New technologies have made your HP printer smarter than ever, making it simple and convenient to print. From now on, you can print anything anytime at any place. Moreover, you can just print documents from your mobile devices. Are you looking for how to connect your HP printer to WiFi? Start from here and begin a joyful journey of easy printing.
Method 1: HP Auto Wireless Connect
HP Auto Wireless Connect allows you to connect your printer to your wireless network automatically. You don’t need to connect any cables or enter your wireless network settings such as your network name or password.
To use this option, you need to install the software for your printer first.
- Go to the HP Support page for software download and enter your printer model. Download the driver according to your Operating System and follow the on-screen instructions to install it into your computer.
- Turn on your printer and run the software.
- When you’re prompted for Network connection type (Ethernet/Wireless), choose Wireless and then click Yes, send my wireless settings to the printer (recommended).
Wait for your printer to connect. This may take a few minutes. When it’s done, just click Finish. Now your HP printer is ready for a print job.
Method 2: Wireless Setup Wizard
You can connect your HP printer to WiFi with Wireless Setup Wizard on your printer’s control panel. This method applies only to the HP printer with a graphics display.
- Power on your printer.
- Unplug any USB or Ethernet cables from your printer.
- From the control panel of your printer, tap the wireless icon or go to the Network menu.
- Select Wireless Settings and then tap Wireless Setup Wizard.
- Find your network and enter the WEP or WPA key, then click OK.
If both your router and HP printer support WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) push-button mode, you can simply connect your printer to WiFi with a simple push on your printer and router within 2 minutes.
- Step 1: Push the WPS button on your printer.
WPS button on your printer
If there’s no physical push button on your printer, you can go to the control panel to start the WPS pushbutton mode. Tap the Wireless menu, then click Wi-Fi Protected Setup. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup. Select the WPS Button option. Then you’ll be prompted to press the WPS button on your router.
- Step 2: Press the WPS push button on your router within 2 minutes.
Note: If your computer asks for a Pin, you can take a look at your printer. If the pin code doesn’t show up, you can get it from the Wi-Fi Protected Setup.
Method 4: Connect your HP Printer without a router
Actually, you don’t need an Internet connection to finish your print job. Wi-Fi Direct™ and HP Wireless Direct allow you to print documents directly from your smartphones, tablets, or computer. All you need is to connect your device to the printer’s HP WiFi just like any other wireless network.
Wi-Fi Direct or HP Wireless Direct?
Both features enable your devices to connect your printer directly, but there are certain differences between them. For instance, Wi-Fi Direct allows your devices to maintain an Internet connection simultaneously. However, you can’t get access to the network with HP Wireless Direct.
How to connect to Wi-Fi Direct or HP Wireless Direct?
- Step 1: Turn on HP Wireless Direct or Wi-Fi Direct from the printer’s control panel. On the printer control panel, touch the HP wireless direct icon, or navigate to the Network Setup or Wireless Settings menu and touch Wireless Direct, and then turn on the connection.
- Step 2: On your computer or mobile devices, connect to Wi-Fi Direct or HP Wireless Direct the same way you would for any other wireless network.
- Note: The name format of Wi-Fi Direct and HP Wireless Direct is slightly different.
- Step 3: You’ll be prompted for a WPA2 password if you’re using Wi-Fi Direct or HP Wireless Direct on security.
- Step 4: On your computer, open a document or photo on your computer or mobile devices, and click File> Print.
- For mobile devices, you can just tap Print from an app menu. If the app doesn’t support printing, you’ll need to install the latest version of the HP Printer Service Plugin application.
How to Switch HP Printer Offline to Online
Talking about the HP brand, they have been ruling the printing industry for quite a long time. Their printers are reliable, versatile and give speedy outcomes. But this doesn’t guarantee their smooth performance forever. As a piece of technical equipment, it may face certain glitches every now and then.
One such problem is when the HP printer goes offline and stops printing. There can be several reasons that are making your printer go offline.
To fix HP printer offline error, there are multiple methods that will work. But it depends what has made it go offline in the first place. Go through the given solutions and apply what you find best-fitting.
Before trying any sort of troubleshooting, try bringing How to turn printer online
- Go to the Start menu, select Control Panel and then go to ‘Devices and Printers’ section.
- Right-click on your printer and click on ‘See what’s printing’.
- Select your ‘Printer’ from the menu bar at the top.
- From the drop down menu, select ‘Use Printer Online’.
Setting the HP Printer as Default Manually
HP printer needs to be set as default to allow printing. Here’s how to do it:
For Windows 10
If the printer is offline on Windows 10,
- Go to the ‘Start’ menu, type ‘Devices’, click on ‘Printers and Scanners’ from the list of results.
- Uncheck the box that says ‘Let Windows manage my default printer’ if it is already checked.
- From the list, select your printer and click on ‘Manage’. If there is more than one, select the printer whose status is showing as idle or online.
- Under ‘Manage your device’ heading, select ‘Set as default’.
- Try printing now and see if the error gets resolved.