Help Cloud Print Failing

Landlubber · Feb 14, 2016

I have a Samsung Galaxy S4, Android version 5.0.1. I used to be able to print from it using Google Cloud Print but I had to restore my phone to factory settings and although as far as I can tell I have reinstalled all apps and settings it now won't print to my classic printer which is attached to my PC. When I sign on to Chrome it says that the printer is registered. I have deleted it and re-registered but the problem persists. When I try to print the phone screen only gives me the option to save as PDF. Searching for printers just keeps on searching. Any ideas?

Kibaikasu · Feb 14, 2016

What kind of printer are we talking about? Does it had a phone app available that you might be able to download and set up?

Landlubber · Feb 14, 2016

The Printer is a Canon iP4700 attached to a PC running Windows 10. No there is no app available but it is registered on Chrome as available to print via Cloud Print. As I said above, it used to print via the PC until I had to reset my phone to factory settings so it would seem that I have failed to set something correctly on the phone.

Kibaikasu · Feb 14, 2016

Ok, so I'm assuming it is using Google Drive as the cloud service for printing. Are you able to log into your Google account? Did you do a recent password change perhaps? Is the printer currently showing a good connection to the internet?

Landlubber · Feb 15, 2016

I didn't knowingly use Google Drive before when it worked. I simply installed Google Cloud Print and registered the printer in Google Chrome. I have never knowingly used Drive. Yes I can log on to my Google account and the printer shows up on Chrome when I log go to Cloud Print under settings and Advanced Settings, then Manage Printers. It lists my Canon iP4700 printer and Google Drive as being available. When I try to print, however, the only option that I have on the phone is to save as a PDF.

Kibaikasu · Feb 15, 2016

Ok, so lets break it down then. Cloud printing allows you to print things that you have saved to your cloud drive, in this case Google Drive. Anything that connects to a cloud server needs an internet connection to reach the information required. So we need to verify some things:

1) Is the printer connected to Wi-Fi, and how strong is that Wi-Fi connection on that printer.
2) Is your device from where you're printing from connected to the internet, either via Wi-Fi or mobile data?
3) Is the PDF file you're trying to print saved to your Google Drive or your device's physical/external memory.

Landlubber · Feb 15, 2016

1) The printer is connected to my PC which is connected to Wi-Fi. According to Google Cloud Print I only need to register the printer in Google Chrome to connect it to Wi-Fi via the PC. This I have done and it used to work OK.
2) The phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi home network as the PC.
3) The file can be on either the phone's internal memory or the SD card. I do not knowingly use Google Drive.

Kibaikasu · Feb 15, 2016

Ok, so since the PDF is not saved to the Google Drive, then what you want to do isn't Cloud Printing, it's Network Printing (i.e. - printing using a Wi-Fi network). For that to work, the printer itself needs to be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, and then you would print from your device to the printer over the Wi-Fi network. Just connecting it to the computer won't be enough unless you only print from the computer.

svim · Feb 15, 2016

Try installing Google's Cloud Print app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.cloudprint

Landlubber · Feb 16, 2016

The app is installed.

Re: classic printer vs cloud printer, the URL below explains how to do it. I have followed the instructions but for some reason it fails.

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1069693?p=settings_cloud_print&rd=1

It shows how to print to a classic printer connected to a PC. As I said at the start of this thread this used to work. It also worked via the internet when not connected to the same Wi-Fi network (i.e. when I was away from home). I just can't see what has changed to stop it working.

svim · Feb 16, 2016

Landlubber said:
The app is installed.

Re: classic printer vs cloud printer, the URL below explains how to do it. I have followed the instructions but for some reason it fails.

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1069693?p=settings_cloud_print&rd=1

It shows how to print to a classic printer connected to a PC. As I said at the start of this thread this used to work. It also worked via the internet when not connected to the same Wi-Fi network (i.e. when I was away from home). I just can't see what has changed to stop it working.

Since you had things set up and working OK and it's only after that Factory Reset on your S4 that this problem where your Canon isn't showing up now, have you tried clearing the system cache partition? Maybe some corrupted file won't delete itself in the system cache that's preventing your printer from showing up in your phone's print menu. (Generally it's a good idea to wipe the system cache partition after a Factory Reset anyway.)
https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-clear-the-cache-on-galaxy-s4

Landlubber · Feb 17, 2016

Thank you for this advice. If I clear the system cache will I have to re-enter such things as saved passwords and settings?

svim · Feb 17, 2016

The system cache partition doesn't store user data or those things like user passwords and settings, it's just a storage area where the operating system (in your case Android 5.1) dumps various temp files it uses for different background processes. Usually those temp files just get deleted on their own but sometimes it helps to manually just wipe the system cache partition.
Also, if you go into your Settings >> Application manager and when you select any of the apps, if you tap the 'Clear cache' button that won't affect the password for that app or the settings you made to it either. Just don't tap the 'Clear data' button, as that will. (Note that clearing the cache for an individual app is really only for troubleshooting purposes. When you clear an app's cache it just gets rebuilt the next time you start that app up again anyway.)

Landlubber · Feb 18, 2016

Thank you for your advice above. I will be away until early next week and do not wish to try clearing the system cache until I have backed up the phone to my PC, but will then do so and let you know if it has cured the problem. Many thanks for you help so far.

Landlubber · Feb 23, 2016

I have now performed a system cache reset to no avail. In all honesty being able to print from the phone isn't vital so I think that I will just accept that there is a problem that I can't resolve and leave it at that. Thanks for all the help and advice anyway.

svim · Feb 23, 2016

I understand your frustration, it really is puzzling that you were able to print before the reset but not afterwards. If later you decide to try and tackle the problem again, do you also have Canon's printer support installed on your S4? Maybe it needs to be re-installed.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.canon.android.printservice.plugin
or
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.canon.bsd.ad.pixmaprint

Help Cloud Print Failing

Lurker

Member

Lurker

Member

Lurker

Member

Lurker

Member

Extreme Android User

Lurker

Extreme Android User

Lurker

Extreme Android User

Lurker

Lurker

Extreme Android User

BEST TECH IN 2023

Smartphones

Best Android Phones

Upcoming

Best iPhones

Upcoming

Tablets

Best Tablets

Upcoming

Laptops

Best Laptops

Upcoming

Televisions

Best TVs

Upcoming

Game Consoles

Best Game Consoles

Upcoming

Wearables

Best Wearables

Upcoming

Smart Home

Smart Home Tech

Upcoming

Similar threads