HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Not Printing, Not Feeding Paper, Paper Jam Errors, Color Problems, Wi-Fi Issues, and Windows 11 Problems

HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Not Printing, Not Feeding Paper, Paper Jam Errors, Color Problems, Wi-Fi Issues, and Windows 11 Problems

The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 tends to fail in partial, frustrating ways. It may still power on and scan, but stop showing a feature users expect on the panel. It may still print A4 correctly while larger jobs come out in grayscale. It may keep a tray loaded and ready, yet refuse to pick up the paper that is already there. It may reconnect to one network and then refuse a new router until the wireless path is rebuilt. 

That split behavior is what makes the 7740 harder to troubleshoot than a simple printer not recognized or offline printer complaint. This page documents what actually changed the outcome on this model when users hit paper feed problems, Wi-Fi setup issues, missing color output, or Windows 11 installation failures.

Problem: Printer not feeding photo paper

What users observed: The 7740 accepted the job, but would not properly pick up the loaded media. In one solved case, photo paper would not feed consistently even though the user had already loaded the paper and expected the printer to treat it like any other print job. The failure looked like a paper jam or not feeding paper problem at first, but the actual issue was that the tray and media settings did not match the paper that had been loaded.

What was tried: The working path was not another reinstall. The paper had to be loaded into a tray that actually supported that stock, and the printer’s paper size and type settings had to be updated either from the touchscreen or through the embedded web server. 

How this played out: Once the tray paper settings matched the actual stock, the feed problem cleared. This was not one of those cases where replacing rollers or blaming the driver changed anything. The 7740 was refusing a mismatch between the loaded paper and the tray configuration.

Problem: The printer reports a paper jam or stays stuck in a jam state

What users observed: In the recurring jam cases, the 7740 would keep reporting a paper jam or behave as though the paper path had not recovered, even after visible paper had already been removed. In another persistent-jam case, sheets were crumpling through the feeder to the rear and the machine stayed trapped in the same jam loop. That made the issue feel more serious than a one-time bad sheet.

What was tried: The successful recovery path on the persistent-jam report was a full power drain with the cartridges removed, the printer unplugged from both the wall and the unit, the power button held, and the device plugged back directly into a wall outlet before the cartridges were reinstalled. 

How this played out: The jam state only cleared after the device was fully power-drained and restarted from a clean hardware state. On this model, that matters because a repeated paper jam error is not always about another sheet being stuck in the path. Sometimes the printer has simply not recovered cleanly from the last feed failure.

Problem: HP Printer printing black and white instead of color

What users observed: One Windows 11 user had a 7740 that printed A4 from Tray 1 in color without trouble, yet A3 jobs from Tray 2 came out in black and white. HP Smart did not fix it, and the difference stayed tied to that larger paper path rather than to printing in general. That made the issue look like a tray or media problem at first, but the accepted fix ended up being on the software side.

What was tried: The accepted solution was to install a newer printer package for the 7740 instead of staying on the existing path. This was not speculative: the original poster came back and confirmed that the suggested updated driver solved the problem for that exact A3 grayscale case.

How this played out: Once the newer package was installed, the A3 color issue cleared. That makes this a useful 7740 example because the printer was not globally failing at printing color. The break was narrower and only disappeared after the print path was updated.

Problem: Printer missing Scan to Network Folder

What users observed: Users opened the embedded web server and found only webscan, while the printer itself offered only “Computer” or “USB” as scan destinations. For people expecting a normal scan to folder or SMB destination on the panel, that looked like a missing setup step or a disabled feature. On other office machines, that expectation would have been reasonable. On the 7740, it was the wrong assumption.

What was tried: The accepted answer did not walk through SMB credentials or share paths because that was not the issue. The answer was that this model does not support Digital Scan to Network Folder as a native feature. The supported digital-sending options are scan to PC, scan to memory device, and scan to email, with HP app shortcuts providing additional save and share workflows.

How this played out: The result here was not a hidden menu trick. It was a feature-limit answer. Users stopped trying to force a native SMB scan path onto a model that does not offer it, and instead had to use scan to computer, USB, email, or HP app shortcuts. 

Problem: The printer would not connect to a new router or new Wi-Fi network

What users observed: After a router or network change, the 7740 would no longer connect properly even though it had worked before. In another case, the computer could get the printer onto the network through the app, but then the setup still stopped because the PC could not complete the handoff to the printer. The result looked like a broad Wi-Fi problem, but the accepted fixes were very specific to rebuilding the wireless setup path.

What was tried: The successful route was to restore network defaults or Wi-Fi setup mode on the printer itself and then run the Wireless Setup Wizard again rather than assuming the old network profile would adapt automatically. Where the app could see the printer but not finish setup, the same advice applied: put the 7740 back into Wi-Fi setup mode and re-add it from there.

How this played out: Once the old network state was cleared and the printer was put back through Wireless Setup Wizard, the connection path worked again. This was not a case where the 7740 had lost wireless printing permanently. It was still holding onto a network profile that no longer matched the router environment.

Problem: The printer saw Wi-Fi, but still would not connect properly

What users observed: In another class of 7740 wireless cases, the printer could see the wireless network but still would not join it correctly. That made the failure look arbitrary, because the signal was clearly present. The accepted guidance pointed to a specific compatibility limitation rather than to a broken radio.

What was tried: The practical check was to verify that the router was offering a supported 2.4 GHz SSID and not relying on a setup the 7740 would not use as expected. This mattered because the printer could still “see” a network and yet fail at the actual connection stage if the router side was not presenting a path the device supported cleanly.

How this played out: Once the wireless setup matched the printer’s supported band behavior, the connection issue stopped looking like random printer cannot connect to Wi-Fi trouble and started behaving predictably. The 7740 was not ignoring the router. It was being asked to join a wireless path that did not match the way it expected to connect.

Problem: Windows 11 reported “Driver Unavailable” or the 7740 would not finish installing after reinstall

What users observed: One Windows 11 case described the printer working for years and then suddenly showing Driver Unavailable. Another described a reimaged Windows 11 system where the 7740 would not complete setup because the installer pushed the user into the HP app at the last stage and the process failed there. In both cases, the device existed, but the Windows-side print path had stopped behaving normally.

What was tried: The accepted Windows 11 solution was very specific: uninstall all HP printer software, remove the printer from Devices and Printers, restart the PC, install the full 7740 print-and-scan package again, and cancel or skip the HP app at the last step rather than letting setup depend on it. This was not a vague “update the driver” answer. It was a full rebuild of the Windows print path using the complete package.

How this played out: After the old HP software and device entries were removed and the full package was reinstalled cleanly, the installation completed and the printer came back. That makes this a genuine Windows 11 section for the 7740, because the printer did have a model-specific recovery path once the install state had broken.