My neighbor has a new HP-laser that supports wifi 'direct' connection.
I also have an older HP Multi-Function-Printer/scanner/fax with wifi.

These MFP devices by default, advertise their service names which is seen by any wifi scanner within reach.

The problem is, if you try to connect to the neighbors HP, my wifi router will refuse the conflicting 192.168.1.nnn of the device.
(My HP has the same default-name and default address).

The REAL problem is... my wife's business programs blindly attaches to any wifi HP printer. (the programmer only had One !)
She checks our HP printer, and it is idle and empty.

What, if any, is the work-around to this problem ?
Please don't advise knocking on his door !

WiFi direct as I understand how it works is basically a standalone wireless access point. If your connected to your printer using this method your normally not connected to your LAN wireless and vice versa.

If your wife's computer is automatically connecting to the neighbors printer I would delete it from the wireless AP list. Make sure that your LAN is the only AP set to automatically connect.

Don't use wifi direct on your own printer. Make sure it is connected to your LAN.

My printer is 192.168.1.7 wifi connected to my router 192.168.1.1.
If connected to my router, you can see and use #7, only if you have the HP software installed.

If you are not connected to my router, you may see "HP-MFP", but you cannot connect to it.

That seems the problem with my wife's laptop. She is not connected to the neighbor's router, but her software somehow sees his printer.

I think 192.168.1.7 is simply a "service-port", all data printed/scanned/faxed/CFcards uses sub-ports.
Watching my wifi monitor, I can see my ...7 traffic when I request ink-status, scan-feeder, paper-tray,,, but I never see the actual data streams???

I asked the neighbor if he ever sees printing from who-knows, he said "it often readies itself, but nothing happens".
When printing to mine, I hear the paper tray lift, before its says "Printing in progress".

..........this is confusing....
When she prints her Gmail, it comes to my printer. When running her corporate (VPN ???) application, my printer is quiet.
No problem message, no error, no foul !
When she runs the off-line applications, my printer gets busy.


How do I "delete it from the wireless AP list" ?
Thanks for your input

A very simple analogy is that your LAN is like a street with each device being an apartment complex. The street address is the IP address and TCP/UDP port the apartment number. When the mailman needs to send a message i.e. network traffic to another computer it needs the street address / apartment number. Some common ports; web servers use port 80, HP printing uses port 9100, ssh uses port 22 etc.

If your printer is associated with your router's wireless access point then it can be seen by any device on your LAN using any networking tool i.e ping, nmap etc regardless of installed software. The HP software consists of several features depending on operating system. The printer driver, ink level applet, system tray icon etc.

If you neighbor is using HP wifi direct then it has its own wireless access point independent of any router. It will be seen as a access point just like a router. The wireless SSID of the printer is HP-MFP I would guess. SSID is the name of the network that is broadcasted and seen by a computer when you want to connect to an access point.

What operating system is running on your wife's computer.

So your wife can print to your printer. As long as her computer is connected to your wireless LAN there is no problem.

I assume that off line is not connected to the VPN. In that case gmail and normal printing should work as usual.

Depending on what VPN software is running on your wife's computer and how it is configured it will connect to the destination network just like if the computer was physically at the "office" The default is typically to not use local resources so she can not print to the home printer while online.

In my opinion this is all normal and has nothing to do with your neighbors printer...

Windows7 ProEdition ---- Corporate Application is VPN with local device support.

Interesting: If neighbor is switched OFF, there is no output re-sent to my printer, all output is lost.
If the laptop is then re-booted, problem is gone, all printing to my printer is normal.
If the Corp-App is started & prints something, it may or may not print on my printer.
Interesting: If the laptop is re-booted, problem is gone, until the Corp-App is restarted.

Wanna wager?
I'll remove 192.168.1.7 from the router.
Redo my printer config, and connect its 'NewName' to my router with a different address.
On my PC, remove HP-MFP, install 'NewName' as primary device.
On her laptop, install NewName. Corporate-Admin support will then add the new default printer to Windows & remove the old HP-MFP.

The problem is somewhere in the 'Corp-package'. As I guessed earlier, the support-group has only 1 printer.
Thanks again.

Well, you keep adding information... And the bit about turning off your neighbors printer starts printing to your printer is strange.

I can only base my guesses on what is posted and try to fill in the blanks with something that makes sense.

Without knowing what this 'Corp-package' is or how it works leaves me/us with not much to go on. If that is the problem, your wife needs to ask her IT department.

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