Is Your Printer Offline? 6 Tricks to Get it Connected to Wi-Fi

I love technology, but I've never met a printer that I didn't want to throw into a fire. Between lots of moving parts and expensive ink refills, it's no surprise these must-have tools cause endless amounts of frustration. And yes, some people still need a printer.

More often than not, my printer problems boil down to simple Wi-Fi woes—printers that won't connect to Wi-Fi; printers that say they're connected but don't show up on the network; or printers that show up in the wireless devices list but just won't print. It feels like I tackle these problems on a weekly basis, whether it's my own printer at home or those of my friends and family.

While we've focused on printer troubleshooting basics before—and those are still good routes to pursue—if you find your printer is disappearing from the Wi-Fi network, this guide will help you fix networking problems so you can get your documents out the door.

1. Reboot or Unplug to Start Fresh

It's become a cliché in tech circles, but with printers, it's true more often than not: Sometimes you just need to turn it off and turn it back on again. Often, that means pressing and holding the power button until it shuts down (though it may ask you to clear the queue first). If this doesn't work—mine sometimes says "busy" and won't let me power it off—you may have to unplug it completely, then plug it back in.

It's nice when this works, but it means there's no permanent solution to this recurring issue, and much like a router that stops broadcasting, you may have to go through this process whenever the printer drops its connection. You could, however, plug your printer into a smart plug and use a voice assistant like Alexa to reboot it on command.

2. Move It Closer to Your Router

I can't tell you why, but I've seen many Wi-Fi printers that just seem to have weak signals, even if all other devices work fine in the same location. My printer is much more reliable if the router is in the same room, and my father-in-law's printer only works if he opens all the doors upstairs before trying to print.

Even if the Wi-Fi signal in that room seems fine, try moving your printer closer to the router if you’re having connection issues. If your printer has a subpar Wi-Fi chip, it may need a super strong signal to stay connected. (This should go without saying, but make sure the Wi-Fi name and password are correct.)

3. Remove and Re-Add Your Printer in Windows

I find that my printer often thinks everything's peachy, even though it shows as "Offline" in the Windows Printer & Scanner settings. If this happens to you, I've had success removing the printer and then connecting it to Windows again. To do this, go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, select your printer, and remove it. Then click Add a Printer or Scanner to re-add it to the device list. Incredibly (and frustratingly), this often gets things up and running again.

4. Update Your Drivers and Firmware

As with all technology, it helps to begin your troubleshooting journey by updating all the relevant software. Head to your printer manufacturer's website—whether it's HP, Brother, or someone else—and search for your printer's model number in the support section.

Download the latest driver, software package, and/or firmware update to ensure every link in the chain is as up-to-date as possible. If you're having connection issues, it's possible one of those updates fixed it somewhere along the line since you bought the printer.

5. Plug the Printer Directly into Your Router

If you're flexible about where you store your printer, your best bet is to remove it from the Wi-Fi network entirely and hard-wire it to the router. Connecting it with a wire may not solve all your problems, but it will ensure its connection to the network is much more stable, lessening the number of troubleshooting steps you have to go through every time.

If you have Ethernet in your home, try connecting it to the network that way—you may find an Ethernet jack hidden somewhere on the printer (check its manual; I've seen them in very hard-to-find places). If you don't have Ethernet in the house, this is one area where powerline adapters can come in handy. For printers lacking an Ethernet jack, try moving it to the same room as the router, connecting them over USB, and using the router's built-in printer sharing to see if it works better.

6. Connect to a PC and Share

If you aren't able to connect your printer to the router directly, connect it to your computer via USB cable instead. The computer's built-in printer sharing feature will then allow you to print from other PCs in the house.

Once plugged in and set up as a wired printer, Windows users can go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, select the printer, and choose Manage > Printer Properties. Under the Sharing tab, you should have an option to share that printer. Mac users can open System Settings > Sharing > Printer Sharing. Check the Printer Sharing box, select the printer, then add it from your other computers as if it were a normal network printer.

This solution can sometimes be finicky in its own right, but it's worth a shot if your printer just refuses to stay connected to Wi-Fi on its own.