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Frederick Ollinger
Asked: 2020-12-25 18:11:06 +0800 CST

Nordvpn Prevents Printing

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When nordvpn is installed on Ubuntu Linux, and I try to print using Cups, I find that printing to my networked laser printer always fails.

Disabling nordvpn:

 $ nordvpn disable

Allows me to locate the printer with Cups and to print as per normal.

What command do I need to run on the command line with a modern installation of Ubuntu to get printing working?

I tried to whitelist port 471 and 631.

I also whitelisted the IP address that I am on.

All of these measures failed; currently my only printing option is to shut off NordVPN.

networking

3 Answers

  1. The setting in NordVPN (or any VPN probably) is called "Allow local network discovery" and/or "Invisible on LAN". The 1st needs to be active. The 2nd needs to be inactive.

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  2. Got it! (At least on my machine.) Since the Nordvpn Linux command-line interface is rather stripped down and lacks options found in the Windows GUI, such as "Invisible on LAN," I had to experiment. Here is what I found that works on my machine.

    1. I signed into my router to double check the IP address of my printer. It was 10.0.0.109. Yours might be 192.168.0.12. Or whatever. Just double check where your router thinks it is.

    2. In your linux terminal, type in the command nordvpn whitelist add subnet 10.0.0.0/16 or nordvpn whitelist add subnet 192.168.0.0/16 Whichever matches your local IP zone.

    3. Add the printer, using its IP address (for me, http://10.0.0.109) to your list of printers. (I have a Brother HL-2270DW, and earlier the default installation went via a BRW... Brothers node type. No good.) If your printer is not already being addressed via its IP address, add it. I've tested this with both the IP address (works fine) and the Brothers BRW... addressing scheme (doesn't work).

    4. Was this your default printer? If so, set the new printer to be your default printer so you don't inadvertently keep trying to print to the old printer definition.

    5. Done. Test print a web page, LibreOffice doc, or something. Enjoy!

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  3. When installing a printer do so with NordVPN turned off - it's quite important, especially when installing a network printer.

    Both the CUPS files and the manufacturer's files (in my case Brother and Cannon). Test print with NordVPN off. If everything works. Turn on NordVPN and whitelist your local network (see above). Perhaps you also need to whitelist specific ports (check your printer's manual/online info).

    Test print again to see if all of it works as it should. Many installations break if they can not verify a network contact in the setup process and will fail if NordVPN are blocking the process.

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