Fixed a problem with inactive Wi-Fi printers in Windows 10

We live in the 4.0 era.Self-driving cars and wireless devices and handsets have changed our lives.However, home printers are still a technology that seems to be stuck in the past.We still have to admit that printer manufacturers have tried to keep up with the trend, the typical evidence is that they have put Wi-Fi connections on printers, though it still doesn't work well. .The reason why a Wi-Fi printer is not working, as well as solutions to problem solving are numerous.In this article, we will learn some typical problems for Wi-Fi connection on printers with Windows devices and how to fix them.

Printer driver

You should always keep your computer with handy driver packages for the Wi-Fi printer you are using.Download the appropriate driver from the manufacturer's official website and leave it in the directory you will remember in case of necessity.These packages do not always require you to uninstall and reinstall your Wi-Fi printer, but instead, they can be used to help your PC 'discover' the printer again, assign it correctly. port and perform many other necessary tasks.

Windows 10 also has a built-in printer troubleshooting feature, which automatically scans for problems connecting to your printer.Go to Settings -> Devices -> Printers & scanners , then select your Wi-Fi printer from the list (if you can see this list), click Manage and then Run the troubleshooter .If these fixes do not work, we will go to the next reason.

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Connect

Many Wi-Fi printers will not detect your PC if you do not include Wi-Fi in scan mode.This will vary between printers, but generally the information that must be on the small screen on your printer usually includes 2 Scan or Search options in Settings -> Wi-Fi / Network / Similar.

If your printer does not have a screen, simply hold down the Wi-Fi button on the printer until its light starts blinking.Meanwhile, go to Printers & scanners on your PC, then click Add a printer or scanner .If your Wi-Fi printer is displayed on the screen, click on it and hope the connection will be established.

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You should also keep an eye on the Wi-Fi printer's information board, which can be accessed by pressing the 'i' button or navigating to Diagnostic / printer information option on your Wi-Fi printer screen. .This will help display the printer's IP address and tell you if the address is actually connected to your network.If not, you should reinstall your printer or connect the printer via a USB cable to the computer and set it up that way.

If your Wi-Fi printer is connected to the network but still doesn't work, the solutions below may be helpful.

Delete the printer buffer

Let's start with the simple things, if you have installed a Wi-Fi printer and it worked well until the last time you used it, it is more likely that this sudden problem stems from the set Printer buffer (printer queue) is blocked.

To make your printer buffer really clean, open the Start menu, enter the keyword "services" into the search bar and click on Services when it appears.

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In the new window that appears, scroll down until you see the Printer Spooler item, right-click it and click Restart .

Enable network discovery function

If your Wi-Fi printer is installed and works fine with some computers on your network, but refuses to connect to another computer, you may need to turn on Network Discovery on that computer ( You can also try this if you've recently updated Windows and your Wi-Fi printer stopped working.

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Click the Start menu, then type the keyword control panel . Next, go to Network and Sharing Center -> Change Advanced sharing settings. Make sure you tick Turn on network discovery , then click Save changes.

Is the printer's IP address correct?

There are three main classes in the IP address of home network devices, each with different numbers.The three main classes are class A (10.xxx), class B (172.xxx) and class C (192.xxx).On the printer information page you have visited in the connection section above, you will see the printer's IP address in 'iPV4'.

Now comes the important part: Your printer's IP address needs to have the same first three segments as your computer's IP address (you can check your PC's iPv4 address by entering the ipconfig command in the command prompt) .Only the fourth and final segments must be different.

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If it doesn't match, you need to change the printer's IP address.

To do this, go to Printers & scanners, click on your printer, then click Manage -> Printer properties -> Ports -> Add port.

In the new window, click Standard TCP / IP Port, New Port, then enter the IP address.The PC's iPV4 address in the example in this article is 192.168.1.8, so we can create the printer's IP address 192.168.1.7.

Click Next and wait for your PC to set up the port, then return to the list in the Printer Ports window, check the box next to the new port and click OK .

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Hopefully these solutions will be useful when you have trouble with a Wi-Fi printer on Windows 10. Wish you success!

See more:

1. How to share a printer via LAN
2. Common printer errors and how to fix them
3. How to print documents directly from a smartphone or tablet
4. Why the printer cannot print and how to fix it