Haven't seen anything posted on this, but a lot of WIFI printers don't work properly in Windows 10. Specifically, everything works great right after you first install the printer, but from then on it won't "wake up" when you send it a print job, and the only solution is rebooting the printer, the PC, or both, and even then it only works until the next time either machine goes to sleep. Pretty annoying, to put it mildly.
The problem: Windows 10 (and it might have started with Windows 8) assigns a new kind of Printer Port (WSD - "Web Services Device") to any printer that is installed using the "autodetect" installation option. The whole idea was that it "makes things easier" since you don't have to tell the O/S what print driver to use and so forth. Unfortunately, since WSD is broken, the path of least resistance automatically becomes the path of total frustration.
The solution: The good news is, there IS one, but it's rather complicated:
Part I: The fix will ONLY work if your printer has an assigned (or “fixed”) IP Address (IP = “Internet Protocol”, not that you probably care or need to know). All IP addresses have the same format: Four numbers (each one up to 3 digits long) separated by a period (for example, my Dad’s printer is 10.0.0.7). Most WIFI printers have one, but the process of FINDING the IP address of a printer is completely different from one make and model to another. So I can’t give you any immediate step-by-step help on this other than to suggest you consult your printer manual (looking for “finding the IP address”) or trying an internet search or (worst case) post a plea for help in this thread (to include printer Make & Model) and I'll try to assist you.
Part II: Once you know the fixed IP Address of your printer, the next step is to assign it in Windows (because your printer knows it, but right now Windows 10 does not).
Rather than list out the umpteen steps involved, please take a look at this Youtube video as it's only 2:41 long and the guy does a pretty good job of showing exactly how to change an existing printer from a USB port to a fixed TCP/IP port. At the 1:00 minute mark the WSD port makes it appearance, and that's the one you need to switch from. However, at the 2:02 mark he skips over the process of getting a driver for a specific printer and instead recommends the "Generic Network Card". That *might* work for you, but I recommend hunting through the drop-down list to find one that's specific to your Make & Model, as that's more likely to give access to your printer's full set of features (ink checking, scanning, etc), and it *should* be on the list (especially if you installed it earlier)
The one caveat is that if you are installing a new printer, the correct print drivers might not show up on the drop-down list, in which case you'll either have to hunt for them on disks/internet or just install the printer using the broken Windows 10 process and then switch it over from WSD to TCP/IP.
Backstory: FWIW, my girlfriend's printer had this problem for a year and my Dad's for the last few months and my early searches turned up nothing but complaints from printer customers and mutual finger pointing between Microsoft and the manufacturers. But once I finally realized they were experiencing identical symptoms from two different manufacturers, that clued me in to start looking deeper and that's when I eventually found that a (very) few people had figured what was really going on.
Anyway, it's a real issue so hopefully this helps a few of you. Probably those on the verge of beating their old printer with a sledgehammer and then buying a new one.....which also wouldn't have worked!
The problem: Windows 10 (and it might have started with Windows 8) assigns a new kind of Printer Port (WSD - "Web Services Device") to any printer that is installed using the "autodetect" installation option. The whole idea was that it "makes things easier" since you don't have to tell the O/S what print driver to use and so forth. Unfortunately, since WSD is broken, the path of least resistance automatically becomes the path of total frustration.
The solution: The good news is, there IS one, but it's rather complicated:
Part I: The fix will ONLY work if your printer has an assigned (or “fixed”) IP Address (IP = “Internet Protocol”, not that you probably care or need to know). All IP addresses have the same format: Four numbers (each one up to 3 digits long) separated by a period (for example, my Dad’s printer is 10.0.0.7). Most WIFI printers have one, but the process of FINDING the IP address of a printer is completely different from one make and model to another. So I can’t give you any immediate step-by-step help on this other than to suggest you consult your printer manual (looking for “finding the IP address”) or trying an internet search or (worst case) post a plea for help in this thread (to include printer Make & Model) and I'll try to assist you.
Part II: Once you know the fixed IP Address of your printer, the next step is to assign it in Windows (because your printer knows it, but right now Windows 10 does not).
Rather than list out the umpteen steps involved, please take a look at this Youtube video as it's only 2:41 long and the guy does a pretty good job of showing exactly how to change an existing printer from a USB port to a fixed TCP/IP port. At the 1:00 minute mark the WSD port makes it appearance, and that's the one you need to switch from. However, at the 2:02 mark he skips over the process of getting a driver for a specific printer and instead recommends the "Generic Network Card". That *might* work for you, but I recommend hunting through the drop-down list to find one that's specific to your Make & Model, as that's more likely to give access to your printer's full set of features (ink checking, scanning, etc), and it *should* be on the list (especially if you installed it earlier)
The one caveat is that if you are installing a new printer, the correct print drivers might not show up on the drop-down list, in which case you'll either have to hunt for them on disks/internet or just install the printer using the broken Windows 10 process and then switch it over from WSD to TCP/IP.
Backstory: FWIW, my girlfriend's printer had this problem for a year and my Dad's for the last few months and my early searches turned up nothing but complaints from printer customers and mutual finger pointing between Microsoft and the manufacturers. But once I finally realized they were experiencing identical symptoms from two different manufacturers, that clued me in to start looking deeper and that's when I eventually found that a (very) few people had figured what was really going on.
Anyway, it's a real issue so hopefully this helps a few of you. Probably those on the verge of beating their old printer with a sledgehammer and then buying a new one.....which also wouldn't have worked!