I own both an H2D and an X1C. Once I connected the H2D to Bambu Studio, I never had to touch that connection/device again.
The X1C is a different story. EVERY time I need to use the X1C, it is not in the list of connected devices: it is at the very bottom of the Device display (known but not connected I guess). If I click on it, I am asked to enter the Access Code. After a bit of wandering around, nothing has changed, and if I click on it, I am AGAIN asked to enter the Access Code. Having done it twice, the X1C connects and all is well until I re-boot the PC or have to use the H2D: after that, I have to go through the entire connection sequence again. This is getting very tiresome.
I keep both printers powered on at all times, and the PC is powered on at all times.
I don’t have a problem with a cloud connection, but I seldom connect to the cloud.
In LAN-only mode, Studio cannot remember a connection, and may need to have the access code entered twice, or it might remember the code but it still reports No Printer until you select the X1C, so you always have to visit the Device tab before sending a print. Not only do I need to re-select the printer for every session, I have also seen Studio forget the printer during a session.
Meanwhile, OrcaSlicer has not “forgotten” my printer even once since I began using LAN mode last January. Since Orca is open source and the code is readily available to the Bambu developers, I have to conclude that they are just too lazy to fix their product.
Both OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio ride on the same proprietary Bambu Network Plugin. Orca’s own README says its networking uses “non-free libraries from BambuLab.
Orcaslicer forgets access code … in LAN mode constantly”* (GitHub #6169).
First link is old, second reports one person’s experience with a beta Linux version, may or may not have been corrected in subsequent versions or had other causes.
I’ve never run into that issue. I regularly switch between an X1 Carbon and an H2D with the 40 W laser. The only improvement I’d like is the ability to keep both connected simultaneously rather than one at a time. Otherwise, connectivity has been solid—mostly via the cloud, but I’ve also tested the local (non-cloud) connection without problems.
I was never able to get LAN-Only mode to work at all. BambuLab support was unable to help me. I use the Cloud approach out of exhaustion rather than intention. Their printers print well; the software environment that surrounds them is extremely frustrating.
I’ve never used their support, but with that said, enabling LAN-only mode is simple. That is, unless they’ve changed it in the latest firmware.
Enable the mode from the printer front panel, write down the special hexadecimal code, and then in Bambu Studio click the “Device” tab, then where you see “no printer,” click the “>” on the left to expand, choose “Bind With Access Code,” enter the code and it should find the printer and connect.
The printer only talks on 2.4 GHz WiFi, so make sure it’s using only that band in your network router.