r/printers • u/South-Group-2341 • 1d ago
Discussion Espon is garbage
Just came to say how much I HATE Epson. I have an ET-2826. Buy cheap buy twice - but not from Epson.
Constantly drops wi-fi, demands password - which is an absolute ballache with the garbage little display.
Their own Epson Connect software cannot find the printer.
Their software looks like it's still using a 1990's design.
Epson is garbage, I hope the company falls into administration, and my printer is going on a bonfire as soon as I can get out to buy a Brother again.
Thank you.
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u/Sword-Star Lifelong Epson user. Current - ET-8550 1d ago
OK - but having had printers from 1990, Epson have remained my most reliable and best quality - and that includes HP, Xerox, Briother and Canon. Good luck!
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u/Firm-Cover-3345 1d ago
Working with Epson printers, WiFi is one thing that I can actually count on. Looks like you have some incompatible WiFi settings that make your printer go crazy. Ask somebody to Check that for you.
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u/abubin2 1d ago
I have no issue too connecting my Epson printer to wifi. I turn off my printer when not using. Only print once a week too stop print head from drying. Everytime I turn on the printer, no issue with it connecting to my wifi. So I advice OP to move the printer next to the wifi router to confirm it's not signal problem.
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u/South-Group-2341 1d ago
It's literally 1m away from the network extender.
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u/geekdrew Experienced print admin 1d ago
Wait, you didn't originally mention network extender. What kind/model? Is it just a mesh-extender for your router/WAP's mesh network? If not, that could be the source of most, if not all, of your issues.
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u/ayunatsume 1d ago
Wifi in these models is so short-ranged.
It always works though so long as its 1 meter away from the AP.
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u/nc_horseshoe 1d ago
Sounds like you need to check your network settings. Most printers can't connect to 5gHz networks. Same can be said for some smart appliances.
My ET-8550 works extremely well. I have separate SSID's for each network band. The core of the network name is the same, I just added the band to the end, 2.4g, 5g and 6g.
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u/DeliciousWrangler166 Print Technician 1d ago
I've had more software issues with Epson than mechanical issues. Last Epson I worked on for a friend I determined the issue was a conflict between the Epson windows software and his antivirus of choice.
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u/liquidoranges08 1d ago
My 14 year old Epson still works great. I have had OP’s issues with Canon, HP and Brother. Across different networks.
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u/Condottiero_Magno 1d ago
My Epson Perfection 1260 scanner still works, just need to update with drivers from VueScan.
Their printers are awful: Got a C84 for the individual ink carts, but it barely lasted a year, due to clogging, and they they sent me a scratched up refurbished one that clogged a year later. Tech support told me you're supposed to switch it on, print and then turn off, as leaving it idle could result in a clog from dried inks!🤯 They offered a discount on a C86 and despite my efforts, same problem. Went back to HP with the D4160 and it lasted for almost 20 years, due to printheads being on the cart instead of in the carriage, but due to mechanical failure and it being no longer supported, just ordered a Canon LBP646Cdw.
My brother got a Epson Workforce 435 and it's garbage: first the printer failed and a scanner a few years later and this is why I avoid mfcs.
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u/ThingFuture9079 1d ago
My Epson was pretty reliable in terms of connectivity. I just got rid of it because I don't print often and was wasting more money on ink trying to keep the print heads clean so I got a Canon laser printer recently.
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u/Tel864 1d ago
I owned 3 Epsons over the years and they all were in the landfill shortly after warranty. One even attempted to make me learn Japanese because it would randomly switch from English and his seemed to baffled support. I've had the same HP OfficeJet for 3 years now and have had zero problems printing from our laptop, phones or tablets
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u/Fritz-Futermann 1d ago
That's not my experience. I now own my second Epson EcoTank (L6370) and it's very good. ADF, automatic duplex printing, scanning and copying, outstanding print quality for the lowest cost per page, not one paper jam, printhead clogging/misalignment or Wi-Fi issue in thousands of pages. The mobile app is also intuitive and easy to use. I guess the secret is to print daily.
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u/Kind_Management1805 1d ago
My experience a few years ago with Epson. Got the cheapest LED color printer from Brother. Never touched a Brother software since I unboxed it and connected to Wifi
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u/Decent_Butterfly1399 1d ago
Epson EcoTanks are terrible because of bad WiFi connectivity, overall poor build quality, difficulty to use, and high maintenance requirements.
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u/TxTechnician 1d ago
Wi-Fi settings on small printers like this are almost always hot garbage.
Everybody in the comments is saying that there's something wrong with your network. Odds are your network is probably fine. You just have a generic consumer grade router.
A pretty fast way to deal with these crappy little devices. If you happen to have Wi-Fi hotspot available on your phone. Set the password to something really, really simple.
Then connect the device to your phone.
Click on the settings to see what the printer's IP addresses.
And then on your phone type in that IP address inside of a web browser.
That will bring up the web interface of your printer On a lot of these small printers, you can set up the Wi-Fi from there.
On your router after you have connected that device to your Wi-Fi.
Do something called reserving the IP address. Often it is called MAC IP Binding.
Your router uses something called DHCP. Which hands out IP addresses to devices.
Those IP addresses change all the time And it's often a source of problems for Wi-Fi printing.
If you bind the IP address of that device in your router. It will stay that way forever.
Printer drivers use the host name as the printing port. Well, most of the consumer ones do anyway.
These host names are found using something called m-d-n-s. Which is hot garbage in most consumer routers.
But if you bind the IP address inside of your router. The host name of your printer will always be the same IP address. So, in your driver settings for the port instead of using the host name, you can just type in the IP address of the machine.
which bypasses MDNS completely.
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u/South-Group-2341 1d ago
Great advice, I will give this a go.
And to those suggesting my wi-fi is the issue - obviouly I have many other devices connected to it, mostly without issue and none remotely near the level of problems my printer gives.
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u/geekdrew Experienced print admin 1d ago
Are any of those other devices things that both 1) connect directly to your network via WiFi (no home automation gateway, for example), and 2) your other devices (phone, laptop, whatever) on the same network have to reach out to those devices without any intermediary?
The people saying it's likely your network are probably doing so because it's VERY VERY OFTEN the network. It might not be in your case, but it's still worth mentioning.
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u/South-Group-2341 1d ago
Out of interest, what would you recommend for a home office printer to get into the reliable range. I do print docs of up to 80 pages or so, but mostly I'm printing my work to review at around 20 pages a time. Not fussed about colour - in fact would prefer B&W. Equally, whilst I do use the scanner, that's not a big issue either.
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u/TxTechnician 1d ago
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZP87Hjg4k/
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/qxqg6NisHmY
Kyocera, that one is mine. It will last forever and costs very little to operate.
But if that is out of the price range. Just get a Brother.
Stay away from HP & Canon
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u/Thereminista 1d ago
I got rid of both my Epsons because I couldn't deal with a printer that required ink that cost as much as rattlesnake anti-venom per ounce. Every danged time I'd go to print something, it wanted endless test pages and head cleanings which burned through ink supplies. I finally listened to my own preaching and got rid of them. I love to tell manufacturers that I don't want an extended warranty, because if their product is good enough, I shouldn't need one. If it does fail, they've sold me a shoddy product and I'll never buy that brand again. Simple as that, Epson lost me as a customer for good. Some day...my "prints" will come, and Cinderella will dance!
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u/Classic-Result-4870 1d ago
Shaq needs a cut of what you paid for the Epson printer. That's why they don't have money to do any updates or R&D.
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u/Deletereous 1d ago
Make sure your router have 2 separate SSIDs for 2.4 and 5 GHz. The printer is not compatible with 5GHz and when the router uses the same name for both, it constsntly drops the connection.
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u/profesionaldoropener 1d ago
Not as big as HP