Printer Problems With Optimum/Suddenlink Modems

Mid February 2023, I have seen a large number of printers that suddenly stopped working with Optimum (formerly Suddenlink) modems. My guess is that Optimum pushed out an update to the modem that is causing the problem. The printer is connected to the modem’s Wi-Fi, but no computer is able to talk to the printer. If you restart, the printer successfully reconnects to the Wi-Fi, but the problem remains. And the only devices having trouble are printers, the brand does not matter. So far, the modem/router that I have confirmed to have this problem is from Oobe.

Further investigations reveal that factory resets will fix the problem temporarily. Sometimes you need to do a factory reset multiple times to fix the problem.

After checking with Optimum tech support, this is an issue they are aware of. They recommend purchasing your own modem and router to fix the problem.

I never recommend renting the cable modem from any cable company. You should buy your own modem and save the $10/month fee. I usually recommend a modem and router separately, but if you don’t want complicated you can a router/modem combo. There are many good choices, so long as it is a DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem. I usually recommend buying the modem and router separate, even though it will cost more.

Advertisement

HP Printer is Very Slow

Here is a problem that affects some HP printers. I can confirm that it affects the OfficeJet 3830 series. It appears that it only affects printers with two ink cartridges. The printer does a sweep, pauses for about 15 seconds, does the next sweep, pauses for about 15 seconds, and so on.

The problem with the printer is that one ink cartridge is bad. You need to remove one and test the printer in single cartridge mode. If the printer is fast again, you found your bad cartridge. If that doesn’t work, remove the other ink cartridge and return the first one. The printer should now be fast. If not, you will need to try again with a fresh cartridge, either color or black. If it still very slow, chances are good the problem is too expensive to fix.

Xerox WorkCentre Printer No Longer Scans to Email

Here is a problem that affect some Xerox printers, especially older Xerox WorkCentre printers. You update your internet settings, and suddenly scan to email does not work anymore. You’ve updated your SMTP settings and are absolutely sure it is correct. It turns out, this is a simple DNS problem. If any of your DNS servers is in the range of 0.0.0.0 to 1.1.1.1, scan to email won’t work. So if you set your router’s DNS servers to Cloudfare’s DNS server of 1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1, it will mess up the Xerox scan to email feature. You can assign a static IP and DNS in the printer manually, or you could just use your ISP’s default DNS servers in your router.