Avoid the HP Officejet Pro L7780 All-in-One Printer Fax Copy Scanner

Here’s the problem:

HP knows that the L7780 does not work with the Linksys WRT54G.

BUT, they don’t tell you this before you purchase — there’s nothing on their website warning you about the incompatibility.

Further, AFTER you buy, you have to go through HOURS AND HOURS of time dealing with Tech Support people who have not been told about this problem… so they make you do stupid things like “move the printer to another room to make sure you have good electricity.”

EVENTUALLY, you may find a senior support person who knows about the problem. They’ll tell you that it’s a known issue and that HP will provide a fix in the near future.

That fix never comes.

Then, here’s the kicker, HP says the only “solution” is to go spend money to get a new router.

See, what they don’t understand is: Had they provided the information that they KNEW, I wouldn’t need a new router… because I would have returned the piece of crap printer and not been forced to spend almost a week dealing with their low-level tech support people… who COULD HAVE BEEN informed about this issue (how hard is it to build into their scripts: “Oh, you’re having wireless networking problems… do you have the WRT54G router?”)

When they revealed that the HP Officejet L7780 was not compatible with my router, the popular (sold on the HP website!) Linksys WRT54G, their solution:

“Buy another router.”

Excuse me?!

I just spent an extra $100 to get a printer with wireless networking and now I’m supposed to spend MORE MONEY to get DIFFERENT HARDWARE?

Are you insane?

My CELL PHONE can talk to the router… but this $500 printer can’t?!

WHAT?

If you use wireless network wizard to connect the L7780 to your Linksys WRT54G router, it will CRASH the printer.

BUT if you connect the printer to your computer with an ethernet cable, and THEN set up wireless networking, it’ll work FINE with the router!

This PROVES that the problem is NOT with the router.

Now, here’s the fun part.

Restart the router.

The printer will freeze, and require a restart to factory defaults which, again, takes over 30 minutes and wastes TONS of ink.

After 2 days of nonsense tech support, I found a supervisor. After he did 2 days of research, he called to report that it was a known issue that the HP L7780 was incompatible with the Linksys WRT54G router.

He assured me there would be a firmware or software patch to address the situation since this was a VERY popular router.

Were it not for his assurance, I would have returned the printer immediately!

One year later? Still no patch.

And HP still blames Linksys for the problem.

In a bit, proof that Linksys is NOT the problem!

Here’s the nutshell of the problem:

The HP printer is incompatible with the Linksys Wireless Router — WRT54G

Not only is this one of the most popular routers EVER SOLD… HP sells it on their own website!

Level 1 technicians do not know this.

Presales support does not know this.

But if you try to use the wireless networking wizard in the HP L7780 printer with the Linksys WRT54G router, you will crash the printer.

And HP will blame the router.