HP ENVY 4504 unable to scan in Cinnamon 18.3 through Wireless Direct

[tjlewis84]

Hello Everyone,

Before I begin, I would like to state the following:

I am new to Linux. Please be gentle with me.

OK. Here's the background to my little problem:

I have Linux Mint Cinnamon version 18.3 (32-bit) installed on a Sony Vaio VGN-BZ11MN Laptop and a HP ENVY 4504 All-in-one printer that I would like to use through HP's Wireless Direct connection with this laptop (the USB cable is connected to our desktop machine). I have been able to connect to the printer through the printer's Wireless Direct function (i.e. there are no routers in use) without problem.

I installed the HPLIP packages from the Linux Mint Software Manager. I then went to the Printers App and installed the printer as a network printer. The app managed to pick up the printer all by itself and I went through the installation without any issues. This done, I am able to print to the printer through the Wireless Direct connection all I want to and am very happy with the results.

My problem is, I am not able to scan through the Wireless Direct connection.

I have Simple Scan and XSane installed and if I open either of these programs, I am told that they cannot find any scanner devices.

I then discovered, and opened the HPLIP Toolbox program and noticed that the printer was not listed in there (It seems I have version 3.16.3 of HPLIP). If I try to install a new printer through HPLIP, however, it seems that it cannot pick up the printer over the Wireless Direct connection (I constantly get a No Devices Found message).

Things I have tried (but have not been successful) include:

> Entering the IP address of the HP ENVY in HPLIP.
> Entering the Network Name of the HP ENVY in HPLIP.
> Trying all 3 available discovery methods.

The one thing I have done that did get HPLIP to pick up the printer is to connect it directly to the laptop with the USB cable. If I do this and set the HP ENVY up as a USB connection, I can print and scan on the HP ENVY, but this is not ideal as I have to find and remove the USB cable from the back of the Desktop PC every time I want to print or scan.

So, it seems that if I connect to the printer with the USB cable, I can print and scan all I want. If I connect through Wireless Direct, I can only print.

What makes this slightly embarrassing is that I have a HP OfficeJet 3830 in the office at my workplace, which I installed through a Wireless Direct connection exactly as I described above. I don't know when this OfficeJet got added to HPLIP, but when I thought to check the program later, it was listed. I can print and scan to that printer through Wireless Direct as much as I like.

I conclude that the reason I am unable to scan through Wireless Direct on my HP ENVY 4504 is because the printer's Wireless Direct Connection is not being recognised by HPLIP. But I don't seem to be able to do anything to get HPLIP to pick up the HP ENVY on Wireless Direct.

My question is, has anyone managed to get a HP ENVY 4504 to install on HPLIP through a Wireless Direct connection and can then print and scan, and if so, how did they do it (please remember that I am new to Linux)? I suspect that if I set up the printer to connect to our house's WiFi router I could probably get HPLIP to pick it up, but I would prefer not to connect the printer to our router as it would mean having to switch the router on every time I want to print / scan (I'm one of those folks who turns the router off when not using the Internet).

Any advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.