Printers are commonly referred to as some of, if not the most, finicky pieces of technology. An important technological skill to possess is the ability to troubleshoot common printer issues. This Gizmo Guide gives a general overview of common issues
Prerequisites: Printer, PC or Mac
Difficulty Level: Member • Nerd • Platypus
Estimated Time: 15-30 Minutes
Expected Outcome: Printer will resume normal functionality
Tools Required: No special tools are required
Fixing your connection to the printer
Step one: Identify the type of connection you want to make to your printer.
- WiFi
- USB
The recommended connection method for home and personal use is USB or WiFi. Some printers will allow you to connect with Bluetooth but this is not universal, and thus is not 100% reliable. Email connection is better for business use, when lots of people need to use the same printer, and will be covered in another gizmo guide.
Once you have decided the type of connection you want to make it is time to get the printer connected.
For USB:
First make sure you are using the correct USB cable. For printers it will usually be a USB-A to USB-B cable which is shown on the picture to the right. The A end of the cable is the rectangle end that you probably think of when you think of a USB. And the B end is the one that is shaped like a square with a rounded top. The B end is what is going to be inserted into your printer. If you want to connect over USB cable you will need to make sure the A end is inserted into your PC/Mac and the B end is inserted into the printer. Once you have done that you will need to make sure that your computer sees that connection. If you are using a newer Mac, you may have a USB B to USB C adapter or dock since newer Macs do not have any USB A ports.
Checking the connection on a PC
- First open the settings menu on your PC. You can do this by clicking the Windows Icon in the bottom left corner of your PC and then clicking the settings gear. It should look like this:
- Once you have clicked on that you should get the windows settings menu. It will look like this:
From here you will click on the option that says Devices: Bluetooth, Printers, Mouse- Then select the option for printers and scanners:
- From there look for the model of you printer if it is connected it should show up under the section for printers and scanners.
- IF THE PRINTER IS NOT THERE BUT IS CONNECTED OVER USB
- Check that the printer is on
- Check that the cable is plugged all the way in on both sides
- Try a different USB port on the computer
- If it does show up under printers and scanners
- Click on your printer in that menu
- Then click on manage
- After that select the option to “print a test page”
- If you also need to scan you may need to download software for the printer to your computer for scanning which you can get from the manufacturer's website (you can usually find it by Googling your printer model followed by Software). Setting up for scanning will be covered in another Gizmo Guide.
Checking the connection on a Mac
- First open the system preferences menu on your Mac. You can get there by clicking on the Apple Logo in the top left corner of the Mac and then clicking on system preferences
- Then in the system preferences menu click on the section for “printers and scanners”
- Inside that menu you should see your printer in the right-hand side white box. If you do not see it follow the same steps for troubleshooting a printer that is plugged into a windows printer.
- IF THE PRINTER IS NOT THERE BUT IS CONNECTED OVER USB
- Check that the printer is on
- Check that the cable is plugged all the way in on both sides
- Try a different USB port on the computer
- If it does show up
- Then click on “Options and Supplies”
- Then Click on utility
- Then click on print test page and if the printer prints it is ready to print from your Mac.
- Then click on “Options and Supplies”
- If you also need to scan you may need to download software for the printer to your computer for scanning which you can get from the manufacturer's website (you can usually find it by Googling your printer model followed by Software). Setting up for scanning will be covered in another Gizmo Guide.
Troubleshooting Printing from Wi-Fi
There are more things that could go wrong when printing over a Wi-Fi connection. The first thing you need to do if you want to print over Wi-Fi is to connect your printer to your Wi-Fi Network.
Connecting your printer to Wi-Fi
The first thing you need to do if you want to print over Wi-Fi is to connect the printer to Wi-Fi.
The easiest way to do this is using WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). This is a process where you just need to hit a button on your router to setup a connection to your printer and is the simplest way to connect your printer to your Wi-Fi network.
Connecting Via WPS
- First you will need to find the Wi-Fi connection settings on your printer. They are usually located in the settings menu of your printer under "Utilities" or "Network settings"
- This will open another menu where you should see a setting for "Connect over WPS"
- The setting will most likely have this symbol with it as it is the symbol for WPS
- There should also be a symbol like this on a button on your Wi-Fi router
- To establish a WPS connection you will need to select the "connect over WPS" option on your printer and then you will need to hit the corresponding button on your Wi-Fi router.
- You will need to hold the button down for a few seconds on your router. It will start blinking when it is ready to connect
- You will need to activate the connection on your router and on the printer in under a minute as that is how long the router will search for your printer.
- After that your printer should be connected to your Wi-Fi and you should be able to find it on your computer.
How to connect to Wi-Fi manually
If you can't use WPS there is usually an option to manually enter your Wi-Fi password into the printer. This option takes longer and can be harder to use depending on how the printer lets you put in letters and numbers for the password.
- You will first need to go to the internet or network settings on the printer
- Then you will need to select to option to choose a Wi-Fi network to connect to. It might be called "Manually Connect" or "Choose Network"
- From there you should be able to select your network from the networks that the printer can see and when you select yours you will then be able to input your Wi-Fi password into the printer.
- After you are connected check your mac or PC to see if they can see the printer is online.
How to find your Wi-Fi printer on your PC.
- This time in the printers and scanners menu in Windows you will want to click on "Add Printer or Scanner"
- Then your computer will start searching for printers on your network. If it finds it click connect and your printer will connect to your computer.
- Click on the printer in the printers and scanners menu and click "manage" to run a test print.
If it does not connect make sure your computer is connected to the same network as your printer and that you have completed the above steps correctly to get the printer connected.
Connecting to a wireless printer on Mac
- First you are going to go Printers and Scanners under your system preferences.
- Then hit the small plus button that sits under the white box on the left-hand side.
- Then it will open a small window which by default will start looking for Apple compatible printers that are on your network.
- When you see your printer that you are trying to connect to select it and then click the "Add" button.
- After that the printer should be added to the box that shows your printers.
- From there you can select "Options & Supplies" to Print a test page.
If it does not connect make sure your computer is connected to the same network as your printer and that you have completed the above steps correctly to get the printer connected.