Connecting WiFi to Printer

In "Network Connections", you will find the properties for the Microsoft Loopback Adapter by right-clicking it's icon and selecting "Properties". (The "Microsoft Loopback Adapter" shown here was renamed from "Local Area Connection 2" to simplify this FAQ.) The properties you'll need to assign are displayed next.

For the "Microsoft Loopback Adapter" the IP address is set to 172.16.172.16 and the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. The "Default gateway" for this adapter is the router's default IP Address at "192.168.2.1". The "Preferred DNS Server" is the same address as the adapter itself, the "172.16.172.16" address. The Microsoft Loopback Adapter requires a private IP address space that will not conflict with either of the other adapters. Two examples of properties for the Wireless Network Connection are given next (choose the one that's closest to your own setup if you're unsure). Click the "OK" button on each screen to save your settings once you're done.

If you use automatic address assignments instead of the static addressing mentioned below, change the "Preferred DNS Server" address to match the Microsoft Loopback Adapter's address of "172.16.172.16" or add it there. We placed the ISP's DHCP server address into the "Alternate DNS server" field and added the router's default address to the DNS list too: click the "Advanced" button, choose the "DNS" tab, select "Add", type in the address, select "Add" again" (repeat this for each DNS IP address you want to add), then click "OK" on each screen to save the new settings again.

This "Wireless Network Connection" example shows a static IP address that is recognized by the router and uses a subnet mask of "255.255.255.0". The router's default address is entered in the gateway address field and the "Preferred DNS Server" must still point to the Microsoft Loopback Adapter's address at "172.16.172.16". Again, it is suggested to add appropriate "Alternate DNS server" addresses as previously described, keeping in mind that you can add as many reliable DNS servers as you wish.

We used an appropriate IP address space for the printer here, where the printer's IP address would be included within the specified IP address range. The IP address is "10.47.0.1" and a subnet mask of "255.255.0.0" was entered although "255.255.255.0" should work fine too as long as it matches the printer's own subnet mask. An "Alternate DNS server" is not required for this adapter but the "Preferred DNS Server" address must point to the Microsoft Loopback Adapter's address of "172.16.172.16". Save the new settings. You should soon be seeing a successful ping to the printer from the wireless computer and be able to print a test page. If not, double-check all settings and edit if necessary.

With all adapters enabled your connections will be bridged through the loopback adapter. If you disable or remove the Microsoft Loopback Adapter you may be unable to connect to the Internet unless you revert to the original settings for your "Wireless Network Connection" and you would need to re-configure the printer's settings as well. Of course, you'd be right back where you started from because using your printer will most likely disconnect your wireless connection until you manually repair the connection again! (Note that some variance to the above may occur across different WLANs, printers and operating systems.)

Test the configuration to ensure that you can access any web interfaces for the multifunction device before you install TreeWalk DNS on the computer. Check the copier, scanner and FAX capabilities and make sure you can simultaneously access the Internet. Once you are completely satisfied that no additional tweaking or changes are needed, then, and ONLY then, you can proceed to install TreeWalk. After the required reboot which completes the TreeWalk installation, you should only need to change all of the "Preferred DNS Server" addresses for all the adapters back to the Microsoft Loopback Adapter's address of "172.16.172.16" from the "127.0.0.1" that the TreeWalk installer had placed there. It is advisable to reboot once more after that and retest again to confirm that everything is set up correctly.

If you cannot connect to the printer at this stage, try entering the localhost address of "127.0.0.1" or the router's default IP address (if it will let you do this) for the "Gateway Address" at the printer's console and restart the printer. If you still can't access the device, return to your previous settings by stopping, then uninstalling TreeWalk, reboot, revert the printer's Network Settings to their previous state and restart the printer. Carefully review the entire process above and be sure to follow all recommendations included in the TreeWalk documentation before repeating the TreeWalk installation.