HP Scan to Network Folder Setup - not very user friendly!

[usagora]

Just got a new HP Color LaserJet Pro printer and was attempting to set up a network folder to be able to scan to from the printer's touch screen. Wow, what a complicated mess to set this up! Here is the support article I finally found that helped me get it working:

HP OfficeJet Pro 9010, 9020 Printers - Set Up and Use a Scan to Network Folder | HP® Customer Support

Learn how to set up the Scan to Network folder on your HP OfficeJet Pro 9010 or 9020 printer.

support.hp.com

(says it's for a different printer model than mine, but the procedure is the same)

The 2 confusing things are:

1. You can't use the network path as it appears shown under System Preferences > Sharing. From the above support article:

If the shared folder name is Scanned Documents and smb address is smb://192.168.1.77, the Network Path would be \\192.168.1.77\Scanned Documents.

So you have to remove "smb:" and also change the forward slashes to backslashes.

2. You have to set the printer to GMT (NOT GMT + or - anything) using the printer's web interface. If you don't, the printer will say your credentials are incorrect when you try to connect to the network folder, because it's reading your system time in GMT, not your local time zone. And not only that, you have to then google the current GMT time and manually enter that in as it will not automatically do that.

So now my printer's touch screen does not match my local time because it's showing the GMT time (and I don't live in London, lol!). That seems very bizarre to me, but I guess it's of no real consequence as long as it allows me to scan to the network folder.

I hope this helps others!

 

[satcomer]

Just put in printers IP in your favorite browser and that will take you the printers web face to control it!

 

[usagora]

Just put in printers IP in your favorite browser and that will take you the printers web face to control it!

I understand that, but I'm talking about walk-up scanning, where you control everything from the printer's touch screen and it sends the scan to your network folder. So I was pointing out 2 points of that setup process that I thought were confusing/cumbersome in case other people face the same issue.

 

[Chungkring]

I've tried repeatedly to use those instructions for my LaserJet M281fdw, but with no success. The user interface for the web control is different from their example though, and there's no option to set the computer to use GMT as the time.

HP's support website is useless. It doesn't have a video for this on its YouTube channel, and its chatbot is one of the worst I've ever come across. The videos I could find on YouTube that were helpful were instead for a KonicaMinolta device, but that company offers greater options for configuring the SMB networking, which I'm guessing might be behind my problems.

HP is so inept that the firmware update it provides for download for my device hasn't been notarised with Apple, so my Mac Studio (12.3.1) won't even open it. And the Read Iris OCR software won't install.

My advice? HP's OK for printing, but forget about any greater functionality that they try to sell Mac users on.

 

[usagora]

I've tried repeatedly to use those instructions for my LaserJet M281fdw, but with no success. The user interface for the web control is different from their example though, and there's no option to set the computer to use GMT as the time.

HP's support website is useless. It doesn't have a video for this on its YouTube channel, and its chatbot is one of the worst I've ever come across. The videos I could find on YouTube that were helpful were instead for a KonicaMinolta device, but that company offers greater options for configuring the SMB networking, which I'm guessing might be behind my problems.

HP is so inept that the firmware update it provides for download for my device hasn't been notarised with Apple, so my Mac Studio (12.3.1) won't even open it. And the Read Iris OCR software won't install.

My advice? HP's OK for printing, but forget about any greater functionality that they try to sell Mac users on.

Are you not able to update the firmware directly from the printer control panel or through the printer's web page? I was able to do so with mine. I know we have different models, but that seems like it should be a pretty basic update option on any printer.

And just to be clear, you're saying your printer's web page has no Settings > Preferences > Date & Time option like shown below?

 

[Chungkring]

Are you not able to update the firmware directly from the printer control panel or through the printer's web page? I was able to do so with mine. I know we have different models, but that seems like it should be a pretty basic update option on any printer.

And just to be clear, you're saying your printer's web page has no Settings > Preferences > Date & Time option like shown below?

View attachment 1996400

Yes, my printer's web interface looks completely different and my guess is that it's an older version of the built in web server. Screen shot attached. Also attached are the error messages I got when trying to install the firmware update downloaded from HP. There is no functionality for editing the date and time settings in my device's web settings, nor to update firmware. Also, ReadIris Pro fails to install. This may be an issue to do with changes to the macOS architecture over the last year or two (particularly Monterey), but that has been the default shipping OS with new Macs for several months.

 

[usagora]

Yes, my printer's web interface looks completely different and my guess is that it's an older version of the built in web server. Screen shot attached. Also attached are the error messages I got when trying to install the firmware update downloaded from HP. There is no functionality for editing the date and time settings in my device's web settings, nor to update firmware. Also, ReadIris Pro fails to install. This may be an issue to do with changes to the macOS architecture over the last year or two (particularly Monterey), but that has been the default shipping OS with new Macs for several months.

You're on the networking tab on the printer's web page in that screenshot. I'm assuming you checked the "System" tab too and see no option for setting the printer time (or firmware updates). But what about updating the firmware from the printer touch screen itself like I mentioned? I don't believe I've ever had a printer with a touch screen that couldn't do that. For my current HP LaserJet, it's under Setup > Printer Maintenance > Update the Printer.

As for software installs being blocked on the Mac, normally they will appear after that under System Preferences > Security so you can manually override the block. But that error message is one I haven't seen before (the one I'm used to seeing is that macOS couldn't install the app because it's from an unidentified developer - seems like the idea is the same though), so maybe it's different in your case.

 

[Chungkring]

You're on the networking tab on the printer's web page in that screenshot. I'm assuming you checked the "System" tab too and see no option for setting the printer time (or firmware updates). But what about updating the firmware from the printer touch screen itself like I mentioned? I don't believe I've ever had a printer with a touch screen that couldn't do that. For my current HP LaserJet, it's under Setup > Printer Maintenance > Update the Printer.

As for software installs being blocked on the Mac, normally they will appear after that under System Preferences > Security so you can manually override the block. But that error message is one I haven't seen before (the one I'm used to seeing is that macOS couldn't install the app because it's from an unidentified developer - seems like the idea is the same though), so maybe it's different in your case.

Yes, I've been through all the tabs, and none of them have any option for setting the printer time or firmware. Nor are there any options with regard to its SMB networking protocols.

It tells me (as does the printer touchscreen) that the firmware installed has a date code of 20190716. HP's website tells me that the newer firmware has a date code of 20220316. I can download the .dmg file, but double clicking on the file inside is what produces the error message in the screenshot I posted above. Maybe I'm supposed to mount the disk image in Disk Utility and create a USB flash drive from this disk image, but the HP website doesn't tell me this is the case. When I go through the steps on the printer touchscreen for checking for a firmware update, it tells me none is found, so I can't install it that way. The notes for the firmware update do talk about updating the 'network stack', but they also indicate several previous firmware updates that my printer also doesn't find online from the utility accessed via the touchscreen.

In terms of overriding the block in System Preferences > Security, this isn't offered as an option. In Monterey I can't find an option to do this, even when option-clicking on the 'Advanced' button in that preference pane. That also doesn't explain why the ReadIrisPro installer will make it most of the way through the installation process before failing.

 

[usagora]

Yes, I've been through all the tabs, and none of them have any option for setting the printer time or firmware. Nor are there any options with regard to its SMB networking protocols.

It tells me (as does the printer touchscreen) that the firmware installed has a date code of 20190716. HP's website tells me that the newer firmware has a date code of 20220316. I can download the .dmg file, but double clicking on the file inside is what produces the error message in the screenshot I posted above. Maybe I'm supposed to mount the disk image in Disk Utility and create a USB flash drive from this disk image, but the HP website doesn't tell me this is the case. When I go through the steps on the printer touchscreen for checking for a firmware update, it tells me none is found, so I can't install it that way. The notes for the firmware update do talk about updating the 'network stack', but they also indicate several previous firmware updates that my printer also doesn't find online from the utility accessed via the touchscreen.

In terms of overriding the block in System Preferences > Security, this isn't offered as an option. In Monterey I can't find an option to do this, even when option-clicking on the 'Advanced' button in that preference pane. That also doesn't explain why the ReadIrisPro installer will make it most of the way through the installation process before failing.
View attachment 1996604

Before trying any of the following, I'd restart my Mac just to be safe.

I was just able to download and open the HP firmware update dmg file you linked to, even after receiving the same identical error message. I clicked OK on the error message, then immediately went to System Preferences > Security on the General tab and saw the override option at the bottom as I described earlier. I'm also on 12.3.1, so I suggest you try again, because it's definitely working for me (I did click Open Anyway and it successfully opened the dmg file):

As for Readiris, it appears they have a newer version than you're using, Readiris 17, but they don't specify Monterrey in the "Minimum Required Configuration" area. In fact, it seems outdated, as their wording implies Big Sur is the latest macOS version. However, it does offer a free trial, so if I were you, I'd try installing it. If it fails, then contact the developer. I'd also note that my HP printer did not list macOS 12 as compatible with the printer on HP's website, yet I'm able to use all the printer's functionality just fine on Monterrey, so I take those system requirements with a grain of salt when it comes to newer macOS versions.

If your printer supports scan to network folders (which it does according to HP's website), then there ought to be a settings section for that under the Scan tab on your printer's web interface. That section should have an area where you enter the network path, which is that SMB address (but like I said, you have to drop of the "smb:" and switch the forward slashes to backslashes).

 

[Chungkring]

Before trying any of the following, I'd restart my Mac just to be safe.

I was just able to download and open the HP firmware update dmg file you linked to, even after receiving the same identical error message. I clicked OK on the error message, then immediately went to System Preferences > Security on the General tab and saw the override option at the bottom as I described earlier. I'm also on 12.3.1, so I suggest you try again, because it's definitely working for me (I did click Open Anyway and it successfully opened the dmg file):

View attachment 1996750


View attachment 1996752

As for Readiris, it appears they have a newer version than you're using, Readiris 17, but they don't specify Monterrey in the "Minimum Required Configuration" area. In fact, it seems outdated, as their wording implies Big Sur is the latest macOS version. However, it does offer a free trial, so if I were you, I'd try installing it. If it fails, then contact the developer. I'd also note that my HP printer did not list macOS 12 as compatible with the printer on HP's website, yet I'm able to use all the printer's functionality just fine on Monterrey, so I take those system requirements with a grain of salt when it comes to newer macOS versions.

If your printer supports scan to network folders (which it does according to HP's website), then there ought to be a settings section for that under the Scan tab on your printer's web interface. That section should have an area where you enter the network path, which is that SMB address (but like I said, you have to drop of the "smb:" and switch the forward slashes to backslashes).

Success!

This time when I went to the security preference pane I saw the option to override. I've seen (and used) that option before, but thought it had been removed in macOS12 or on Apple Silicon Macs since I hadn't seen it since getting my Mac Studio. This time I had system preferences open on that pane when I tried to install the firmware and got the warning. The override option displayed, and worked, and I was able to update the printer's firmware.

That obviously fixed the networking issue, because without any changes to the pathname and user name for the folder to save scans to, the configuration I'd previously entered but not had any joy with now worked. Even better, I have made it work now with a second user account on my Mac (a standard user with no admin privileges) so I don't have to store my computer's admin account password in HP's server (which seems to talk a lot back to its mothership about printer usage).

I contacted support at Read Iris last night and they got back to me promptly with a link to download and install a version of the software that installed correctly and activated properly.

Many thanks for your help - much appreciated.

 

[usagora]

Success!

This time when I went to the security preference pane I saw the option to override. I've seen (and used) that option before, but thought it had been removed in macOS12 or on Apple Silicon Macs since I hadn't seen it since getting my Mac Studio. This time I had system preferences open on that pane when I tried to install the firmware and got the warning. The override option displayed, and worked, and I was able to update the printer's firmware.

That obviously fixed the networking issue, because without any changes to the pathname and user name for the folder to save scans to, the configuration I'd previously entered but not had any joy with now worked. Even better, I have made it work now with a second user account on my Mac (a standard user with no admin privileges) so I don't have to store my computer's admin account password in HP's server (which seems to talk a lot back to its mothership about printer usage).

I contacted support at Read Iris last night and they got back to me promptly with a link to download and install a version of the software that installed correctly and activated properly.

Many thanks for your help - much appreciated.

Wow, a grand slam of success! That's all great news. Always such a relief when nagging technical issues get ironed out!