WLAN Bridge

[Saturn]

We use the TP-Link TL-WR802N Nano Router. It is as small as a box of cigarettes and gets its power from the machine's USB port.

[rrrohan]

yeah the TP-Link seems reliable. i wouldnt trust the copier to power it. every brand seems to treat power delivery to usb dif when in low power sleep mode so id recomend powering it from it own PSU

[Synthohol]

correct me if im wrong, if he uses a TP link the unit will plug into the copiers ethernet port promptly disabling anyone that prints THROUGH ethernet.
if its just the 1 user then airprint is your cheapest best bet. no hardware needed, just push buttons.

[JMS]

He can connect the TPLink to any ethernet-port in the customer-network (speak with customer-IT about it). Configure it in AP-Mode and then there is a wlan to connect to. No need to use the mfp-ethernet-port.

[Hansoon]

[jotunn]

TP-Link TL-WA860RE
https://www.tp-link.com/de/home-networking/range-extender/tl-wa860re/


> Now, my latest idea would be to hook up a USB/Wi-Fi adapter directly to the machine to give a local Wi-Fi port to it. I have no experience with USB/Wi-Fi adapters, so have to test in my office first.

I don't think it will work - USB implementation in the machines is rather limited and accepts HID devices (keyboard, mouse maybe, card reader) and mass storage devices and even for such simple devices like card readers you need separate drivers.
I would check what wifi chipset (like Realtek RTL8197F) is used in OEM WiFi module, and start to look for USB-WiFi adapter with exactly the same chipset...

[Synthohol]

jotunn there is no wireless network there to "extend"
to avoid wireless security risks is why i suggested airprint. its already installed in the machine and she can print 1 to 1 with the copier and be the only user that knows\uses it.

may be able to password protect it too.

[jotunn]

jotunn there is no wireless network there to "extend"
to avoid wireless security risks is why i suggested airprint. its already installed in the machine and she can print 1 to 1 with the copier and be the only user that knows\uses it.

may be able to password protect it too.

That's right - "No, they want to be able to print directly to the MFP".
So in this case that's not gonna work. Hans needs WiFi Direct functionality...

However in this case - "What WLAN-LAN bridge you guys would advise making a BH-C-284e WLAN ready?" this TP-Link would work pretty well (we were using them for years).

[Duplicator]

Just a heads up, we've found the 4es don't work with Airprint on iOS 17. It seems to cause an infinite internal error loop as the phone hammers the copier with invalid print jobs. iOS 16 works fine but Apple changed something in 17. You might need to use the Konica Mobile Print app to get around that.