Epson Status Monitor WiFi connection broken after Windows 10 update to 1709

[brian_mk]

From your linked article: "It happened to "one one-hundredth of one percent of version 1809 installs," he indicated."

When the error rates are this low it probably is due to the user's setup. hardware and/or settings. A corruption in the download is a consideration.

MS re-issued the 1809 update after patching it in November 2018.

The discussion about Windows updates is somewhat off-topic and not very relevant to the problem in hand.
The point I was trying to make is that installing a major feature update to the OS is likely to introduce new problems rather than fix the one problem I have.
I would rather understand the root cause before changing things.

My original post was asking the question whether anyone else had encountered a similar problem after updating to 1709 in case this was a known issue that already had a known fix.
The answer so far is 'no' so I will continue to investigate.

 

[stratman]

In the link I referred to:-

I read that now. I had only read the top line post marked as "answer" and not the 3 other posts that were hidden and required a click to see. Thanks for pointing this out. I have often said it may be important to read all posts on a thread and I did not.

 

[stratman]

The point I was trying to make is that installing a major feature update to the OS is likely to introduce new problems rather than fix the one problem I have.

And OS updates may also resolve certain issues and reason to update the OS.

The point I was trying to make is that installing a major feature update to the OS is likely to introduce new problems rather than fix the one problem I have.

This is a misleading comparison since (1) you will have to update eventually.

"One one-hundredth of one percent" deletion issues with updating to Windows 10 1809 is very low risk. Additionally, (2) since you now know of a potential issue, you can backup your data before updating. Your risk then become zero for loss of that data. You are going to have to update sooner or later so get it done on your terms as much as possible with safeguards implemented.

Also, the link you quoted from is ~1.5 years ago and it is possible MS has improved compatibility with their firewall / OS as (3) the Microsoft agent hints to check back for a MS update solution to the problem.

For now, we recommend checking this thread every now and then. Microsoft will provide an update as soon as possible.

The linked thread points back to a link you posted previously. Have you read that entire thread to see if the solution is already released for your version of Windows?

I can't see KB4055038 in my update history.

Have you tried that update?

I fully understand your desire to resolve your issue that obviously has been experienced by others as well. Part of the process in conflict resolution is not only to attempt a settings workaround but also install reasonable updates, especially when a Microsoft "agent" has admitted 1.5 years ago that MS has blame and is looking to resolve the problem with an update.

I don't recall you saying if you tried the firewall changes and static IP workaround in the thread you posted.

If the issue is Windows firewall itself then another consideration is to use a different firewall.

Another consideration is a conflict issue with your AV / malware protection or even a potential infection. A scan with Malwarebytes and your AV software are standard procedure consideration when something bizarre occurs, if only to rule this out as a problem.

 

[brian_mk]

This is an old thread I first started back in April 2019.

It appears that a recent Windows 10 update has broken the Epson Status Monitor 3 over WiFi once again. The ink levels on my Epson 1500W are no longer displayed.

If I use a USB connection instead of WiFI, then it works as expected.

At first I thought it was an issue with Windows firewall.
However if I turn the firewall off completely, the problem remains.

I can't be sure which update triggered the problem but I am guessing it's one of the following:-

I tried to re-install the printer driver and network software from the installation CD, but it fails when the installer atempts to check the printer WiFi connection.

I am running out of ideas.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Can you run the Epson software updater to check that you have the latest software versions, and did you run already the connection checker ?

https://epson-printer-connection-checker.updatestar.com/de

 

[brian_mk]

I downloaded and ran the Espon Software updater (v4.6.7.0) from the epson website:-

It prompted me to update the printer driver to 6.93.01 :-

Before I proceeded, I checked the current driver version in Device Manager. It reported 6.91.0.0.
The driver update appeared to succeed.
However, when I rechecked the version in Device Manager, it still indicates 6.91.0.0 :-

The Epson Network Status Monitor still fails to report ink levels over WiFi.

 

[brian_mk]

I should explain that my PC is connected to my router using wired ethernet. The printer has a direct USB connection to the PC but also exists as a WiFi connected printer under a different name.

The next thing I did was to try the same thing but using the USB connection rather than WiFi. That also failed to update the driver.

So then I downloaded the driver installer from the epson website:-

That appeares to have updated the driver under Device Manager

It made no difference to the Epson Status Monitor problem.

Next I tried re-installing the WiFi printer using 'EpsonNet Setup' which comes as part of 'Epson Product Setup' :-

It prompts for the WiFi SSID and WPA key.

It gets stuck in the 'Confirm Connection' phase and eventually times out.

I can ping the printer local IP address (192.168.1.70) from the PC, so I know it is on the same network.

I am baffled!

 

[brian_mk]

I should also add that the same problem exists if I try to access the printer from a separate WiFi connected Windows 10 laptop. That used to work fine. The only changes have been Windows 10 updates so I am pretty sure one of those has broken it. As with the desktop PC, I tried turning the firewall off completely. It made no difference.

One of the things I don't understand is that printing documents over WiFi does actually work.
(I even disconnected the USB lead to prove that it really is using the WiFi connection).
It's just that there is a long delay (a few tens of seconds) before I can access 'printer properties' or get a 'print preview' displayed. Ink levels are not shown and I am unable to confiirm the printer connection if I run the installer.

I have searched the Epson website but can find no way to report this issue or get support.

 

[brian_mk]

After wasting hours on this problem both yesterday and today, I think I have found the answer-

It was nothing to do with Windows 10 updates, Windows firewall, printer driver version or printer network software.
After taking a break (which often helps when problem solving), it occured to me that there could be an issue with the WiFi connection between the router and the printer (even though nothing had been changed).
First I checked the WiFi connection speed between my laptop and the router by using a broadband speed test. That appeared to be fiine.
I was unable to figure out a good way to check the WiFi connection speed between the router and printer so I decided to simply power cycle the router.

Hey presto - the problem went away!

I still don't understand the root cause of the problem but at least things are now working again.
Any suggestions as to why the router WiFi connection to the printer may have become really slow?
The router is a 'Plusnet Hub 1'. The printer uses a 2.4GHz wireless connection as does the laptop.
I think it unlikely to be something like RF interference because that would also affect the laptop WiFi connection and it would not have been fixed by power cycling the router.

This is just conjecture, but could the problem be the result of a stale cached IP address in the routing tables? This might happen if different IP addresses are used for data and status reporting. Power cycling the router would have flushed the cache.

Another possibility is that another nearby wireless access point began using the same channel as that used for the printer. The router uses automatic channel selection by default, so it may have switched to another clear channel after power cycling.