Setting Up a Printer on Your Home Wi-Fi Network

Before you start: a few things worth checking

Most home printers will happily sit on your Wi-Fi for years, but the first hour is where things usually go wrong. A little preparation saves a lot of swearing. Start by finding three pieces of information: your Wi-Fi network name (the SSID), your Wi-Fi password, and the make and model of your printer — usually printed on a sticker on the back or underneath.

Next, check which wireless bands your router is broadcasting. Many modern routers run both a 2.4GHz and a 5GHz network, sometimes under the same name and sometimes separately. Older and cheaper printers often only support 2.4GHz. If your phone and laptop connect to the 5GHz band but the printer only speaks 2.4GHz, the printer may appear on the network but be unreachable from your other devices. Where possible, put the printer and the devices you print from on the same band.

Finally, position the printer sensibly. A machine tucked behind a brick chimney breast, two rooms away from the router, will drop off the network regularly. Somewhere with a decent signal, and ideally not next to a microwave or a cordless phone base, is a good starting point.

Getting the printer onto the network

You have two main routes, and the right one depends on your printer's control panel.

If your printer has a screen and buttons, use them. Look for a Setup, Network or Wireless Setup Wizard option in the menu. Choose your network from the list, type in the password carefully — passwords are case-sensitive, and an odd character like a zero versus a capital O is a classic trap — and wait for the printer to confirm it is connected. It will usually print or display an IP address, something like 0123456789. Write that down; it is useful later.

If your printer has no screen, or you simply want the quickest path, a temporary USB cable is your friend. Many manufacturers' setup utilities will detect a printer connected by USB and copy your computer's Wi-Fi details across to it automatically. Let the installer do the work, then unplug the cable once it confirms the wireless connection.

Some routers and printers also support WPS, where you press a button on the router and a button on the printer within a couple of minutes and they pair themselves. It works well when it works, but it can be fiddly and is disabled on plenty of routers by default. If it does not connect on the first attempt, fall back to the wizard.

Install the correct driver before you print anything

This is the step people skip, and it is the cause of most "it says it's connected but nothing happens" complaints. A printer that appears on the network is not necessarily a printer your computer can talk to properly.

• Go to the manufacturer's support pages and download the full driver package for your exact model and your version of Windows or macOS. Avoid the minimal "basic driver" unless you only ever want to print plain black text.
• Install the driver before adding the printer in your system settings. The installer will often find the printer on the network for you and configure the right port.
• Skip third-party driver sites. They bundle unwanted extras and sometimes install outdated software.
• If you print from a phone or tablet, check whether the printer supports Apple AirPrint or Mopria. If it does, you may not need a driver at all — the device will find it directly.

Once the driver is in place, add the printer through your operating system's printer settings if it has not been added automatically. On Windows, choose "Add a printer or scanner" and pick your device from the list. On a Mac, use Printers & Scanners in System Settings.

Test a page — and test it from somewhere else

Do not declare victory until you have printed something. Open a simple document with a bit of text and a colour logo if you have one, then print.

Better still, print from a second device. A laptop and a phone are ideal. If the laptop prints but the phone cannot see the printer, you know the network connection is fine and the problem lies with the phone's app or driver. That distinction saves a lot of time.

It is also worth printing the printer's own network configuration page from its menu. It lists the IP address, the network name and the signal strength, and it is the first thing anyone will ask you for if you need support.

Making it stay reliable

Most printers work perfectly for months and then vanish from the network. Usually this is because the router handed the printer a new IP address after a power cut, and your computer is still looking at the old one.

• In your router's settings, reserve a fixed IP address for the printer. You will need its MAC address, which is on the configuration page and the sticker.
• Restart the router and printer in that order if things go strange — router first, wait two minutes, then the printer.
• Keep the printer's firmware up to date. Manufacturers fix wireless dropouts this way, and it takes five minutes.
• Set the printer not to sleep too aggressively if it regularly fails to wake for a print job.

Do those few things and your printer will quietly do its job for years, which is exactly what you want from it.