tp-link USB Printer Controller broken after Microsoft/Windows 10 updates
Win10 update appears to break tp-link USB Printer Controller!
I have two different Windows 10 laptops. (HP and Lenovo.)
For many months, USB Printer Controller worked very well on both computers.
I have an Archer A7 (AC1750) router and a Brother HL-L2320D printer.
The USB cable from the printer is plugged into the USB port of the router.
USB Printer Controller is installed separately on both computers.
This configuration worked fine for a long time. No changes have been made to anything.
Over the past two or three weeks, after multiple required Microsoft updates installed on both computers at different times, USB Printer Controller no longer works on either one!
I have updated the firmware on the router to the latest level today.
I have reinstalled USB Printer Controller from tp-link's website according to instructions on both computers.
I have checked all physical connections, and rebooted the router.
I have rebooted both laptops multiple times.
I confirmed the printer and cable both work properly by plugging the printer cable directly into my laptop and I can print just fine.
But the USB Printer Controller does not work, and none of these actions have improved the situation.
Remember, it used to work. Now spontaneously it fails on two different computers.
I do NOT suspect a hardware problem because the failure to print on the two computers did not happen at the same time, but rather within a few days of each other.
I do not know what updates were installed on which computer, or when.
When I start the USB Printer Controller, it does not recognize the printer or even the router, as seen in this screenshot.
Previously, upon startup of this program on this screen I would see the Router (colored in red text I think), and then below that, indented, and in blue text(?) I would see my printer. Now as you can see, there is nothing.
And because there is nothing, there is nothing else that can be done. All options on this screen are grayed out. The pulldowns allow me to close the program, set my language preference, and show the level of the program, and that's all.
For the record....
I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY A MICROSOFT/WINDOWS 10 UPDATE.
Two possibilities:
The Microsoft Update is bad somehow.
-or-
TP-LINK needs to provide an update to USB Printer Controller to accomodate the impact of the Microsoft update to their product.
My guess is that it's the second one.
TP-LINK, any fix planned for this problem?!
Thank you!