The ET-2850 and the newer ET-2870 and ET-2876 join only 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and only with WPA2 security or a WPA2/WPA3 "mixed" mode. When setup keeps failing, it is almost always one of three things: the printer is being pointed at a 5 GHz or band-steered network it physically cannot see, one character of the Wi-Fi password is wrong, or a router setting such as WPA3-only encryption, MAC address filtering or client isolation is blocking it without saying so.
The quickest way to find out which one you have is to let the printer tell you. Print its network connection report, read the error code, and match it to the fix. This guide is built around that, then moves on to a clean first-time setup, a printer that connects and then drops off a few days later, and the point where it stops being a settings problem.
Print the network connection report first
On the control panel, press the home button, then use the arrow buttons and OK to reach Settings, then Network Settings, then Connection Check. The printer runs a short test and offers to print a report. For the fuller picture, Network Settings then Print Status Sheet puts the network name, the printer's IP address and its MAC address on one page.
The report ends with a code. Here is what the common ones mean in plain terms, and what actually clears them.
| Code | What the report is telling you | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| E-1 | No network hardware found | Only relevant if you were attempting a wired connection. Ignore it on Wi-Fi. |
| E-2, E-3, E-7 | The network name was not found, or the password was refused | The common one. Usually a 5 GHz or band-steered network the printer cannot see, or a mistyped password. See the next section. |
| E-5 | The router's security type is not one the printer supports | Router is set to WPA3 only, or an unusual WEP mode. Switch to WPA2, or WPA2/WPA3 transitional. |
| E-6 | MAC address filtering on the router is refusing the printer | Add the printer's MAC address, printed on the status sheet, to the router's allowed list, or turn filtering off. |
| E-8, E-11 | The printer was handed a bad IP address, or no usable gateway | Turn DHCP back on at the router, then run setup again. |
| E-12, E-13 | Several problems at once: wrong key, wrong IP settings, or software still aimed at an old connection | Reset the printer's network settings and start clean (covered near the end). |
The code meanings come from Epson's own "Network Connection Report Codes and Solutions" list and the ET-2850 User's Guide.
The follow-up question: "It says E-7, but my password is definitely right." That code also covers "network name not found", and on this printer that is the more likely cause. Read on.
The 2.4 GHz problem, which catches most people
The ET-2850, ET-2870 and ET-2876 all use 802.11 b/g/n on the 2.4 GHz band. There is no 5 GHz radio inside them. Epson's specification sheet confirms the band, and Expert Reviews' UK review notes the ET-2876 is "exactly the same printer as the EcoTank ET-2870", so everything here applies across all three.
Most routers that UK broadband providers ship now (BT Smart Hub 2, EE Smart Hub Plus, Sky Max Hub, Virgin Media Hub 4 and Hub 5) broadcast one network name for both bands and decide, per device, which band to use. The feature has several names: band steering, Smart Connect, one Wi-Fi name. When it steers the printer towards 5 GHz, the printer sees nothing, and the setup wizard reports the network as not found.
How to be sure this is your problem: on the Wi-Fi Setup Wizard, look at the list of networks the printer found. If your home network is not in that list at all, stop retyping the password. It is a band problem, not a typing problem.
Three ways round it, easiest first:
- Split the bands for setup. In the router's settings, turn off band steering or Smart Connect. The 2.4 GHz network usually gets its own name, often ending in "-2.4G" or labelled "IoT". Join the printer to that. Once it is connected, you can switch steering back on. The printer keeps hold of the 2.4 GHz band it joined.
- Use a dedicated 2.4 GHz or IoT network if your router or mesh system offers one. Many mesh systems do. Put the printer there and leave it.
- Move your phone to 2.4 GHz before using the app. Epson Smart Panel hands your phone's current Wi-Fi details to the printer. If the phone is on 5 GHz at that moment, it passes over a network the printer cannot use.
While you are in the router settings, check the encryption mode. Epson's supported list for this printer is WEP and WPA/WPA2 PSK. It predates WPA3, so a router set to WPA3 only will refuse it. Set the network to WPA2, or to WPA2/WPA3 transitional mode, which lets your phones and laptops keep WPA3 while the printer uses WPA2. Owners of the EE Smart Hub Plus have reported exactly this on EE's own community forum: the ET-2850 would not join until WPA3 was dropped.
The follow-up question: "Do I have to keep a separate 2.4 GHz network forever?" No. Once the printer has joined a 2.4 GHz network it stays on it. If you split the bands only for setup and merge them again afterwards, the printer keeps the credentials and reconnects to the 2.4 GHz radio inside the combined network. The separate network only has to exist at the moment it joins.
Setting it up cleanly
Two methods are worth your time. Skip WPS unless the others fail.
Epson Smart Panel app
This is the least painful route, mostly because of what it saves you from at step four.
- Install Epson Smart Panel on your phone. Not the old Epson iPrint app.
- On Android 12 and newer, when the app asks for Nearby devices and Location permission, grant both. It uses them to find the printer over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Deny them and the app simply reports "printer not found" with no reason given. Epson's setup documentation spells this out; the app itself does not.
- Turn the printer on and keep the phone within a metre or so for the first handshake.
- Open the app, choose to set up a new printer, or pick "Connect to existing product" if it is already on Wi-Fi.
- Make sure the phone is on the 2.4 GHz network before you hand over the password.
Control panel wizard, no app or computer needed
- Press home, select Wi-Fi Setup (on some firmware this sits under Settings, then Network Settings, then Wi-Fi Setup), press OK.
- Select Wi-Fi (Recommended), OK, then Wi-Fi Setup Wizard, OK.
- Choose your network from the list. If it is missing, go back to the 2.4 GHz section. If it is a hidden network, choose Other SSIDs and type the name in.
- Enter the password. This is the slow part. The ET-2850 has a 1.44 inch colour screen and arrow buttons, no touchscreen, so you scroll a character wheel and switch between lower case, upper case, numbers and symbols as separate banks. A long random broadband password can take a few minutes, and one wrong scroll is usually quicker to fix by clearing the whole field than by nudging it back.
- Confirm. A blue Wi-Fi icon on the screen means the printer joined the router. It does not yet mean your computer can print to it.
WPS
There is no dedicated WPS button to press on the ET-2850 itself, which is what most people go hunting for. Start it from Settings > Network Settings > Wi-Fi Setup > Wi-Fi (Recommended) > Push Button Setup (WPS), then press the WPS button on your router within two minutes. It only works if your router still exposes WPS, and several newer provider routers have removed it.
The follow-up question: "It says setup complete, but my laptop still shows the printer offline." The printer is on the network. Your computer's printer driver is holding an old address. That is the next section.
It connected once, and keeps dropping off
The pattern: the printer works for a week, then after a power cut or a router reboot it is offline again, you re-run setup, it works for another week.
What is happening: the printer gets its IP address from the router automatically, and that address can change when the lease expires or the router restarts. The printer is still on Wi-Fi and still fine. The driver on your PC or Mac saved the old address and is now knocking on an empty door.
The permanent fix is a DHCP reservation, also called address reservation or a static lease:
- Print a network status sheet from the printer (Settings, then Network Settings, then Print Status Sheet). Note the IP address and the MAC or hardware address.
- In your router's admin pages, find DHCP reservation, address reservation or static IP.
- Tie the printer's MAC address to a fixed IP inside your network's range. Save.
- Restart the printer.
From then on the printer keeps the same address and the driver always finds it. It is the single most useful thing you can do with this printer, and it takes five minutes once.
On a mesh system there is a second cause of the same pattern. After a restart, the system can move the printer to a different node with a weaker signal to wherever the printer actually sits. Reserve the IP, and if the signal is marginal, move the printer closer to a node or add one nearby. This is also why setting the printer up right next to the router and then carrying it to a back room can leave it worse off than before you started.
Out-of-date firmware can also cause trouble with newer router security. Update it with Epson Software Updater on a computer, or from the printer's Web Config page in a browser. The catch: firmware updates usually need the printer online already, so if it will not connect at all, do the first update over USB.
The follow-up question: "Printing works now, but scanning says communication error." The scan software keeps its own record of the printer's address, separate from the print driver. Open Epson Scan 2 Utility, or Epson ScanSmart settings, remove the printer, and add it again by IP using the reserved address from above. Wi-Fi scanning also fails when the printer and computer sit on different halves of a mesh network with client isolation switched on, so check that too.
When to reset, and when it is the hardware
Reset the network settings (not a full factory reset) when you have changed router or broadband provider, or when the printer is still carrying settings for a network that no longer exists. On the panel: Settings > Restore Default Settings > Network Settings > Yes, then run setup fresh. This is what clears the E-12 and E-13 situations.
A full factory reset (Restore Default Settings > All Settings) is rarely needed and also wipes your copy and scan preferences.
USB is a fair fallback. If you only ever print from one computer that sits near the printer, a cheap USB cable (type A to type B, not supplied in the box) sidesteps every Wi-Fi issue for good.
It is genuinely the hardware only when the printer cannot see any networks at all, including a strong one your phone picks up from the same spot, and a network reset plus a firmware update over USB changes nothing. At that point the internal wireless module may have failed, which is a warranty or repair question rather than a settings one.
Which models this covers
| Model | Where it is sold | Wi-Fi | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ET-2850 | UK, Europe, Australia | 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct | Automatic double-sided printing, pigment black ink |
| ET-2870 | Europe, black finish | Same | Cosmetic differences only from the ET-2876 |
| ET-2876 | UK, white finish, sold through Currys | Same | "Exactly the same printer" as the ET-2870, per Expert Reviews. Around £250 at launch |
| ET-2800 / ET-2803 | North America | Same | US guides use slightly different menu wording |
| WorkForce WF-2850 | Worldwide | 2.4 GHz | A different printer that uses ink cartridges. Often mixed up with the ET-2850 in search results |
Every EcoTank in this family shares the same 2.4 GHz-only Wi-Fi, so the band and WPA3 advice above applies to all of them. Wi-Fi Direct on these models also tops out at four connected devices at once, which is worth knowing if several people in the house print straight from their phones.
Quick reference
| What you are seeing | Most likely cause | First thing to try |
|---|---|---|
| Home network not in the printer's list of found networks | 5 GHz-only or band-steered network | Split off a 2.4 GHz network name for setup |
| Password rejected again and again, network is visible | Mistyped key, or a WPA3-only router | Retype carefully; set the router to WPA2 or WPA2/WPA3 transitional |
| Report shows E-6 | MAC address filtering on the router | Add the printer's MAC address, or turn filtering off |
| "Setup complete" but the computer still says offline | The print driver is holding an old IP address | Set a DHCP reservation, then remove and re-add the printer |
| Worked for days, offline again after a reboot or power cut | The printer's IP address changed | DHCP reservation |
| Epson Smart Panel cannot find the printer | Android permissions, or the phone is on 5 GHz or a VPN | Grant Nearby devices and Location, move the phone to 2.4 GHz, turn off the VPN |
| Prints fine but will not scan | Scan software has a stale address | Re-add the scanner by its reserved IP in Epson Scan 2 Utility |
| No networks visible at all, ever | Firmware, or a failed wireless module | Update over USB; if nothing changes, it is a repair |
Work through it in that order and most ET-2850 and ET-2870 Wi-Fi problems clear within a few minutes. The two that save the most repeat trouble are getting the printer onto a genuine 2.4 GHz network and giving it a fixed address so it stops disappearing.
Related guides
How to Connect an Epson Printer to Wi-Fi covers the same three setup methods for other EcoTank and Expression models, including the ones with a touchscreen.
Why your printer won't connect to Wi-Fi (and the fix that actually works) goes deeper on band steering, AP isolation and MAC filtering on any brand of printer.
Printer Connected to Wi-Fi but Not Printing is the one to read if the ET-2850 says "setup complete" but jobs still will not come out.
How to Add a Printer to a Mac (Wi-Fi, USB & IP) walks through adding the printer to macOS once it is on the network, including the Local Network permission change in recent versions.