Adding a printer over Wi-Fi

Many failures come from that confusion. A printer can be perfectly connected to the Wi-Fi without any computer seeing it, and equally a computer can list a printer that has not been on the network for weeks.

Stage 1 : connecting the printer to the network

This is done from the printer itself, through its screen or its buttons.

• With a screen: Network or Wireless menu, setup wizard, select the network, enter the key. Typing it with the arrow buttons is tedious, but it is the most reliable method.
• Without a screen: the WPS method. Press the WPS button on the router, then within two minutes the one on the printer. It joins the network with no password to type.
• Through the manufacturer's app, on a phone : often the simplest route on recent models.

Then print a network configuration page from the printer. It gives the name of the network it joined and the address it was given : that is the proof stage 1 worked, and the information you will need next.

Stage 2 : adding it on the computer

In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, click Add device. The printer should appear after a few seconds if it is on the same network.

If it does not, use the link The printer that I want isn't listed, then add it by network address, typing in the address from the configuration page. That method works when automatic detection fails.

The most common traps

• The two Wi-Fi bands. Many printers only handle 2.4 GHz. If your computer is on 5 GHz and the two networks have different names, they may not see each other. Check that they are on the same logical network.
• The guest network. A printer connected to the guest network is isolated from the other devices : that is exactly what the guest network is for. It has to be on the main network.
• The firewall of a third-party antivirus, which blocks discovery of devices on the local network.
• The generic driver. Windows often installs a minimal driver that prints but does not scan. For the scanner, the manufacturer's software is generally required.

Sharing between several computers

A network printer does not need to be shared by a computer : each machine connects to it directly, and the printer works even when the others are switched off. That is the whole point compared with a USB printer. Simply repeat stage 2 on each machine.

If the printer was working and then stopped, the cause is rarely the installation : see printer not working.

Letting us handle the installation

Network connection, fixed address, installation on every machine and getting scanning working again : all of that is handled very well remotely, or at your home across Lyon and the Rhone.

Frequently asked questions