Wireless printer with Verizon aircard

[Rick Morrison]

Got a request from a friend for help and I'm not quite sure how to approach
this. He has a laptop and is accessing the internet with a Verizon aircard.
He bought a wireless printer and a Netgear router to connect with the
printer. He is getting a message from Windows saying the printer and
computer are connected to different networks and must be connected to the
same network for it to work. Can someone tell me how to set this thing up
so that he can access the internet via the aircard and print to his wireless
printer?

Rick Morrison

 

[Bob Hatch]

Got a request from a friend for help and I'm not quite sure how to approach
this. He has a laptop and is accessing the internet with a Verizon aircard.
He bought a wireless printer and a Netgear router to connect with the
printer. He is getting a message from Windows saying the printer and
computer are connected to different networks and must be connected to the
same network for it to work. Can someone tell me how to set this thing up
so that he can access the internet via the aircard and print to his wireless
printer?

Rick Morrison

Buy a CradlePoint router.

http://3gstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=450&products_id=1735

--
"To announce that there must be no criticism
of the President, or that we are to stand by
the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic
and servile, but is morally treasonable to the
American public."
Theodore Roosevelt
http://www.bobhatch.com
http://www.tdsrvresort.com

 

[Big Steel]

Got a request from a friend for help and I'm not quite sure how to approach
this. He has a laptop and is accessing the internet with a Verizon aircard.
He bought a wireless printer and a Netgear router to connect with the
printer. He is getting a message from Windows saying the printer and
computer are connected to different networks and must be connected to the
same network for it to work. Can someone tell me how to set this thing up
so that he can access the internet via the aircard and print to his wireless
printer?

What network or ISP is the router using? So far you have indicated
that the laptop is using Verizon's as the ISP (Internet Service
Provider), and the laptop is on the Verizon network. If the router
is not using the same ISP as the laptop and the printer is using the
router, then how can they be on the same network?

Don't they have standalone wireless printers that don't need a router
and the laptop can directly print to the wireless printer?

Even if the router is not using an ISP and the printer is using the
router, then the router is still a different network -- a network
itself, which is not part of the Verizon network where the laptop is
located.

The router itself is a private network even if the router was
connected to the Verizon network. The printer is on the router's
private network and the laptop would need to be on the router's
private network too in order for the laptop to use the printer.

 

[Dave Rudisill]

Is the Verizon card plugged directly into a USB port on the
computer? If so, the problem is probably VZ Access Manager
(VZAM).

VZAM insists on taking control of Wi-Fi networks when it is
running. You get a choice of connecting with EITHER Verizon OR a
Wi-Fi network. If your printer is on a Wi-Fi network, you lose
communication with it when you connect to the Internet through
Verizon. Pretty stupid, eh?

The only workaround of which I am aware is to avoid using VZAM.
Set up a Diap-Up Networking connection manually.

 

[Dave Rudisill]

Got a request from a friend for help and I'm not quite sure how to approach
this. He has a laptop and is accessing the internet with a Verizon aircard.
He bought a wireless printer and a Netgear router to connect with the
printer. He is getting a message from Windows saying the printer and
computer are connected to different networks and must be connected to the
same network for it to work. Can someone tell me how to set this thing up
so that he can access the internet via the aircard and print to his wireless
printer?

Rick Morrison

I forgot the simplest solution--the one I use and that Bob Hatch
suggested: Buy a cellular Wi-Fi router like a Cradlepoint. You
plug the data card into the router, and the printer connects to
the same router via Wi-Fi.

 

[Rick Morrison]

Thanks for everyone's help. I kind of figured there was a conflict between
the data card and the Wi-Fi. I think we're going to find him a Cradlepoint
router. Does anyone know if there are other router manufacturers the will
work like the Cradlepoint?

Thanks,

Rick

 

[Paul]

Got a request from a friend for help and I'm not quite sure how to approach
this. He has a laptop and is accessing the internet with a Verizon aircard.
He bought a wireless printer and a Netgear router to connect with the
printer. He is getting a message from Windows saying the printer and
computer are connected to different networks and must be connected to the
same network for it to work. Can someone tell me how to set this thing up
so that he can access the internet via the aircard and print to his wireless
printer?

Rick Morrison

I'd start by drawing a network diagram, with IP addresses as hints.

On the Windows computer, you could try.

1) Start : Run : cmd and in the MSDOS window type - ipconfig
That should tell you what network interfaces the laptop is
currently using.

2) Using a web browser, have the laptop connect to the router and
look at the router configuration. If the router is connected to
the Internet as well (via some broadband modem), you'll be able
to determine that from what you see in that interface. The printer
may appear in the DHCP section of the router web interface.

Perhaps the printer has more than one Wifi mode ? Maybe it can be
a client of the router, or maybe the printer can run in "adhoc mode" ?
The printer might have two modes, and you actually want the other one.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...=18972&prodSeriesId=410622&objectID=c00485263


Paul