How to setup my wifi printer

How to Connect a Printer to Wi-Fi

Julia Borgini is a former Lifewire writer and a technical copywriter. She’s written for B2B News Network, Kissmetrics, Social Media Examiner, and more.

What to Know

• Power on the printer and connect it to your Wi-Fi network. You’ll need the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password.
• Your computer has to be on the same Wi-Fi network for wireless printing.
• On iOS, you can use AirPrint to print wirelessly, and Android lets you choose a default printer.

This article explains how to set up wireless printing for computers, smartphones, and tablets and test a wireless printer.

How to Set up a Wireless Printer

The first step is to connect the printer to Wi-Fi, so any device on the network can print to it, including laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

Specific directions to connect your printer to the network should be in the box. Usually, it’s a simple process of powering on the system and connecting to the network through the printer interface or a companion app on your computer or mobile device.

How to Set up Your Mobile Devices to Print Wirelessly

Now that the printer is connected to the network, it’s time to set up the device you want to print from.

• To print wirelessly from your computer: Add the printer to the computer’s printer list following the appropriate instructions to add a printer to Windows or a Mac.
• To print wirelessly from iOS mobile devices: Use AirPrint if the printer supports it, or a printing app if it doesn’t, such as handyPrint or Printopia. The printing apps help the computer receive data from AirPrint, then send it to the wireless printer.
• To print wirelessly from Android mobile devices: Add the printer to Android’s Default Printing Service settings page, which lets you send print jobs from any app that supports printing, such as Google Chrome.

How to Test Your Wireless Printer

The final step is to test your wireless printer setup to make sure it’s correct.

If the printer doesn’t appear in the list, restart the printer or the mobile device. If you continue to experience issues, refer to the printer manufacturer’s website for help.

The Advantages to Wireless Printing

Wireless printing is convenient, whether you’re at home, work, or school. Here are a few of the benefits of wireless printing.

• Printers for every budget: The major printer manufacturers include Wi-Fi in their printer models, often at all price points. You can buy a wireless printer for less than $50.
• Print from anywhere: With cloud printing solutions like HP ePrint, you can print wirelessly to a printer in another physical location. (Typically, to print wirelessly, the device and the printer must be on the same network.) It makes it easier for people to print because it eliminates the need to install the printer and its drivers beforehand. You can also print from any device connected to the same network.
• Eliminate extra cords and cables: A wireless printer only has a power cord attached to it, eliminating the extra wires. You can set it up in a suitable location, and it frees up a USB port on your computer that you can use for something else.
• Save on energy and paper costs: Instead of having multiple printers set up wherever anyone needs to print, you can centralize printing to a single wireless printer. You could save on paper, toner, and ink costs because everyone might think twice before printing.

Most new printers connect to any wireless network. So you can print from your laptop, tablet, or smartphone. For most people, wireless printing refers to Bluetooth-enabled printing or Wi-Fi printing. Both allow you to print without connecting any cables between your device and the printer.

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How To Connect Printer To Wifi

However, you must configure the printers correctly before using them. Fortunately, connecting the printers to the WiFi and configuring wireless settings is very easy. You can do it in a few minutes using the methods listed below.

How to Connect Printer to WiFi#

Here are some methods to connect a printer with your WiFi. You can select one according to your preference.

Auto Wireless Connect#

The newer HP printers allow automatic connection with a WiFi network via HP Auto Wireless Connect mode. It automatically connects the printer to WiFi without having to enter network settings or use any cables.You can use this mode by selecting the “Yes, send my wireless settings to the printer (recommended)” option while installing the printer software on your PC.Your printer will be in ready to pair state for two hours after turning it on for the first time. Resetting your network settings will re-enable auto wireless connect. It is useful if you need to connect your printer to a new access point or after two hours.

Configuring Wireless Settings#

Most modern printers allow direct configuration of wireless settings without connecting to a computer. Your printer must have a control panel where you can access its settings for this method.

On Brother Printer#

If the SSID of your WiFi is not available on the list, you can click on to manually enter the network configuration.Also, to avoid an unnecessary interruption, make sure your printer is within the WiFi range.

On Epson Printer#

On HP Printer#

On Xerox Printer#

Using Wireless Protected Setup Push Button Method#

To use this method, your printer and your router need to fulfill some criteria:

The printer should support WPS Push Mode.The router must have a WPS button.The network should have WPA or WPA2 password.

If these criteria are satisfied, using the WPS Push button method is the easiest way of connecting your printer to the WiFi. Here’s how you can do so:Wait for the wireless indicator on the printer to stop flashing. It signifies that you have established the connection.

Using Printer Software#

You can also configure your printer’s WiFi settings while installing its software on a computer. If the printer does not have a built-in menu but can connect to the WiFi, this is the best method to use.Connect the printer to your computer using a USB or Ethernet cable. After the connection, an installation wizard should pop up on its own. If it did not start, use the installation software that came with the printer or download it from the printer’s website.In the configuration setup, access the wireless settings and configure them according to your network. The steps in the setup are different for separate printers, so get help from user manuals if you are not sure what to do.

Restore Network Settings#

You must restore your network configuration to factory settings before connecting it to a new access point. Here are the usual ways to do so on some printers. However, we recommend looking through their user guide beforehand to confirm the method.Canon Printers:Different printers have different options. For some, you need to press and hold the RESUME/CANCEL button until the power lamp blinks 9/17/21 times. For others, you’ll need different steps.HP Printers:There are separate steps based on different models. For instance, you may need to

Press and hold the Wireless and the Cancel buttons until the Power button or the Wireless indicator blinks. Or,Press and hold the Wireless button until Attention and Power indicators start flashing.Access Restore Network Settings or Restore Network Defaults options from the control panel menu.

Brother Printers:Epson Printers:Xerox Printer:

Confirm Network Settings#

We recommend printing a report of your network configuration to confirm your connection settings. Here, ensure that the SSID shows the correct network name and the Connection is Active.Canon Printer:Different models have different options for this, such as:

Press and hold the Resume/Cancel button until the alarm indicator blinks a certain number of times times.Go to Menu > Device Settings > LAN Settings > Confirm LAN settings > Print LAN Details.

Brother Printer:While using the wireless wizard to set up a connection, the printer will prompt you to confirm if you want to print a report. If you want to print the report at other times, you can go to its Settings > Print Reports > Network Config. The exact options vary between models.HP Printers:The method differs among individual models. In general, you need to access the Wireless or Network Settings or press and hold the Wireless button with/without Information or Resume buttons. Find out the exact methods from your model’s user guide.Epson Printers:Xerox Printers:

Troubleshooting Issues While Connecting Printer to WiFi#

Some problems may occur while attempting to connect the printer with your WiFi. Here are some of the ways you can troubleshoot such an issue.

Power Cycle Router, Printer, and Computer#

If you can’t connect to the WiFi, the first method you should use is to power cycle your devices. To do so, completely shut down your PC, printer, and router and disconnect any power supply for 15-30 seconds. Then, turn them on and retry connecting the printer to the WiFi.

Check Proximity and Obstruction#

Many physical factors can obstruct WiFi signals. Place your printer close to the router and remove any obstructions between them to get stronger signals.

Check Router Settings#

Improper configuration of router settings causes many issues for a wireless printer. Enter the Router Gateway IP of your router on the browser address to access its settings and check for the following configuration:

MAC Filtering: When MAC Filtering is enabled, only devices with allowed MAC addresses can connect to the network. To debug this issue, add the printer’s MAC address to the list or disable MAC filtering.Wireless Band: If you disable the 2.4 GHz frequency band on your dual-band router, printers that use this band will not connect to WiFi. In this case, you must enable this option.802.11: Your printer won’t connect to a router if this setting is set to 802.11n mode only. We strongly recommend you select mixed 802.11b/g/n mode. If you can’t, at least include 802.11g to connect your router.Wireless Isolation: This setting prevents devices from communicating over the network. So make sure it’s turned off.DHCP: DHCP automatically assigns the IP addresses to the connected devices. Enable it so your printer can communicate over the WiFi.

Also, check if there are any restrictions in the router’s built-in firewall. Additionally, if you changed your router password, you need to reset the printer’s network settings and reconnect to the WiFi.

Fixing Issues with Printing#

If you successfully connected your printer to the WiFi but failed to print anything, your system or the printer may have some issues. Check out our articles on Printer Not Printing, Printer Driver Unavailable, and Can’t Find Printer to troubleshoot the relevant problems.

My Printer Won’t Print From My Phone. What Should I Do?#

If your printer won’t print from your phone, there might be issues with the network connection or the printer. You can do the following actions to fix this issue:

Restart your devices.Install the printer’s app or plugin.Reconnect your printer to the network.Clear printer spooler.

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