
> of which could see the printer when connected to the spare router's
> network.
>
> A Dell Windows laptop could see the printer but I could not install a
> working printer driver to it so it would not print.
>

--

To email me replace 'nospam' with 'el'

nospam

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Jul 8, 2021, 9:35:13 AM7/8/21

to

In article <sc6oe3$q0o$1...@dont-email.me>, Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net>
wrote:

>

> The bad news:
> I could not print wirelessly from a Chromebook, iPad, or iPhone...none
> of which could see the printer when connected to the spare router's
> network.

you need airprint for ios devices. most printers in the past 5+ years
have it, and for older printers, you'll need an airprint server on the

network.

> A Dell Windows laptop could see the printer but I could not install a
> working printer driver to it so it would not print.

does canon provide one?

Wolffan

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Jul 10, 2021, 9:02:33 AM7/10/21

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On 2021 Jul 08, Wade Garrett wrote
(in article <sc6oe3$q0o$1...@dont-email.me>):

> On 7/5/21 9:37 AM, Wade Garrett wrote:
> > I want to set up a Canon MF216n Ethernet printer as a wireless printer.
> >
> > I have a spare router to use-- though that router would not be able to
> > be connected to the internet. That's because my gateway is several rooms
> > away from where the printer is as that is where the internet cable comes
> > into the house.
> >
> > So I connect the printer to the router-- then what?
>
> I disconnected the printer from my iMac by removing the USB cable, then
> connected the printer to the spare router with an Ethernet cable, and
> changed the selected WiFi network on my iMac to that router's network.
>
> The good news:
> I was then able to add the printer to my iMac and print to it wirelessly.
>
> The bad news:
> I could not print wirelessly from a Chromebook, iPad, or iPhone...none
> of which could see the printer when connected to the spare router's
> network.
>
> A Dell Windows laptop could see the printer but I could not install a
> working printer driver to it so it would not print.

if you have two different networks, a device on one net ain’t gonna see a
device on the other. You would have to change the net that the iPad/whatever
is on for it to see the second net. I suspect that the Dell could see the
printer because it was on the second net. I would recommend connecting the
two routers by Ethernet, and put one into bridge mode, and thereby setting up
just one net.

Dr Eberhard W Lisse

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Jul 10, 2021, 4:22:04 PM7/10/21

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You may be able to to connect it to the one WiFi and via USB to
the PC on the other from which it is shared. Works on my setup
for a Canon MF8200C and a Mac.

el

Wade Garrett

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Jul 12, 2021, 7:26:09 AM7/12/21

to

On 7/8/21 7:44 AM, Wade Garrett wrote:
> On 7/5/21 9:37 AM, Wade Garrett wrote:
>> I want to set up a Canon MF216n Ethernet printer as a wireless printer.
>>
>> I have a spare router to use-- though that router would not be able to
>> be connected to the internet. That's because my gateway is several
>> rooms away from where the printer is as that is where the internet
>> cable comes into the house.
>>
>> So I connect the printer to the router-- then what?
>
> I disconnected the printer from my iMac by removing the USB cable, then
> connected the printer to the spare router with an Ethernet cable, and
> changed the selected WiFi network on my iMac to that router's network.
>
> The good news:
> I was then able to add the printer to my iMac and print to it wirelessly.
>
> The bad news:
> I could not print wirelessly from a Chromebook, iPad, or iPhone...none
> of which could see the printer when connected to the spare router's
> network.
>
> A Dell Windows laptop could see the printer but I could not install a
> working printer driver to it so it would not print.
>

OP here. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

I tried pretty much all of them that fit the parameters of the original
question- plus whatever ones I found online.

Nothing worked- and while it looked like I bricked the spare router when
I set it to bridge mode, I was able to restore it to factory defaults
and manually restore its settings.

I'm giving up on wireless printing from my Ethernet printer.

If I have a real need for wireless, a new printer ain't all that
expensive, especially if I offset some of the cost by selling my current
one on Craigslist.

Lewis

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Jul 12, 2021, 9:37:39 AM7/12/21

to

In message <sch8sg$fg5$1...@dont-email.me> Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
> I'm giving up on wireless printing from my Ethernet printer.

It's very simple.

1) Setup your printer
2) Add the printer to a Mac
System Preferences -> Printers & Scanners
3) Click "Share this printer on the network
4) Profit!

And yes, even lesser computer will be able to print to the printer.

> If I have a real need for wireless, a new printer ain't all that
> expensive, especially if I offset some of the cost by selling my current
> one on Craigslist.

I would not be too confident of being able to get any money for an old
printer. It's hard to get any money for a NEW printer.

--
Eliot: Becoming me was the greatest creative project of my life.