Restore Network Default Settings On The Printer
Prepare a printer for a Wi-Fi connection by restoring its default network settings.
When the settings are restored, the printer enters Wi-Fi setup mode for about two hours, making it discoverable during the HP software installation.
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Most printers with a touchscreen: From the Wireless or Setup menu, select Network setup or Settings, and then select Restore Network Settings.
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Most inkjet printers without a touchscreen: Press and hold the Wireless and Cancel buttons until the Power button flashes, and then wait for the Wireless light to flash.
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Most Laser printers without a touchscreen or control panel menu: Press and hold theWireless button until the Attention and Power lights flash, or press and hold the Wireless and Cancel buttons until the Wireless light flashes . The printer might restart.
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Most LaserJet printers without a touchscreen: Press and hold the Wireless button until the Attention light flashes, and then wait for the Wireless light to flash.
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Envy 6000, 6000e, 6400e, ENVY Pro 6400, DeskJet Plus IA 6000, 6400, and Tango printers: Press and hold the Wireless button on the back of the printer for five seconds until the Status light flashes .
Go to Restore Wi-Fi setup mode on your HP printer for additional information and button presses for more printer models.
How To Set Up Your Printer On Your Android Device
Now that you have set up the printer to print to from your Android device, you can print to it from any application that supports printing.
Again, click on FILE , , , PRINT, and then you will be able to choose how many copies to print, as well as the paper size. You can then print to the printer that you have already set up. Its that simple.
How To Set Up A Wireless Printer Connection
This article was written by Travis Boylls. Travis Boylls is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Travis has experience writing technology-related articles, providing software customer service, and in graphic design. He specializes in Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux platforms. He studied graphic design at Pikes Peak Community College. This article has been viewed 1,903,576 times.
Wireless printing can be extremely useful. Most newer printers can connect directly to your wireless network. This will allow you to print to the printer from any computer on your network. You can also print to your wireless printer from your Android or iOS device, though this usually requires a little more configuring.
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Setting Up Your Printer On A Network
But what are you supposed to do if you have multiple computers, laptops, and other devices such as tablets and cell phones that you want to print from? This is where the second option we referred to earlier comes into play.
There once was a time when a computer network only existed in business offices. That is no longer the case. In fact, home networks are the norm these days. A home or business network will allow multiple computers to connect to each other and print from the same printer.
In order to get your Windows computer to connect to your network printer, you must have a router set up and configured. Not to worry, as we will walk through this together.
In its simplest form, a router allows computers, laptops, smart TVs, speakers, tablets, cell phones and printers to talk to each other. You probably have a router in your home that is connected to your modem, which allows you to have Wi-Fi access to route your house. Without a router, Wi-Fi access would not be possible.
How To Configure Your Wireless Printer Using The Pin Method Of Wi

If you are going to connect the printer to your network, we recommend that you contact your system administrator prior to installation. |
1 | Press the wireless setup button located at the back of the machine for 3 seconds or more as show in the illustration below. Note |
Use a pointy object such as a ballpoint pen to press the button. |
1 | The Registrar is normally the access point / router. |
The setting page is different, depending on the brand of access point / router. See the instruction manual that came with your access point / router. |
To use a Windows Vista computer as a Registrar, you need to register it to your network in advance. See the instruction manual that came with your access point / router. |
Choose your printer and click Next. |
Input the PIN from the printed page and then click Next. |
Choose your network that you want to connect to, and then click Next. |
LEDs | Searching or accessing the access point1 | Connecting and downloading the settings from the access point1 |
The LED will blink . | |
2 | The LED will turn on for 5 minutes. |
3 | The LED will blink for 30 seconds. |
You have completed the wireless setup. To install the printer driver, Go to step 1 on For Windows® users for Windows® or For Macintosh® users for Macintosh®. |
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Reboot Or Unplug To Start Fresh
It’s become a cliche in tech circles, but with printers, it’s true more often than not: sometimes you just need to turn it off and turn it back on again. Often, that means pressing and holding the power button until it shuts down . If this doesn’t workmine sometimes says “busy” and won’t let me power it offyou may have to unplug it completely, then plug it back in.
It’s nice when this works, but it means there’s no permanent solution to this recurring issue, and much like a router that stops broadcasting, you may have to go through this process whenever the printer drops its connection. You could, however, plug your printer into a smart plug and use a voice assistant like Alexa to reboot it on command.
Set Up The Wireless Connection Manually With The Printer Driver Installed
To connect your printer to a wireless network, you must use the supplied AC adapter or Li-ion battery. If your Brother printer is powered by alkaline or Ni-MH batteries, you cannot connect it to a wireless network.
Enter the correct and settings for your wireless network.
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WPS Connection Method
How To Add A Printer In Windows 10 Via Wi
If your network-capable printer isnot automatically detected by Windows, you will need to set it up manually.This will involve going to your printer menu, configuring a TCP/IP a port, andinstalling the drivers. Follow the steps below to add a network printer inWindows 10.
Note: If you dont know how to find that information, check out our article on how to find your printers IP address.
Note: If you dont see the driver for your model, click on the box that says Have Disk. You will be instructed to install the driver from the manufacturers installation disk and copy it from a drive where the driver is located.
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How To Connect A Printer On A Mac
Apple makes it ridiculously simple to set up your printer on a Mac. They utilize what they call, AirPrint to connect your printer with your Mac. The great thing about AirPrint is that you do not need any additional drivers to install your printer on a Mac.
In fact, they encourage you not to install any printer driver software that came with your printer, because AirPrint boasts the ability to download the latest and greatest software drivers for your printer, should it need to do so. That is just awesome.
Fortunately, nearly every printer on the market today is AirPrint enabled, meaning that you will easily connect to your Mac. It allows you to print to an AirPrint-enabled printer over a Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or via a USB Printer cable.
If you wish to use a USB Printer cable to connect directly to printer, simply connect the printer to your Mac. MacOS not only automatically detects the current printer you have connected, but it will download any needed software drivers for it as well.
If you wish to add a Wi-Fi or network printer, you can do so if both your Mac and printer are already connected to the same Wi-Fi network, within the application you are printing from, click File, then click Print, click on the Printer pop-up menu and choose Nearby Printers or Printer & Scanner Preferences, and finally choose the printer from which you want to print from.
If your printer isnt available, you can add it. Here how:
Connecting A Printer To A Wireless Network
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Router Menus Are All Different Look For An Option Called Something Like ‘attached Devices’ Or Have A Poke Around Until You Find A List Of Device Names The Printer’s Device Name Will Likely Be The Same As The Product Name The Ip Address Should Be Clearly Labelled
Windows network printers
Windows calls IP printers “network printers”. To set one up, click the search icon in the bottom left of your screen or press Windows key + Q and type in ‘control panel’. Select the Control panel and click View devices and printers under Hardware and sound.
At the top of the window, click Add a printer and then The printer that I want isn’t listed. Check the box Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname then click Next. Enter the printer’s IP address into the ‘Hostname or IP address’ field and click Next. Follow the rest of the prompts to finish set-up.
Mac IP printers
IP printers on macOS should be a last resort because it mightn’t offer a full range of functionality, depending on which protocol it supports. An IP printer on macOS must work with one of these protocols: AirPrint, HP Jetdirect , Line Printer Daemon or Internet Printing Protocol .
From the Apple menu, select System Preferences, Printers & Scanners, then Add. Click IP and enter the printer information:
- IP address
- Protocol select AirPrint if possible
- Queue leave blank if you’re not sure
- Device name to identify the printer on your Mac. It doesn’t need to match the device’s name in the router menu
- Location to help you identify it from the printer pop-up menu
- Use select the appropriate software for the printer. If not selected by default, click Select Printer Software and select your printer from the list.
Maintaining Your Inkjet Printer

1) Clean the Print Head
This is probably the most important thing that you can do for your inkjet printer. You should do this regularly, . Put it on your calendar and stick to it. It will save you money in the long run. You simply remove each cartridge and use warm water on an old T-shirt . When you are finished wiping it clean, give it plenty of time to dry before putting it back into your printer.
2) Clean the Outside of the Printer
As with the laser printer, you want to wipe down the printer to free it from any dust. No need to go crazy here, just be thorough.
3) Clean the Inside of the Printer
You can use a can compressed air, , to blow out any dust lying around. You can wet the tips of a Q-tip to remove any junk residue.
3) Turn The Printer Off
If you are not going to be printing for a while, , turn the printer off. One of the biggest enemies of electronics is heat. If you leave the printer on, you generate heat, and that heat can cause your printer cartridge to dry and and heat can even clog the printer head.
4) Dont Skimp On Ink Cartridges
Admittedly, ink cartridges can be expensive, and depending on how often you print, you may need to replace them fairly often. You may even be tempted to buy inexpensive , cartridges online from China or from your local flea market. If you buy ink that was not designed for the printer in question, you take a great risk, as those ink cartridges could clog the jets in your printer and cause blotchy or faded printouts
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Sharing A Printer Between Mac Computers