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Author Topic: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi  (Read 1258 times)

Brad Johnson

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Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« on: January 30, 2019, 05:49:21 PM »
We have a couple of HP Officejet pro 8720 printers that may be interfering with general wifi connectivity in their area. I tried disabling wifi in the printer menu but discovered, via WiFi Analyzer, that it doesn't really "disable" wifi, it just stops broadcasting an SSID signal. The radio is still active.

My Google Fu failed and I don't see a reasonably common way to completely disable the function short of turning off the printer. Anyone here have a super-sekrit method of killing the radio functionality (short of clipping wires, which I've considered)?

Brad
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dogmush

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2019, 05:58:51 PM »
Pull the WiFi board off the motherboard?  It's probably modular.
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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2019, 06:01:44 PM »
Are they networked (Ethernet) just USB?

If networked, you can kill the WiFi by remote access to the HP printer.

-C
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2019, 06:10:27 PM »
USB. This needs to be easily reversible. I'm trying to disable them to test. I can't go around hacking on them or I would have already pulled the side panel.

Brad
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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2019, 06:27:21 PM »
Google isn't real clear on whether turning the wifi "off" means off in the electrical engineering sense of not emitting any RFI or not.  Ditto charby's suggestions to log into the web interface on the printer, even if you have to temporarily reconnect the printer to the WiFi.  There are usually a lot more options in the web control panel than there are directly on the printer's control panel.

One other good suggestion I saw was to make sure the printer firmware is up to date.  I've seen printers with firmware that is way out of date.  That can cause weird behavior.
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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2019, 06:33:34 PM »
Has it demanded a kitten as a sacrifice yet ??
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lee n. field

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2019, 06:37:15 PM »
Quote from: dogmush on January 30, 2019, 05:58:51 PM
Pull the WiFi board off the motherboard?  It's probably modular.

That was my thought.  If you're lucky, they'd just use the same kind of wireless card you'd find in a laptop.

let me dig and see if I can find a maintenance manual for that.
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lee n. field

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2019, 06:45:44 PM »
Quote from: Brad Johnson on January 30, 2019, 05:49:21 PM
We have a couple of HP Officejet pro 8720 printers that may be interfering with general wifi connectivity in their area. I tried disabling wifi in the printer menu but discovered, via WiFi Analyzer, that it doesn't really "disable" wifi, it just stops broadcasting an SSID signal. The radio is still active.

My Google Fu failed and I don't see a reasonably common way to completely disable the function short of turning off the printer. Anyone here have a super-sekrit method of killing the radio functionality (short of clipping wires, which I've considered)?

Brad

OK, didn't find HP's usual "maintenance and service guide", found the regular user guide.

Were you connecting to your in house wireless, or letting it do it's own thing?

If you're printing USB, connect the printer through wired ethernet, and connect to the printer's internal configuration web page.  There will (likely) be more options working thorugh that.  Do any firmware updates that are available.  

I would suggest if you can't actually disable it, set the channel to something two or three (at least) channels away from what your house wifi is using.  or, if you were letting HP's wifi just do its own thing, instead join it to the house wifi.
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RoadKingLarry

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2019, 09:17:40 AM »
Quote from: Brad Johnson on January 30, 2019, 06:10:27 PM
USB. This needs to be easily reversible. I'm trying to disable them to test. I can't go around hacking on them or I would have already pulled the side panel.

Brad

Reversible? Well, that lets out det cord...Bummer.
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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2019, 12:12:36 PM »
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #10 on: January 31, 2019, 12:36:15 PM »
At work. Office has two people with dedicated printers at their desk. Both are the aforementioned HP's. They are having intermittent issues with wifi connectivity - sometimes won't connect, sometimes will connect but will drop at the first sign of activity. Sometimes no issues at all.

I'm pretty sure it's the aging wifi node on that end of the building. It's old enough that it's only a b/g unit. Given the age (circa 2008-ish) I'm putting money on age-related issue exacerbated by heat. We have to play IT Support's game and go through their hoops but I'm on the phone with Infrastructure as I type this to try and get an age on the unit.

Brad
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RoadKingLarry

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #11 on: January 31, 2019, 03:36:34 PM »
Now you  know where to deploy the detcord!
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #12 on: January 31, 2019, 03:54:13 PM »
More info. All the access points are Cisco Aironet 1230B. Installed in 2005. EOL'd by Cisco in 2010. And we have a building full of them. Lovely.

Brad
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lee n. field

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #13 on: January 31, 2019, 03:59:59 PM »
Quote from: Brad Johnson on January 31, 2019, 12:36:15 PM
At work. Office has two people with dedicated printers at their desk. Both are the aforementioned HP's. They are having intermittent issues with wifi connectivity - sometimes won't connect, sometimes will connect but will drop at the first sign of activity. Sometimes no issues at all.

I'm pretty sure it's the aging wifi node on that end of the building. It's old enough that it's only a b/g unit. Given the age (circa 2008-ish) I'm putting money on age-related issue exacerbated by heat. We have to play IT Support's game and go through their hoops but I'm on the phone with Infrastructure as I type this to try and get an age on the unit.

Brad

does wifi work ok when the printers are powered off?  Pull the plug, to make sure it's inert.
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lee n. field

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #14 on: January 31, 2019, 04:01:06 PM »
Quote from: Brad Johnson on January 31, 2019, 03:54:13 PM
More info. All the access points are Cisco Aironet 1230B. Installed in 2005. EOL'd by Cisco in 2010. And we have a building full of them. Lovely.

Brad

Ohhh, ancient.

Have they been power cycled in a while?   That, all by itself, might help.
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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #15 on: January 31, 2019, 04:54:01 PM »
Quote from: lee n. field on January 31, 2019, 03:59:59 PM
does wifi work ok when the printers are powered off?

According to Wifi Analyzer, yes. The signal drops to zero when they power off.

Brad
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lee n. field

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #16 on: January 31, 2019, 05:20:21 PM »
Quote from: Brad Johnson on January 31, 2019, 04:54:01 PM
According to Wifi Analyzer, yes. The signal drops to zero when they power off.

Brad

Power them on, and check the channel they're using, vs. whatever the building wifi you connect to is using.
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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #17 on: January 31, 2019, 05:39:26 PM »
That WAP is broadcasting on channel 4, the printers on channel 6.

The whole building is awash in signal. Sitting at my desk I count no few than ten devices in range, sometimes as many as sixteen. Four of the devices are WAPs with two connection possibilities per channel, per device (one for University credentials, one for guest).

Brad
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It's all about the pancakes, people.
"And he thought cops wouldn't chase... a STOLEN DONUT TRUCK???? That would be like Willie Nelson ignoring a pickup full of weed."
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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #18 on: January 31, 2019, 06:14:48 PM »
Quote from: Amy Schumer on January 31, 2019, 12:12:36 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wsjroVlu8

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #19 on: January 31, 2019, 06:57:41 PM »
Quote from: French G. on January 31, 2019, 06:14:48 PM
That's why I still come to APS. See random link. That better be what I think it is. It is!!!!

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Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants won't help.


Bring me my Broadsword and a clear understanding.
Get up to the roundhouse on the cliff-top standing.
Take women and children and bed them down.
Bless with a hard heart those that stand with me.
Bless the women and children who firm our hands.
Put our backs to the north wind.
Hold fast by the river.
Sweet memories to drive us on,
for the motherland.

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #20 on: February 02, 2019, 07:22:49 PM »
Quote from: Brad Johnson on January 31, 2019, 05:39:26 PM
That WAP is broadcasting on channel 4, the printers on channel 6.

The whole building is awash in signal. Sitting at my desk I count no few than ten devices in range, sometimes as many as sixteen. Four of the devices are WAPs with two connection possibilities per channel, per device (one for University credentials, one for guest).

Brad

In the 2.4Ghz spectrum, those two channels overlap.
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lee n. field

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #21 on: February 03, 2019, 08:10:39 PM »
Quote
In the 2.4Ghz spectrum, those two channels overlap.

Who provided these printers?   IT dept recommended, or you just go out and buy them?

Quote
All the access points are Cisco Aironet 1230B. Installed in 2005. EOL'd by Cisco in 2010. And we have a building full of them. Lovely.

Do the access points have the most current available firmware?  (You watch.  Access to configure them is going to require a very old version of Java.  Seen it!)
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Brad Johnson

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Re: Hivemind advice - truly disabling wifi
« Reply #22 on: February 04, 2019, 10:57:01 AM »
WAPs are controlled by campus IT/Telecomm. Best I can do is glare at them in disgusted contempt. I asked if they could upgrade the unit to something that wasn't old enough to vote. They laughed and said they would be happy to swap out the unit... for another 1200. Apparently they have a room full of the things as spares.

Brad
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