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Please log in with your username or email to continue. Facebook Google wikiHow Account No account yet? Create an account Browse Articles Quizzes & Games All Quizzes Hot Community Quizzes Personality Quizzes Dating Simulator Learn Something New Support wikiHow Log in / Sign up Computers and Electronics Computer Peripherals Last Updated: April 21, 2026 Fact Checked Connecting a Printer Changing Default Printers Troubleshooting This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Travis Boylls . Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 79,071 times. Even in today’s digital age, sometimes you need a printer to print important papers so that you have a physical copy. Luckily, it has never been easier to connect a printer. Today, most printers can be connected wirelessly. This wikiHow article teaches you how to connect a wireless printer to a Windows computer. Connect your printer to Wi-Fi or put it in Bluetooth pairing mode. Press Win + i to open the Settings menu in Windows. Click Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners . Click Add device if your printer is not already connected. Select your printer and click Add device . Connecting a Printer 1 Place your printer in an adequate location. Be sure to place your printer on a flat surface in a location that is easily accessible. You will need an electrical outlet nearby. If you are planning to connect your printer via Wi-Fi, make sure it is within range of your Wi-Fi router. If you are planning on connecting your printer via Bluetooth, make sure it is within 30 feet of your computer. 2 Make your printer discoverable. You’ll either need to connect your printer to Wi-Fi or put it in Bluetooth pairing mode. The way you do this will be different depending on the make and model of your printer. Consult the documentation that came with your printer if you need assistance. [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source Connecting to Wi-Fi: To connect your printer to Wi-Fi, you’ll need to access the user interface on your printer. The interface will be different from one printer make and model to the next. Locate the Wi-Fi or Network settings. They may be in the main menu or the Settings menu. Select the option to connect your printer to Wi-Fi. Enter the SSID and password to connect your printer to Wi-Fi and connect. Connecting to Bluetooth: There may be a Bluetooth button on the front panel or a Bluetooth option in the Settings menu. Either press and hold the Bluetooth button, or select the option to put your printer in Bluetooth pairing mode in the Settings menu. WPS: Depending on your printer model, there may be an option for Wireless Protect Setup (WPS) or Push Button setup in the Wi-Fi or Network Settings menu. On some devices, there may be a Wi-Fi button or a button combination you need to press and hold to put your printer in WPS mode. Then you’ll need to press and hold the WPS button on your Wi-Fi router within two minutes. [2] X Research source Advertisement Connecting to Wi-Fi: To connect your printer to Wi-Fi, you’ll need to access the user interface on your printer. The interface will be different from one printer make and model to the next. Locate the Wi-Fi or Network settings. They may be in the main menu or the Settings menu. Select the option to connect your printer to Wi-Fi. Enter the SSID and password to connect your printer to Wi-Fi and connect. Connecting to Bluetooth: There may be a Bluetooth button on the front panel or a Bluetooth option in the Settings menu. Either press and hold the Bluetooth button, or select the option to put your printer in Bluetooth pairing mode in the Settings menu. WPS: Depending on your printer model, there may be an option for Wireless Protect Setup (WPS) or Push Button setup in the Wi-Fi or Network Settings menu. On some devices, there may be a Wi-Fi button or a button combination you need to press and hold to put your printer in WPS mode. Then you’ll need to press and hold the WPS button on your Wi-Fi router within two minutes. [2] X Research source 3 Press ⊞ Win + i to open the Settings menu on your computer. You can use the keyboard shortcut to open the Settings menu on Windows. Alternatively, you can click the Windows Start menu and click the Gear/Settings icon . 4 Click Bluetooth & Devices followed by Printers & scanners . Bluetooth & Devices is the second option in the menu bar to the left. Printers & scanners is the second option in the menu. Windows 10: If you are using Windows 10, click the Devices icon in the Settings menu. Then click Printers & Scanners at the top of the menu to the left. Windows 10: If you are using Windows 10, click the Devices icon in the Settings menu. Then click Printers & Scanners at the top of the menu to the left. 5 Click Add device if the printer isn’t already installed. If you are connecting via Wi-Fi, your PC may have already detected the printer on the network and installed it. If so, it should be listed in the list of installed printers. If it is not installed, click Add device at the top. 6 Select your printer and click Add Device . Whether you are connecting via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, your printer should be displayed in the list of discoverable devices. It may take a few seconds for the list to populate. Select your printer and click Add device . Your printer is now installed. [3] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source Changing Default Printers 1 Press ⊞ Win + i to open the Settings menu on your computer. You can use the keyboard shortcut to open the Settings menu on Windows. Alternatively, you can click the Windows Start menu and click the Gear/Settings icon . 2 Click Bluetooth & Devices followed by Printers & scanners . Bluetooth & Devices is the second option in the menu bar to the left. Printers & scanners is the second option in the menu. Windows 10: If you are using Windows 10, click the Devices icon in the Settings menu. Then click Printers & Scanners at the top of the menu to the left. Windows 10: If you are using Windows 10, click the Devices icon in the Settings menu. Then click Printers & Scanners at the top of the menu to the left. 3 Select the printer you want to use as the default printer. If you have more than one printer connected, you can select which one you want to use as your default printer. 4 Select Set as Default . It’s the first option at the top of the menu. This sets the printer as your default printer. All print jobs will be sent to this printer by default. [4] X Research source Troubleshooting 1 Restart your computer and printer. If you are having issues with your printer, the first thing you should do is restart your devices. Restart your computer. Then, power off your printer and unplug it. Plug it back in and then power it back on. [5] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source 2 Check your connection. Check the Wi-Fi settings on your computer and make sure your computer is connected to Wi-Fi and has a strong connection. Then check the display screen on your printer to see if it is showing any Wi-Fi connection issues. If your computer or printer is not connected, try reconnecting them. If your internet connection is unstable, unplug your router for a minute or so and then plug it back in. Then reconnect your computer and printer to Wi-Fi. If you continue to experience internet connection issues, contact your internet service provider.

3 Make sure your printer and computer are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Check the network settings on both your computer and printer, and make sure the wireless network they are connected to matches. 4 Make sure your printer is within Bluetooth or Wi-Fi range. Ideally, your printer should be in the same room as your Wi-Fi router or computer. If you are using Bluetooth, your printer should be within 30 feet of your computer. If there are walls or other electronic devices between your printer and your router or computer, it may interfere with the wireless connection. 5 Make sure Bluetooth is turned on. If you are connected via Bluetooth, check to make sure Bluetooth is enabled. Check the display on your printer to see if it is connected via Bluetooth. On your computer, click the Wi-Fi icon in the lower-right corner of the taskbar. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on. If it is not, click the Bluetooth icon to turn it on. 6 Make sure the printer is set as the default printer. If you have or have had more than one printer connected, check the Settings menu and make sure the printer is set as the default printer . 7 Use the manufacturer’s installation tool. Some printers may come with an installation tool from the manufacturer. Check the user’s manual that came with your printer to see if it has any special installation instructions. If so, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to install the printer. 8 Update or download the printer drivers. In most cases, Windows will detect and install the printer drivers automatically. However, in some cases, you may need to download the printer’s drivers from the manufacturer’s web page. You can also update the printer drivers in Device Manager. Use the following steps to do so: [6] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source Right-click the Windows Start menu. Click Device Manager . Expand Printers . Right-click your printer and click Update drivers . Follow the prompts. Right-click the Windows Start menu. Click Device Manager . Expand Printers . Right-click your printer and click Update drivers . Follow the prompts. 9 Run the printer troubleshooter. Windows has a built-in troubleshooter you can use to scan your system and detect problems with your printer, and possibly fix them. Use the following steps to run the printer troubleshooter: Click the Windows Start button. Type “Troubleshoot.” Click Troubleshoot settings . Click Other troubleshooters . Click Run next to Printers. Click the Windows Start button. Type “Troubleshoot.” Click Troubleshoot settings . Click Other troubleshooters . Click Run next to Printers. 10 Remove and reinstall the printer. If you can’t get the printer to work, you may need to uninstall the printer and then reinstall the printer . Use the following steps to uninstall the printer: Press Win + i to open the Settings menu in Windows Click Bluetooth & devices . Click Printers & scanners . Select your printer. Click Remove . Reinstall your printer. Press Win + i to open the Settings menu in Windows Click Bluetooth & devices . Click Printers & scanners . Select your printer. Reinstall your printer. You Might Also Like ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/pair-a-bluetooth-device-in-windows-2be7b51f-6ae9-b757-a3b9-95ee40c3e242 ↑ https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/ish_4641127-4645964-16 ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/add-or-install-a-printer-in-windows-cc0724cf-793e-3542-d1ff-727e4978638b#id0ebf ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_wjo9B-9vA&t=51s ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/troubleshooting-offline-printer-problems-in-windows-9f5e98ed-0ac8-50ff-a13b-d79bf7710061 ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/fix-printer-not-found-and-printer-not-recognized-errors-in-windows-031ec613-4221-4a99-bc57-afb70b2b6af0 About This Article Send fan mail to authors Is this article up to date? Quizzes & Games You Might Also Like Trending Articles Trending Articles Take the Quiz. Face the Truth. 🔥 Decode Yourself 🧩 Featured Videos Hot Takes Only 🔥 Your Daily Dose of Fun 🎉 Computers and Electronics Computer Peripherals Do Not Sell or Share My Info Not Selling Info Keep up with the latest tech with wikiHow's free Tech Help Newsletter