Your Canon PIXMA TS6420a printed fine yesterday, but ever since you swapped your old router for a mesh system it has dropped off the network, refuses to appear during setup, or connects for a minute and then goes silent. The cause is almost always the same. This printer is a 2.4 GHz-only machine, and modern mesh systems love to hide, combine, or steer traffic toward the 5 GHz band the printer cannot see. Once you understand that, the fixes are straightforward and there is no need to call anyone yet.
The TS6420a is a Wi-Fi-only all-in-one with 802.11b/g/n wireless on the 2.4 GHz band only. It has no 5 GHz radio and no Ethernet port, so on a mesh network it has exactly one path to the internet, a 2.4 GHz SSID it can actually join. The steps below start with the safest, fastest checks and end with the official network reset, so work through them in order.
Make sure both devices are on the same 2.4 GHz network
Before changing anything, confirm the printer and the device you print from are sharing one working network. The TS6420a must be joined to a 2.4 GHz SSID, never a 5 GHz-only band, and your phone or computer needs to be on that same network for them to find each other.
You can read the printer's current network details right from the operation panel. Go to Device settings (press OK) > LAN settings > Print details to print out what the printer is actually connected to. If the printed network name does not match the 2.4 GHz network you expect, that mismatch is your problem and the later fixes will solve it.
Restart the printer, the mesh, and your device
A surprising number of mesh disconnects are transient and clear with a clean power cycle. First confirm the printer is plugged in, powered ON, and on the same network as your computer, since Canon lists those two checks as the first things to verify when a printer shows offline or stops responding.
Then power off the printer, the mesh router, and the phone or computer you print from, wait a moment, and bring them back up one at a time. This clears stale connection states and forces the printer to re-associate with the network cleanly before you move on to deeper steps.
Give the 2.4 GHz band an SSID the printer can join
This is the heart of the mesh problem. Canon's official Easy Wireless Connect instructions tell you to "select an SSID (network) in the dropdown list running on the 2.4Ghz frequency." If your mesh combines both bands under one name, or uses band steering to push devices toward 5 GHz, the 2.4 GHz-only printer may never see a band it can use.
The reliable fix is to give the 2.4 GHz band its own dedicated SSID in your mesh app, or temporarily disable the 5 GHz band or band steering during setup. Then point the printer at that 2.4 GHz network name. Many mesh systems let you re-enable the combined setup afterward; the printer simply needs a stable 2.4 GHz SSID to latch onto.
Reconnect from the printer's panel with Manual connect
If the mesh network name or password changed, the printer is still trying to reach the old one. Rejoining manually from the operation panel re-enters the credentials and points the printer at the correct 2.4 GHz SSID. Follow this sequence exactly.
- 1.On the HOME screen, press OK.
- 2.Select Wi-Fi setup and press OK.
- 3.Select Manual connect and press OK; the printer searches for nearby networks.
- 4.Select your 2.4 GHz network and press OK.
- 5.Enter the network password and press Start.
- 6.Press OK once the printer reports it is connected.
Re-entering the password this way fixes connection failures caused by a renamed or re-keyed mesh network, which is common right after you set up new hardware.
Clear the offline state and stuck jobs on Windows
Sometimes the printer is on the network fine, but Windows has flagged it offline or wedged the print queue. Both are quick to clear from the computer.
- 1.Right-click the printer and choose See what's printing.
- 2.Open the Printer menu and remove the checkmark on "Use Printer Offline."
- 3.If the queue is jammed, choose Printer > Cancel All Documents to clear it.
- 4.If there is no printer error and it still will not print, restart the print spooler. Press the Windows key + R, type services.msc, click OK, then right-click Print Spooler and click Restart.
Restarting the spooler resets the part of Windows that hands jobs to the printer, which often resolves a printer that looks connected but never actually prints.
Reset the printing system on a Mac and re-add the printer
On macOS, a network change can leave the saved print configuration corrupted, so the cleanest fix is to rebuild it. Open System Settings/Preferences > Printers & Scanners. Control-click in the printer list and choose "Reset printing system," then click Add (+) and re-add the TS6420a.
This wipes the old, broken print setup and lets your Mac rediscover the printer on its current 2.4 GHz network from scratch. It is the standard path Canon directs Mac users toward when a printer connection misbehaves.
Reinstall the driver or set up the Canon PRINT app
If the printer is reachable on the network but software still cannot talk to it, refresh the software. On Windows or macOS, download and run the print driver and scan utility installer from the official Canon TS6420a support page, which reinstalls a clean driver and scan tool.
For phones and tablets, use the free Canon PRINT app to set up the printer, print, scan, check ink levels, and print via the cloud. It supports iPad and iPhone running iOS 16.0 or later and Android devices running Android 7.0 or later, and the current App Store listing requires iOS 17.0 or later. The TS6420a also works with Apple AirPrint on iOS and Mopria Print Service on Android if you prefer not to install the app.
Update the printer firmware over the 2.4 GHz network
Outdated firmware can cause connection quirks, and the printer can update itself once it is on the network and online. With the printer on your 2.4 GHz network and connected to the internet, press OK, select Device settings > Firmware update > Install update, and press OK.
Canon's guidance is clear. "When you use this function, make sure the printer is connected to the Internet." Do not turn the printer off while the update is running, since interrupting it can leave the printer in a bad state.
Reset the network settings and run setup again
If the printer still refuses to hold the mesh connection, clear its network configuration and start fresh. This is the official reset path, so use it after the gentler fixes above. A reset returns the affected settings to their factory defaults, so be ready to redo your Wi-Fi setup afterward.
From the operation panel, press OK > Device settings > Reset setting. Choose "LAN settings only," which sets the LAN settings back to the default and clears just the network config, leaving the rest of your preferences intact. If you want a complete clean slate, "Reset all" sets all settings you made to the printer back to the default; note that this also reverts the administrator password to its default. Language, the print-head position, and the SSL/TLS CSR cannot be reset.
After the reset, redo Wi-Fi setup against your 2.4 GHz SSID using the Manual connect steps above. If the printer still will not join the mesh after a clean network reset and re-setup, turn to the official Canon TS6420a support page for further help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Canon PIXMA TS6420a work on 5 GHz Wi-Fi?
No. Its official specification lists Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n wireless networking, 2.4 GHz) only, with no 5 GHz radio and no Ethernet port. On a mesh network it must join a 2.4 GHz SSID, which is why Canon's setup instructions direct you to select an SSID running on the 2.4 GHz frequency.
Why does my mesh router make the printer disappear during setup?
Mesh systems often combine both bands under one SSID or use band steering that pushes devices toward 5 GHz, which the 2.4 GHz-only printer cannot see. Give the 2.4 GHz band its own dedicated SSID, or temporarily disable 5 GHz or band steering, then connect the printer to that network name.
How do I check which network my TS6420a is actually on?
From the printer's operation panel, go to Device settings (press OK) > LAN settings > Print details to print the current LAN settings. Compare the printed network name against the 2.4 GHz SSID you expect; if they do not match, reconnect using Manual connect.
Will resetting the network settings erase my other printer preferences?
Choosing "LAN settings only" clears just the network configuration and leaves your other settings alone. "Reset all" returns everything to default and also reverts the administrator password to default, so use it only if you want a complete clean slate. Language, the print-head position, and the SSL/TLS CSR cannot be reset.
Which app should I use to print from my phone?
Use the free Canon PRINT app, which sets up the printer, prints, scans, checks ink levels, and prints via the cloud. It supports iOS 16.0 or later and Android 7.0 or later, with the current App Store listing requiring iOS 17.0 or later. You can also print without the app using AirPrint on iOS or Mopria Print Service on Android.
