How do I set up a printer?
Connecting it to the network, adding it on each device, and the fixed address that stops it disappearing later.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 45 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Connect the printer to your wifi first, then add it on each device. Give it a fixed IP address in your router settings — the most common reason a printer stops working weeks later is that its address changed.
Printers connect once and then mysteriously stop working, almost always because their network address changed after a router restart. Fixing the address at setup prevents the problem entirely.
What you'll need
- Printer
- Wifi password
- Router access (optional)
Step by step
- Unpack it properly and remove all the packing.Cartridge tapes, transit locks, protective film inside the lid. Missed packing material is a common cause of a printer that will not work at all.
- Connect it to wifi from the printer's own control panel.Not from the computer. Most printers have a wireless setup wizard on their screen; some support a button-press pairing method with the router.
- Check it is on the same network as your devices.The same band and not a guest network. A printer on the 2.4GHz network and a laptop on a 5GHz guest network cannot see each other.
- Print the network configuration page.Most printers can print their own settings from the control panel. It shows the IP address, which is useful now and invaluable later.
- Give it a fixed IP address in the router.A DHCP reservation for the printer's MAC address. This is the step that prevents it disappearing after a router restart, and it takes five minutes.
- Add it on each device.Windows: Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Add device. Mac: System Settings, Printers and Scanners. Most find it automatically once it is on the network.
- Install the manufacturer's driver only from their own site.Printer driver searches are heavily targeted by fake download sites. Type the manufacturer's address directly.
- Test printing and scanning from every device.Including phones. Set it up once properly rather than discovering later that one device was never configured.
Tips
- Inkjets that sit unused clog. Printing one colour page a week is genuinely cheaper than the ink wasted on head cleaning cycles.
- For occasional printing, a mono laser printer is usually far cheaper to run than an inkjet and does not clog when unused.
- Save the network configuration page or photograph it. It has everything you need when the printer inevitably stops responding.
Common mistakes
- Not fixing the IP address — The address changes after a router restart and every device loses the printer. It is the most common cause of a printer that worked and then did not.
- Connecting the printer to a guest network — Guest networks isolate devices from each other by design, so nothing on the main network can print to it.
- Downloading drivers from a search result — Printer driver searches are a favourite target for fake download sites. Always use the manufacturer's own domain.
Questions people ask
Why does my printer keep going offline?
Usually its network address changed after a router restart. Setting a fixed IP address for the printer in your router settings prevents it recurring.
Do I need to install printer software?
Often not for basic printing — most systems detect network printers automatically. Scanning and advanced features usually need the manufacturer's software.