How To Connect a Wi-Fi Printer to Your Mac

Adding a device to a Mac is pretty straightforward, and most of the time, once you connect the device, it just works. But wireless printers can be a little tricky — especially if they don’t show up or refuse to connect. The idea behind connecting a Wi-Fi printer is pretty simple: make sure both your Mac and printer are on the same network, and that the printer has Wi-Fi turned on. Often, printers have a dedicated Wi-Fi button (look for the symbol) that you can press to turn on the wireless feature. If there’s no button, you’ll need to check the printer’s menu or touchscreen to find the Wi-Fi setup options. If you can’t find it, a quick check with the manufacturer’s support page or manual might save a headache.

Connect a printer to Mac over Wi-Fi

Before diving in, confirm the basics: your printer needs to support Wi-Fi (most mid to high-end models do nowadays), and both devices should be on the same Wi-Fi network. On some setups, this can be a pain because the printer might not immediately show up, or there’s a hiccup during detection. Kind of weird, but sometimes turning the printer off and on again helps, especially if it’s been sitting idle. Another trick is to make sure your Mac isn’t on some odd guest network orVPN that could be blocking the connection.

Make sure your printer is on and Wi-Fi is active

Turn on the printer.- Press the Wi-Fi or wireless button, if available. Wait for that Wi-Fi indicator to be solid or blinking, meaning it’s trying to connect.
If no button, check the printer’s menu system.- Navigate to network settings or Wi-Fi setup; sometimes it’s buried under “Wireless” or similar options. Make sure Wi-Fi is enabled.
Pro tip: If Wi-Fi isn’t working, try restarting the printer. On some models, just turning it off, waiting a few seconds, then turning it back on resets the connection.

Access Printer & Scanners in macOS

Open System Preferences (older macOS) or System Settings (newer versions).You can do this by clicking the Apple menu or searching in Spotlight.
Click on Printers & Scanners.

Here’s where most of the magic happens. On some Mac setups, if you don’t see your printer listed, it could be because it’s not broadcasting properly or the network isn’t configured right. Make sure your Mac is connected to the same network as the printer — no complications there, hopefully.

Scan for and add the printer

Click the small plus sign (+) at the bottom of the printer list. This opens the add dialog.
Wait a few seconds; your Mac should detect the wireless printer. If everything’s working smoothly, you’ll see it listed — maybe under a generic name or the manufacturer’s name.
Select your printer from the list, adjust the name or location if needed (not mandatory but can help if you’ve got a setup with multiple printers), then click Add.

Sometimes, your Mac might not see the printer immediately. If that happens, restarting the printer, ensuring it’s connected to Wi-Fi, or even re-booting your Mac can help. On one setup it worked like a charm, on another…not so much. Because of course, Wi-Fi has to make it harder than necessary.

Finish setup and test print

You’ll see a message like “Setting up [printer name], ” which should take a few seconds.
Once that’s done, the printer appears as ready in the list. To test, click Open Print Queue or try printing a document.
If the print job goes through without issues, congrats — it’s connected!

How to remove a Wi-Fi printer you no longer need

Back in Printers & Scanners, select the printer, then hit the minus (–) button.
Confirm deletion when prompted — this removes it from your Mac.

For those who need this on Windows 10 too, there are similar steps under Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners, but…that’s another story.