\Have you just bought a Wi-Fi printer but are unable to connect it to your home wireless network? It could be a device malfunction, but before repackaging it and bringing it back to the store, listen to my advice: try a few more attempts. You may have skipped a few steps in the device setup process, and maybe that’s why it doesn’t work.
If you want to dispel any doubts about it, then read the guide on how to connect a WiFi printer that I am about to offer you and try to put the related instructions into practice. We will analyze in detail all the possible ways to go to install a wireless printer on Windows PCs and Macs. We will then see how to convey the printing of content directly from smartphones and tablets and, in order not to miss anything, how to transform a printer without Wi-Fi support. Fi in a network printer thanks to the router.
Come on, let’s focus on your problem and try to resolve the matter as soon as possible. Roll up your sleeves, take a look at the procedures below and try to follow them all. If your printer is not faulty, by the time you finish reading you will surely be able to connect it to your home wireless network. Good luck!
Index
- Preliminary operations
- How to connect WiFi printer to Windows PC
- Printers without screens
- How to connect WiFi printer to Mac
- How to connect WiFi printer to cellphone: Android
- Printers without screens
- How to connect WiFi printer to phone: iPhone
- Non-AirPlay printers
- How to connect WiFi printer without router
Preliminary operations
Before we get to the heart of the matter and connect the WiFi printer to your Windows PC, your Mac and / or mobile devices in your possession, there are some preliminary steps you need to take (if you haven’t already done so, of course).
First, connect the printer to the electrical outlet using the special power cable supplied, then press the power button on the device (usually on the front of the same) to put it into operation.
Once this is done, you need to worry about connecting the printer to your wireless network. To do that, simply tap the LCD display or the touch screen available on device: using physical keys or virtual ones, open its menu to menu settings and reach the one dedicated to the network configuration , all ‘ installation of the network or similar.
Once this is done, locate and access the section relating to the Wi-Fi configuration , specify the name of the network to connect to by selecting it from those available and, when prompted, enter the network key to be used to establish the connection, using the physical numeric keypad or the virtual keyboard.
If the printer is not equipped with an LCD display, you can connect the WiFi printer to the router in a different way, using the WPS technology . If you had never heard of it, it allows two devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network to communicate with each other at the push of a button.
Unfortunately, for security reasons, the WPS functionality is often inactive on many new generation routers, therefore you should access the management panel of the network device , enter the configuration area of the Wi-Fi networks and manually activate the appropriate function, before proceeding further.
Once this is done, locate the physical WPS button on the router (which usually depicts two opposite circular arrows ), press it and repeat the same operation, within a maximum of 2 minutes or less , also on the physical WPS button of the printer . Within a few moments, the two devices should be connected to each other and, as a result, the printer’s Wi-Fi LED should glow solid.
Alternatively, if you are unable to take advantage of the quick association via WPS, you may need to connect the printer to both the router and your device using the specific software provided by the manufacturer, as I am about to explain in the following sections of this guide.
How to connect WiFi printer to Windows PC
If you have managed to connect the printer to the Internet via the integrated display, or via WPS, setting it up on a computer animated by Windows is a breeze.
To start, after turning on and starting the printer correctly, right-click on the Windows Start button (the flag icon located on the left side of the taskbar), choose the Settings item from the menu that appears and, arrived at the new window , click on the Devices / Bluetooth Devices icon . If you use Windows 8.1 or a previous edition of the operating system, open the Control Panel instead (always from the Start menu ) and select the Hardware and Sound item , located inside it.
At this point, go to the section dedicated to Printers and scanners (if necessary) and press the Add device / Add a printer or scanner button to start the search for detectable devices. When the name of your printer appears on the screen, click on it and finalize the connection by clicking on the Add device button .
Once the connection phase has been completed, indicate a name to be assigned to the printer to recognize it, typing it in the dedicated box and clicking the Next button twice consecutively; now, if you are interested in printing a test page , press the appropriate button and wait for the printer to issue the sheet; otherwise, click on the Finish button to complete the link.
Printers without screens
If your printer is not equipped with a display and / or you have not been able to use the connection via WPS, you must necessarily use the management program of the same, almost always downloadable from the website of the device manufacturer or on the Windows and macOS stores.
Before proceeding, make sure that the computer is connected to the same Wi-Fi network to use for the printer and that the latter device is turned on and ready to accept new wireless connections: you can check this by looking at the LED located at the Wi-Fi button (depicting cleats or an antenna ), which should flash intermittently.
Otherwise, you can set up the printer to accept new connections by pressing and holding the physical Wi-Fi and Cancel buttons (the latter showing a red X or a red triangle ), until the network status LED begins to blink.
Now, you must obtain the software for your printer configuration, which is downloaded from the manufacturer’s Web site or from the Microsoft Store: If you need help in this regard, see my previous guide on how to download the HP driver , the driver Samsung , Epson drivers and Canon drivers .
The installation procedure of drivers and software for printer configuration should be quite simple: after starting the file downloaded from the manufacturer’s website, you must follow the instructions on the screen and wait for the driver installation to complete .
Following this operation, the program should ask you to carry out the initial configuration of the printer: then click on the Yes , Confirm or Next button , select the device name among those detected and, when prompted, specify the Wi-Fi network to the which one to connect the printer (or indicate that you want to configure the same network for use on the computer ) and complete the connection and the consequent configuration on the computer, following the instructions you receive on the screen.
Unfortunately, each manufacturer adopts a different procedure and, therefore, I cannot be very precise about the precise steps to be taken; To give you an example, however, I can explain how to connect an HP WiFi printer without a screen, using the HP Smart application available on the Microsoft Store .
So, click on the link I pointed out earlier, press the Get and Open buttons in Microsoft Store (if necessary) choose you want to open the Microsoft Store (if necessary) and, when this happens, press the Get button again , to download the program.
Once installation is complete, click on the Open button to start HP Smart, click on the Continue button and choose whether or not to share data on the use of the app with HP , using the appropriate buttons; now, click on the Add a printer item or on the (+) button and, when the printer name appears in the list of available devices, click on the respective box (which should be marked with the word Configuration ).
At this point, click on the buttons Continue , and Yes , in order to connect the printer to the same wireless network on your computer, press again on Continue and whether to proceed with the creation of an HP account and / or enroll in the program HP Instant Ink (which allows you to automatically order consumables before they run out), using the appropriate items.
We are almost there: now specify the place and the location where you are, wait for the final installation of the drivers and ignore the sending of the links on smartphones and / or tablets; to finish, click on the Continue button , to print a test page, or on Not now , to complete the printer configuration phase. For more details, check out my tutorial on how to connect an HP printer to Wi-Fi .
How to connect WiFi printer to Mac
If you need to use your printer on the Mac and have managed to connect the device to the Internet following the instructions I gave you in the initial chapter of this guide, you can get the desired result in no time.
Like? I’ll explain it to you right away. To start, open the macOS System Preferences by clicking on the gear icon located on the Dock , press the Printers and Scanners icon located in the new screen that opens and then on the [+] button , located at the bottom left.
Now, click on the tab depicting a printer symbol (called Default ), wait for the name of the printing device to appear on the screen and, when it does, click on it. Finally, wait a few seconds for macOS to finish installing the device driver and press the Add button to finalize everything.
If your printer has not been previously connected to the Internet as it is not equipped with an LCD screen or unable to establish a connection via WPS, you must download the dedicated software from the manufacturer’s website or from the Mac App Store (just visit the appropriate section and click on the Get / Install button ).
Once this is done, you just have to follow the instructions on the screen to proceed, using the downloaded software, with the installation of the drivers and the contextual configuration of the printing device, as I have already explained to you in one of the previous sections of this guide. .
How to connect WiFi printer to cellphone: Android
Contrary to what it might seem, connecting a wireless printer to an Android phone (or tablet) is a very simple task to complete. For example, if the printer has already been connected to the Internet , it is sufficient that the latter and the Android device are connected to the same Wi-Fi network to be able to easily print any type of file.
For example, if the version of the operating system on your smartphone is 10 or higher and the printer was recently manufactured, you may even be able to start printing a file, without installing anything: to do this, open the document of your interest, tap on the share symbol visible on the screen of the app you are using (depicting three dots joined by a line or the square with the arrow ) and tap the Print button / Android Print Service , located in the panel that appears.
Now, tap on the Select printer menu usually located at the top, press on the name of the printer to use, adjust the additional settings such as number of copies , color options and paper size (if necessary) and tap on the printer symbol , to finish .
If the printer is not listed in the list of detectable devices, you may have to install the print plugin made available by the manufacturer, directly on the Play Store or on the alternative stores for Android installed on devices not equipped with Google services.
For example, the application dedicated to HP printers is called Plugin for HP Print Services , the one for Epson printers is called Epson Print Enabler , while that of Canon is called Canon Print Service and so on.
Once you have identified the most suitable app for your printer, install it on your device, accept the terms of use and grant the permissions requested, to complete the driver configuration. Once this step is completed, you can proceed with printing the documents, following the same steps seen above. For more information on the topic you can take a look at my tutorial on how to print from Android .
Printers without screens
If your printer is not equipped with a screen / WPS and, consequently, you have not yet been able to connect it to the Internet, you must use the manufacturer’s specific application to proceed with the configuration and contextual connection to the Network. before proceeding further, that the smartphone is connected to the same Wi-Fi network you want to use on the printer and that the printer is turned on and able to accept Wi-Fi connections (the status LED corresponding to the wireless key must flash intermittently ; if not, press and hold the Cancel and Wireless buttons to reset the network).
Now, open the Play Store (or the reference market of your device), search and install the specific application for your printing device: HP Smart for HP printers, Epson Connect / iPrint for Epson, iPrint & Scan for Brother and so on. If you don’t know the name of the specific app for your device, try Google for phrases like printer configuration app [device brand and model] .
Once you have identified the app on the Android store, go to the dedicated section and press the Install button to download it; finally, tap the Open button , accept the terms of use of the app and grant the necessary permissions for its operation, when requested.
Finally, follow the steps you find indicated on the screen, in order to connect the printer to the Internet and make it available also for the phone; in general, everything consists in selecting the name of the printer to be configured from the list of those detected, indicating the Wi-Fi network to connect it to (or choosing the one in use on the mobile phone) and finalizing everything by accepting the terms of use of the device Press.
To learn more, I refer you to reading my guides on how to print from mobile to HP printer , how to print from mobile to Epson printer and how to print from mobile to Canon printer , in which I have shown you how some apps of this type work. .
How to connect WiFi printer to phone: iPhone
And on the iPhone ? In this case, if your printer has been connected to the Internet beforehand , you may be able to use Apple’s built-in AirPrint system right away . Most Wi-Fi printers manufactured in the past 10 years are compatible with the above technology, but you can easily make sure by looking at the print device’s datasheet or sales package.
If, on the other hand, the printer is compatible with AirPlay but has not yet been connected to the Internet, you must download the specific app for the device – usually downloadable for free from the App Store – and carry out the first configuration from there, in a similar way to what already seen for Android .
In any case, to start a print via AirPrint, view the file to be printed on paper, touch the sharing symbol located on the app screen (the square with the arrow ) and tap on the Print item located in the menu that appears later .
At this point, press on the wording Printer , select your device from those available and use the menus you see on the screen to set any additional options (color, number of copies, etc.). When you’re ready, tap the Print button and that’s it.
Non-AirPlay printers
If your printing device is connected to the Internet but is not compatible with AirPrint, you can use Wi-Fi Direct technology or, again, connect it with your phone using Printer Pro , a third-party app compatible with the vast majority of existing printers and with almost all versions of iOS.
Printer Pro costs € 6.99 , but you can download a free Lite version , to use to check the compatibility of the app with your printer. For everything to go smoothly, the printer and phone must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
In any case, once the application has been downloaded, open it and touch the + Printer button , tap the name of the printing device to be configured from the list displayed immediately afterwards and press the Print test page button , to verify that the connection has been made. established correctly.
If the procedure is successful, press the OK button , calibrate the page and tap the Next and Start Print buttons , to exit the configuration and start using the app.
Otherwise, click on the Not good option and indicate the printing language in use on the device, in the panel that opens: if you do not know it, you can retrieve it from the user manual of the printer, or search Google for phrases such as PDL [printer brand and model] . After this step, proceed with printing a test page, as I showed you previously.
Once the app configuration is complete, open the document you want to print, tap the share symbol and choose the Print with Printer Pro item from the menu displayed (if you can’t find it, press the More button to make it visible). Finally, put the check mark next to the name of the printer to use, touch the Print button and that’s it. For more information, you can read my tutorial on how to print from iPhone .
How to connect WiFi printer without router
Were you unable to implement any of the solutions mentioned above, as you do not have a router and / or an ADSL, Fiber or radio wave Wi-Fi connection? In this case, you may be able to take advantage of Wi-Fi Direct technology , built into the vast majority of printers produced in recent years.
In detail, Wi-Fi Direct is a standard designed to facilitate direct communication between two or more compatible devices, both equipped with a working wireless card, without necessarily having to rely on a network device that acts as an intermediary, such as a router.
To follow this path, you must first activate Wi-Fi Direct from the printer settings: if the printer is equipped with a touch-screen or LCD display, go to the specific menu for network configuration / network settings or Wi-Fi ( the name varies depending on the device in use), open the area dedicated to Wi-Fi Direct / Wireless Direct and activate the connection by pressing the appropriate button. Now, open the menu called security , password or login and write down the WPS PIN / password to use to establish the connection.
If, on the other hand, your printer does not have a screen, you need to locate the physical button dedicated to Wi-Fi Direct and press it: for example, on HP printing devices it depicts two sheets and a smartphone with waves . Once this is done, wait for the Wi-Fi Direct LED to light up steadily and print the Wi-Fi Direct password by simultaneously pressing the physical information (symbol (i) ) and wireless ( antenna or cleat- shaped ) buttons .
Regardless of the activation procedure you performed, the printer should generate a wireless network called DIRECT_PrinterName , PrinterName_DIRECT or similar, to which you can connect from the device you want to use for printing (computer, smartphone or tablet), exactly as you would with any other wireless network .
Finally, you just have to start printing a document through the print menu of the operating system, program or app used to open it and select the name of the Wi-Fi Direct printer in the list of available devices.
Note : When using Wi-Fi Direct printers, you cannot connect your computer, smartphone or tablet to other wireless networks.
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