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Knowledge document #156

USB printer does not print when used as a network printer

A USB printer that is connected to the FRITZ!Box and configured as a network printer does not respond to print jobs from a computer in the home network.

Simply proceed as described below. After each measure, check whether the problem is solved.

1 Disabling the option "use printer online" for the printer

The following step is only necessary if you are sending the print jobs from a Windows computer:

Windows 11

  1. Click (Start) and then (Settings) in the Windows task bar.
  2. Click "Bluetooth & devices" in the "Settings" menu.
  3. Click "Printers & scanners".
  4. Click the printer that is connected to the FRITZ!Box.
  5. Click "Open print queue".
  6. Click "Printer" in the next window.
  7. If there is a checkmark in front of the option "Use Printer Offline", click the entry to remove it.

Windows 10

  1. Click (Start) and then (Settings) in the Windows task bar.
  2. Click "Devices" in the "Settings" menu.
  3. Click "Printers & scanners".
  4. Click the printer that is connected to the FRITZ!Box.
  5. Click "Open queue".
  6. Click "Printer" in the next window.
  7. If there is a checkmark in front of the option "Use Printer Offline", click the entry to remove it.

2 Disabling bidirectional support for the printer

Windows 10 / 8:

The option "enable bidirectional support" cannot be enabled for network printers in Windows 10 and Windows 8. It is therefore not necessary to adjust the printer settings.

Windows 7:

  1. In Windows, click "Start" and then "Devices and Printers".
  2. Right-click the printer that is connected to the FRITZ!Box and select "Printer properties" from the context menu.
  3. Switch to the "Ports" tab.
  4. Disable the option "Enable bidirectional support".
  5. Click "Apply" to save the settings.

macOS, Linux, and other operating systems:

  1. Disable bidirectional support for the printer. Information on the procedure can be obtained from the manufacturer, or refer to the operating system's help.

3 Configuring the firewall

  1. Configure the firewall on the computer to allow outgoing connections to TCP port 9100 on the FRITZ!Box. Information on how to set up the firewall can be obtained from the manufacturer.

4 Printer does not support the operating mode

A printer must be able to process data in RAW format (unidirectional RAW over TCP) in order to be used as a network printer via USB cable. Printers that require encapsulated or bidirectional data transfer cannot be used as network printers via USB cable. This applies to some GDI printers ("Windows printers"), LIDIL printers ("Lightweight Imaging Device Interface Language"), and DOT4 printers (IEEE 1284 standard), for example.

Workaround

  1. If the printer is equipped with a LAN port or Wi-Fi, use a network cable or Wi-Fi to connect the printer and configure it as a network printer.
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