Are you facing any issue to install your printer to the network or with some other printer issue? In this article, you will learn how to install the HP printer on a wireless network.
Network printers are not a recent invention, they have been present in the world of business for quite a while, and appeared a few years ago at home.
The problem is that at home, it is sometimes a bit difficult to connect your printer with a network cable.
And moreover, the majority of users did not necessarily see the interest of the thing.
But for a little less than a decade, WIFI technology has appeared on this type of device and it has received a much better reception.
Where a wired network printer has “the only” advantage of being able to be used by several users, the WIFI printer offers the second one of its size, to get rid of the USB cable.
Indeed, a printer that does not have wifi will need an electrical cable and a USB cable to connect it to the computer.
With a WIFI printer, the only electrical cable is enough.
This means that a WIFI printer can be placed anywhere, as long as it is within range of the wireless network.
So, before going further, I know very well that some more advanced readers will say to me, “Yes, but even before it was possible to print to several wirelesses, it was enough to share the printer in Windows or then connect it to a box.
Yes, but a Windows share requires that the server port be turned on, and the Boeotian readers do not care about that because it’s too complex.
Install HP printer on a wireless network:
The simple method:
In an effort to simplify the connection, manufacturers are trying to make this step as accessible as possible. So almost all recent WIFI printers offer an “assistant”.
This wizard will only ask you, at which access point you want to connect the printer and the network password.
While this is very convenient, but for advanced users, this does not allow you to choose the printer’s address.
This wizard is usually prominently displayed in the printer menus, especially during the first boot. However, if you do not find it, it is often in the “settings” menu under the “network” menu.
The pro method:
The “pro” method, allows a finer control, but it also requires knowing some concepts, such as the gateway, DHCP, or subnet mask. Let’s see that together.
In the menu where the network settings are, usually “settings” and then “network”, you will select the access point to which you want to connect. Then, you will choose a manual setting.
It will then be necessary to enter the settings of the printer WIFI the desired IP address, the subnet mask, the gateway, and finally the password of the WIFI network.
Here we will take values widely used in France, but depending on the country the uses are not always the same.
The IP address:
To be able to specify an IP address, it will first specify that you do not want to use a DHCP server.
The DHCP server, to be clear, and the software part of your router or box that automatically gives an IP address to the hardware that connects to it.
Instead of the “DHCP” option, choose static.
Then it will be necessary to type the desired IP.
Of course, for this to work, this IP must be on the same “range” as the rest of your installation.
Go to your PC, then in a command prompt (right-click on the start button, then “command prompt” or “run” and type “cmd”), enter “ipconfig / all”.
Here look for your connected network card, and you will have its address. For example, this can be 192.168.1.2. The part that interests us in this address is the first 3 sets of numbers.
In the example “192.168.1”.
You now know that your printer address should look like this: 192.168.1.X
X representing a free number on your network. Addresses range from 1 to 254. So, if you are not sure which ones are used on your network, choose one that is not 254. (Attention 192.168.1.254 is often used already).
For example, we will take 192.168.1.200.
That’s it, we have the address of our printer.
The subnet mask:
It is a sequence of four sets of numbers that determines the possible forms of IP addresses.
Just remember, that in our example, the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0.
Besides, whether your network uses addresses in 192.168.1.X or 192.168.0.X, the mask will be the same.
And unless you have changed this addressing yourself, in France, the hardware is set to one or the other of these two forms.
Gateway:
Gateway is the IP address of your router.
If you do not know it, you will find it at the gateway address when you use the “ipconfig/all” command that we saw above.
Often, but not all the time (!), This address is 192.168.1.1, or 192.168.0.1, or 192.168.1.254 or 192.168.0.254, but it can also be any other, so it is better to check.
The network key:
All you have to do is enter the security key of your WIFI network for the WIFI printer to be connected to it.
Whether your printer screen is touch-sensitive, or you need to move the cursor over the small screen, it’s harder to enter that key on a printer than on another device.
Take a good time to avoid mistakes.
Install an HP printer on a wireless network:
Now install the drivers for your printer on your computer.
Follow all the steps that will lead to Install HP Printer in Windows.
Then, in order to check that everything works well I advise you to carry out the following procedure:
- Go to the Windows Control Panel
- Go to “Peripherals and Printers”
- Right-click on the name of your new printer
- Click on “Properties”
- Click on “Print a test page”
- If the page comes out of the printer, it’s won, otherwise, you missed one of the steps.
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