How to Connect a Wireless Printer: A Step-by-Step Guide

Connecting a wireless printer to your computer, phone, or tablet can be a game-changer in terms of convenience and flexibility. No longer tethered by cables and cords, wireless printers allow you to print from anywhere within range of your WiFi network.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the entire process of setting up a wireless printer on all major operating systems and devices. We’ll also troubleshoot some of the most common wireless printing issues you may encounter.

Benefits of Wireless Printers

Before we dig into the setup process, let’s look at why you may want to go wireless in the first place:

• Convenience – The main benefit is the ability to place your printer anywhere in your home or office and print from any device wirelessly. No more dealing with tangled cables or trying to position things close together.
• Flexibility – Similarly, wireless capabilities mean you can print while on the go from mobile devices connected to the network. This also makes it easy for multiple people to share the same printer.
• Clean look – With fewer wires strewn about, your workspace takes on a cleaner, less cluttered appearance. This can help free up valuable surface area.
• Inexpensive – Adding wireless networking capabilities to a printer is extremely affordable these days. Often it’s just a one-time cost of a wireless network adapter.
• Secure – Wireless printers allow for the same security protocols and encryption standards as a wireless router. This includes WPA and WPA2 protection.

Now that we know why wireless connectivity rocks, let’s get that printer set up!

What You’ll Need

Before starting the setup process, make sure you have the required equipment:

• Wireless printer – This can be an inkjet, laser jet, all-in-one, etc model with built-in wireless support or a WiFi adapter.
• WiFi router – Your printer will connect to this router’s wireless network signal. The router must use one of the 802.11 wireless standards.
• Device to print from – This device must connect to the same wireless network as the printer. Supported devices include Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones/Android smartphones, and tablets.
• WiFi password – You’ll need to enter your wireless network password when connecting the printer. Have this password handy.

Connecting a Wireless Printer to Windows

Setting up a wireless printer in Windows 10 is quick and painless. We’ll use the specialized printer setup process baked into Windows to handle this automatically.

Step 1 – Turn On and Connect Printer

Make sure your wireless printer is powered on and in setup mode if required (refer to your printer’s user guide for specifics). The printer should automatically join your WiFi network. Give it a few minutes to connect.

Step 2 – Open Printers & Scanners Settings

Go to Start > Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners. Click Add a printer or scanner at the top.

Step 3 – Select Wireless Printer

In the Add Printer Wizard that opens, select The printer that I want isn’t listed. At the next screen, choose Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings then click Next.

Step 4 – Select TCP/IP or IPP Connection

For connection type, choose one of the following protocols that your printer supports:

• TCP/IP – For general printers
• Windows for IPP – For newer devices

Then click Next.

Step 5 – Add Printer Details

Enter IP address or hostname details for your wireless printer:

• IP address – Found using the printer’s menu or network config screen. For standard wireless connections, the address should be something like 192.168.1.x.
• Hostname – Optional alternate printer ID that works like an IP address.

When done click Next.

Step 6 – Confirm Connection Status

Windows will try connecting to the printer. If successful, green text will indicate it made a good connection. Click Next to continue.

If the connection fails, check printer is on, and connected to WiFi, then retry from Step 4 entering details carefully.

Step 7 – Finalize Printer Installation

Almost done! At the next screen:

1. Select printer manufacturer and model – Choose the option matching your wireless printer
2. Name the printer – Give it a friendly identifier like “Upstairs Wireless Printer”
3. Set as default printer – Check this box if wanting it to default for print jobs
4. Print test page – Test that jobs are processing correctly

When ready click Finish to complete setup!

To confirm the printer is ready for wireless printing, try sending a test print job from the device of your choice within network range. Some ideas:

• Print a document from Word
• Print an image from Photos app
• Print web page from Chrome browser

And that’s it! Windows automatically configures everything on your network required for wireless printing.

Connecting a Wireless Printer to Mac

Here’s how to quickly get up and running with a wireless printer on macOS:

Step 1 – Turn On and Connect Printer

As with Windows, power on the printer and connect it to your WiFi network first. Consult your manufacturer’s setup guide if needed. Give the connection process a few minutes.

Step 2 – Open Printers & Scanners Utility

In Finder, select Go > Utilities from the top menu then double-click the Printers & Scanners icon.

Step 3 – Click + Button to Add Printer

In the Printers & Scanners utility, click the + button below the left side list to start adding the wireless printer.

Step 4 – Select Wireless Printer

This launches printer setup assistant. Along the top select your connection type – either IP for IP address or Bonjour for printers that support that discovery protocol.

Most consumers will choose Bonjour – it auto-detects compatible printers on your network.

Hit Continue when the protocol is chosen to move forward.

Step 5 – Identify Wireless Printer

If IP is chosen:

• Manually enter the printer’s IP address
• Select the printer model from the dropdown
• Click Add

For Bonjour:

• Available wireless printers will auto-populate
• Choose your printer from the list
• Confirm printer model
• Click Add

Step 6 – Add Printer Driver Software

If this is the first time connecting this printer, macOS will automatically install the required software drivers.

• Select software for printer model when prompted
• Click OK

The printer will show up in the left side list when successfully added!

Step 7 – Print Test Page

Like in Windows, print a test page to validate that everything is working:

• Choose the newly added printer
• Go to File > Print Test Page
• Confirm page prints properly

Now you can print wirelessly from any compatible macOS application. Enjoy!

Connecting Wireless Printer to iPhone and iPad

Thanks to AirPrint, setting up an iOS device with a wireless printer is incredibly seamless. Here’s how:

Step 1 – Turn On and Connect Printer

First things first, power on the printer on confirm it joins your WiFi network successfully.

Newer printers usually handle wireless setup themselves automatically. If yours has trouble, consult device instructions for how to manually connect.

Step 2 – Turn on AirPrint

Next, make sure the AirPrint feature is enabled on your iPhone or iPad:

• Open Settings app
• Navigate to General > AirPrint
• Toggle on AirPrint (green)

This allows iOS communication with the printer.

Note: AirPrint needs both device and printer to be on the same WiFi network

Step 3 – Print From App

That’s it for setup! Now open any compatible app like:

• Safari
• Photos
• Mail
• iBooks
• Etc.

Then attempt printing something by tapping the Share icon and then selecting the printer name.

For example to print a photo:

1. Open Photos app
2. Pick out a great pic
3. Tap Share button
4. Under Print select your wireless printer
5. Tap Print

Photos will handle the rest converting the digital image data to a physical printout – wirelessly of course!

So yeah, it’s that easy thanks to native AirPrint integration. Everything just works exactly as expected!

Connecting Wireless Printer to Android Devices

Wireless Android phone and tablet setup is also quite straightforward. It leverages native OS support for popular connectivity standards:

• WiFi Direct
• IPP
• Apple AirPrint

This means most modern printers will connect to Android wirelessly without having to install any extra apps or software. Let’s check out the two main methods.

We’ll demonstrate on Android 12, but all versions from Android 4.4+ feature wireless printing capabilities.

Method 1 – Using WiFi Direct

Many wireless all-in-one inkjets and photo printers support WiFi Direct which allows ad-hoc connections directly to smartphones/tablets.

Here is how that setup process works in a nutshell:

Step 1 – Enable WiFi Direct Mode

On the printer itself, access the settings menu and enable WiFi Direct mode. This allows it to broadcast its own mini-network separate from your main WiFi.

Consult the user guide for manufacturer-specific steps. You’ll need to take note of the WiFi Direct SSID (network name) and password generated.

Step 2 – Connect the Android Device to the Printer’s WiFi Direct

Hop over to your Android device. Under Settings > WiFi have it search and join the ad-hoc WiFi network broadcasted by your printer.

Enter SSID info and WiFi Direct password from Step 1 when prompted.

Step 3 – Print As Usual

Once connected to the same WiFi Direct network, you can print from Android apps as normal. The OS will automatically communicate with the printer wirelessly to process print jobs.

For example, open Chrome browser, load a webpage, tap the menu ≡ , and select Print. Then choose the printer model to send pages directly over the WiFi Direct link.

Method 2 – Using IPP

IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) is a popular wireless printing standard supported by many newer networked printers, especially by bigger brands like HP, Canon, Brother, Epson, etc.

Here’s how to connect Android using IPP:

Step 1 – Enable IPP Protocol

On the wireless printer, dig into advanced settings and make sure IPP capability is enabled. Take note of the printer’s IP address.

Step 2 – Add Wireless Printer in Android Settings

Now on your Android device go to:

Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences > Printing

Tap Add service then enter details:

• Service name – Enter anything descriptive
• IP address – Of wireless printer noted earlier
• Queue type – Select IPP Everywhere

Tap ADD to set up connection.

Step 3 – Print Away!

Open any app that supports printing like Chrome, Google Docs, Photos, etc and select the saved printer service to send jobs wirelessly over IPP.

So in summary, Android offers two direct wireless communication protocols – WiFi Direct and IPP.

As long as your printer supports one or both of these, connecting and printing from your devices will be straightforward.

Troubleshooting Wireless Printer Connections

Sometimes things don’t go according to plan in the printer world. Here are fixes for some of most common wireless printer problems:

Can’t find printer on network

• Ensure the printer is powered on and connected to the WiFi network successfully (check it’s interface or indicator lights). Reboot if having issues acquiring IP address.
• Try rebooting the wireless router if the printer is unable to connect to the network after 15-30 minutes of trying.
• Verify wireless password is entered correctly if prompted during printer setup. Case sensitive for some routers.
• Check if the router and printer are too far apart. Might be out of range. Move them closer together if possible during setup.
• Disable firewalls and security software temporarily to eliminate interference in finding wireless signals.

Printer connected but will not print

• Verify wireless printer was added/configured properly in your OS and apps.
• Reinstall printer software drivers if experiencing missing driver errors.
• Disable “print spooler” service then re-enable to reset print subsystem.
• Clear paper jam or reload paper tray if out of sheets.

Printouts blank or has random symbols

• Swap out cabling to rule out faulty network adapter or bad ethernet/USB cable.
• Disable bidirectional communication in printer preferences if unsupported.
• Change print language to PCL 5, PCL 6 or PostScript depending on device model.

Print jobs extremely slow

• Perhaps poor WiFi signal in printer’s location causing delays. Move to closer spot with better reception.
• Too many high-resource print jobs bottleneck the rendering queue. Set prints to spool one at a time.
• Limit wireless interference by having printer away from other 2.4GHz devices like microwaves.

Getting blurry or low quality printouts

• Clean printheads which get clogged easily preventing proper ink transfer.
• Align printer heads function to recalibrate misdirected nozzles.
• Use higher quality print settings. Draft mode will look pixelated.

Hopefully the above troubleshooting tips get you back up and running!

Also Read: Printer Cleaning and Maintenance Tips

Closing Thoughts

And with that, you are now a certified wireless printing master! We walked through step-by-step setup procedures on every major desktop and mobile platform.

To recap key things:

• Confirm printer is powered on and communicating with the router
• Pick connection protocol printer supports – WiFi Direct, AirPrint, IPP etc
• Follow OS-specific instructions to install and configure access
• Print test page to validate
• Change settings to refine quality/speed as needed

Going the wireless printer route makes life easier by removing annoying cable clutter and giving the flexibility to print anywhere within network range.