Trying to set up a printer Acer Chromebook 15 series CB3-532

I had my printer connected to the computer with a USB cable. The computer immediately said it detected the printer but that it needed configuration. I Googled it to see what that meant, went to Settings>Advanced>Printing and the brand and model of my printer was showing there, but not anywhere that I could click on it. I chose Add Manually, put in the printer's IP address, and continually got a red message that now it couldn't detect the printer and to add the address again. Tried 5 or 6 times, closing out and starting from the very beginning, but still get the same contradictory message. Any ideas? I didn't know until half an hour ago that I could use the printer I have instead of having to buy a wireless one, so I was very encouraged for awhile!

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JackE

Sounds like the printer's wired ethernet address is being manually entered into the chromebook's wifi address setting. Can you find an entry for a wired ethernet settings? Jack E/NJ

Lauren66

Jack - Even after Googling this I'm not clear where I should be looking for wired ethernet settings. When I look at Network Info, in the tray, I see 3 options: IP address (which is what I used), IPv6, and Wi-fi. Ethernet is not mentioned. My computer is not connected directly to the modem, if that matters - it's in another room. I live in an apartment so the wiring is all in the wall and I screw a cable into that to connect to my Internet.
There are 6 different options for Protocol in the Chromebook settings under Printing: IPP, IPPS,HTTP, HTTPS, AppSocket (TCP/IP), and Line Printer Daemon (LPD). Is any of that helpful (or even relevant!)?

JackE

Try this. Select settings again on the bottom right. Selected the advanced option. Then in printing options select 'printers'. Select add nearby printers. Select add manually. Enter the printer's wired ethernet address. Select IPP protocol and ipp/print queue. Click on 'add'. Jack E/NJ

Lauren66

I appreciate your willingness to converse, Jack, but you're still telling me to enter the ethernet address. I Googled it and found out that the wi-fi address is the MAC address on a Chromebook. I also found that a MAC address and an ethernet address are the same thing. But when I enter the wi-fi address, nothing happens. Absolutely nothing. The window that I just entered the info into just sits there. The Chromebook is still recognizing the printer and still saying that it needs "configuration."

JackE

Did you find the advanced option inside the settings icon in the tray on the bottom right? Jack E/NJ

Lauren66

There is no advanced option in the tray. It's in Settings. That's how I have to get to the printer set-up.

JackE

In the printer setup, is there an option to add 'nearby printer' ? Jack E/NJ

billsey

Make sure the printer is logged into Google Cloud Print and print through there. You said you were connected to the printer via USB and that doesn't use an Ethernet address. The MAC address and the IP address are two different things, but are tied together. The MAC address is defined by the hardware and is unique to each physical port, the IP address is provided usually by a DHCP server and is only unique to your network.

Lauren66

billsey - My printer doesn't have that wi-fi "button," so my understanding is that I can't use Cloud Print with it. Am I wrong about that?

Lauren66

JackE - Yes, it has that option but choosing it doesn't matter. It still goes to the same window that asks for "name" and "address," and it doesn't like any answer I give it.

Lauren66

I'm going to call Brother on Monday and ask if there is some reason that this particular printer won't work with the Chromebook. If it won't then I'm going to Best Buy, get one that specifically says it will work, and put the one I've got on Craigslist!

JackE

>>>I live in an apartment so the wiring is all in the wall and I screw a cable into that to connect to my Internet. >>>

Is this a coax or rj45 phone-like port? What do you mean by "connect to my internet"? Are you using wifi or not? Jack E/NJ

JackE

>>>Settings>Advanced>Printing and the brand and model of my printer was showing there, but not anywhere that I could click on it.>>>

Also I just re-read your earlier comments. Are you using a cable and a USB adapter to connect your chromebook to the wall port? Jack E/NJ

Lauren66

I have wi-fi but the printer doesn't have that wi-fi button. The USB cable is to connect the printer to the computer. Sorry for the confusion.

JackE

Yes, I understand about the printer. But you said earlier

>>>I screw a cable into that to connect to my Internet.>>>

What do you mean by this comment? Do you mean your chromebook connected to this cable in order to access the internet? Jack E/NJ

Lauren66

Thank you for trying to help me, JackE, but you're really getting side-tracked. Stop worrying about the modem. The modem is fine, the Internet connection is fine, I have wi-fi - none of this really has anything to do with what I was asking about. The issue is that the Chromebook doesn't connect to the printer. As I said, I will call Brother tomorrow and find out if it is possible to connect this particular printer to a Chromebook. Maybe it's not, in which case my question will be answered and I'll go buy another printer.

billsey

@Lauren66, what model of Brother printer do you have? Most of them from the last several years support Google Cloud print. http://www.brother.com/E-ftp/gcp/en/index.html

JackE

>>>Stop worrying about the modem. The modem is fine, the Internet connection is fine, I have wi-fi

Sorry. Let me ask it differently. Is your chromebook anyway connected to the modem's wall port with a cable? Jack E/NJ

Lauren66

So, I bought a wireless printer and spent the day having it trip fuses and mess up my Internet. Finally was able to set it up, it printed a test page from the printer itself, but it won't print a document. In Settings it is recognized as being a printer under Google Cloud Print - it's listed there, not under New Devices - but when I try to print a test sheet that's in Drive it gives me a couple of windows side-by-side - one showing the document and the other one saying Print at the top- but all it wants to do is Save it (as a PDF). If it's showing up in Settings, doesn't that mean it's registered? I thought I was following links to a place to register it, but all it was was a free trial of a bunch of Google stuff. No further mention of registering anything.