A printer that only works through a USB cable chains you to one computer. Connect it to your home Wi-Fi once, and every laptop, PC and phone in the house can print wirelessly. There are three setup methods — the printer's own screen, the WPS button, and the brand's phone app. Try them in this order; one of them fits every printer sold in the last decade.

1. Before you start: the two rules that decide success

First, know your Wi-Fi name (SSID) and password exactly, including capital letters. Second — the rule behind most failed setups — almost all printers connect only to the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band, not 5 GHz. If your router shows two networks (for example "HomeWiFi" and "HomeWiFi-5G"), choose the one without 5G in its name during printer setup. Your phone and laptop can stay on either band afterwards; they find the printer through the router. Place the printer within the same room as the router for setup; you can move it later.

2. Method 1: the printer's own screen (works on most models)

On the printer's control panel, open Settings / Setup → Network Settings (or Wireless Settings) → Wireless Setup Wizard. The printer scans and lists nearby Wi-Fi networks. Select your 2.4 GHz network, type the password carefully using the on-screen keyboard, and confirm. Within a minute the Wi-Fi light stops blinking and stays solid, and many models print a small confirmation or show "Connected". Print a network configuration page from the same menu — it shows the printer's IP address, your proof that it is truly on the network.

3. Method 2: WPS button (no password typing)

If your printer has no screen, use WPS. On the printer, press and hold the Wireless/WPS button until its light starts blinking (on some HP models, hold the Wireless and Cancel buttons together). Within two minutes, press the WPS button on your router. The printer's wireless light turns solid when connected. Not every router keeps WPS enabled, and some ISP routers hide the button in their settings page — if nothing blinks or connects, skip to the app method instead of fighting it.

4. Method 3: the brand's phone app (best for screen-less printers)

Install your printer brand's free app on your phone: HP Smart, Canon PRINT, Epson Smart Panel / iPrint, or Brother Mobile Connect. Choose Add printer / set up a new printer and follow the app: it finds the printer's temporary setup signal (Bluetooth or the printer's own short-range Wi-Fi), asks for your home Wi-Fi name and password, and hands the printer over to your network. This is the most guided method and the one the brands themselves recommend first for new models.

5. Add the printer on Windows and on phones

On a Windows PC connected to the same Wi-Fi: Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → Add device. Windows finds the printer on the network; click it to add, then print the test page Windows offers. On Android, install the brand app or your printer's plugin from the Play Store, then print from any app's Share/Print menu. On iPhone, printers that support AirPrint (most HP, Canon, Epson and Brother Wi-Fi models) appear automatically in the print share sheet — no app needed.

Setup worked yesterday, printer "offline" today? This is the most common wireless-printer complaint, and it is usually the printer's IP address changing or the printer sleeping on a weak signal. Restart the printer, check its screen still shows your Wi-Fi name, and work through our printer not printing fixes. Keeping the printer where the Wi-Fi signal is strong prevents most repeats; dead zones are covered in our home Wi-Fi speed guide.

6. Quick checklist if the printer is not found

Confirm: printer and device on the same router (guest networks isolate devices — avoid them), password typed on the 2.4 GHz network, router not set to "AP isolation", and any VPN on your phone/PC switched off while adding the printer. Restart all three — printer, router, phone — once; a surprising number of "broken" setups finish themselves after a clean restart and two patient minutes.

Frequently asked questions

My printer does not show my Wi-Fi network in the list. Why?

It almost certainly cannot see the 5 GHz band. Choose your 2.4 GHz network name instead, and move the printer closer to the router during setup — its Wi-Fi radio is weaker than a phone's.

Do I need WPS to connect a printer without a screen?

No. WPS is only one option. The brand's phone app (HP Smart, Canon PRINT, Epson Smart Panel, Brother Mobile Connect) sets up screen-less printers without WPS by using the printer's temporary setup signal.

Can guests print on my Wi-Fi printer?

Anyone connected to your Wi-Fi can usually discover and print to it. If that bothers you, keep guests on a guest Wi-Fi network — devices there cannot see your printer — and share the printer only on your main network.