The quickest route is on the printer itself: open Settings > Network Settings > Wi-Fi Setup Wizard on the control panel, select your network from the list, type in the password, and confirm. Most Epson inkjets finish that handshake in under two minutes. If the printer has no screen, or you'd rather do it from your phone, the Epson Smart Panel app can carry out the same setup while sat on your sofa. If your router has a WPS button, you can skip typing the password altogether by pressing that and the printer's Wi-Fi button within the same two-minute window.
None of that is complicated on paper. What actually causes the support calls is almost never the wizard itself, it's one of two things: the printer only being able to see a Wi-Fi band it can't join, or someone assuming that once the printer says "Connected", it will automatically show up on their laptop. Neither is true, and both are fixable in under five minutes once you know which one you're looking at.
The rest of this covers all three connection methods, how to prove the connection actually worked before you go looking for the printer on your computer, and the handful of faults that account for most failed setups.
Before you start: the one setting that trips up more people than anything else
Most Epson home and small-office inkjets, including the EcoTank and Expression Home ranges, only connect over the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band. They can't see 5GHz networks at all, not weakly, not intermittently, they simply don't appear in the list. Best Buy's own support notes confirm this is standard across the Expression Premium range, and it applies to most current EcoTank and WorkForce models too.
This becomes a real problem with newer mesh routers and ISP-supplied routers, which increasingly merge the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radios under one network name for convenience. If your printer can't find any network at all during setup, that's usually why. The fix is to go into the router's admin page and split the bands into two separate SSIDs (for example, "HomeNet" and "HomeNet-5G"), then connect the printer to the 2.4GHz one specifically. Your phone and laptop can stay on 5GHz for speed; the printer doesn't need it and won't miss it.
Two other things worth confirming first:
- You've already run initial setup and installed the ink cartridges or filled the EcoTank tanks. Wireless setup is a separate step that comes after that, not instead of it, and the wizard won't behave correctly if it's run first.
- You have the exact Wi-Fi password, not a guess. The on-screen character entry is fiddly (scrolling through a grid with arrow buttons), and a wrong password fails the connection with the same generic error as a band mismatch, so it's easy to misdiagnose which one caused it.
Method 1: Wi-Fi Setup Wizard on the control panel
This is the most reliable method because it needs nothing but the printer and your router, no phone, no laptop, no cables.
- On the printer's home screen, select Settings (or the gear icon).
- Go to Network Settings > Wi-Fi Setup Wizard.
- Select your network's name (SSID) from the list, or choose Enter Manually if it's hidden.
- Enter the password using the on-screen keypad, then confirm.
- Wait for the printer to report a successful connection. The Wi-Fi icon on the LCD screen changes from flashing to solid once it's actually on the network, not just attempting it.
Menu wording varies slightly by model (older WorkForce and Artisan units label it "Wireless LAN Setup"), but the sequence of network name, then password, then confirmation is consistent across Epson's current range.
Method 2: Epson Smart Panel app
Epson replaced its older iPrint app with Smart Panel in 2023, and it's now the one listed on both app stores. It's the better option if your printer has no display, or if you find the button-and-arrow-key text entry on the control panel painful (most people do).
- Connect your phone or tablet to the same Wi-Fi network you want the printer to join.
- Install Epson Smart Panel from the App Store or Google Play and open it.
- If it detects your printer automatically, follow the on-screen prompts to finish the wireless handshake.
- If it doesn't, tap the + icon, choose Connect to a New Product, and select your model from the list.
- If the printer still doesn't appear, connect it via the control panel wizard first, then choose Connect to Existing Product in the app to link it for scanning and mobile printing.
One limitation worth knowing before you rely on this: Smart Panel only recognises printers on Epson's supported list for that app version, so a very old model may need the control panel method regardless.
Method 3: WPS push-button setup
This is the fastest method when it works, because there's no password to type, but it depends entirely on your router supporting WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) and having a physical or on-screen button for it.
- On the printer, hold the Wi-Fi button until the lights start flashing alternately (this is 3 to 5 seconds depending on model).
- Within two minutes, press the WPS button on your router.
- The printer and router complete the handshake automatically, no SSID selection, no password entry.
The two-minute window is the part people underestimate. If you go and find the router's manual to locate the WPS button, you've usually already missed it and need to start again from the printer side.
| Method | Needs a password typed | Needs router access | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi Setup Wizard (control panel) | Yes | No | Most setups; works without a phone or extra software |
| Epson Smart Panel app | Yes (once, in-app) | No | Printers with no screen, or anyone who finds control-panel text entry slow |
| WPS push-button | No | Yes, briefly | Routers with a WPS button and a printer within reach of it |
Confirming the connection actually worked
"Connected" on the printer's screen only tells you it joined a network, not that your computer can find it, and not that the IP address hasn't changed since you set it up months ago. Before troubleshooting a printer that "isn't showing up," print a network status sheet:
- On most current models, hold down the Wi-Fi or Network Status button until a page starts printing.
- On models where that's not available, go to Settings > Network Settings > Print Status Sheet.
The sheet lists the printer's current IP address and, usefully, its Wi-Fi signal strength. A weak signal reading here (rather than a connection failure) is often the real explanation for slow or dropped print jobs, and it's a router placement problem, not a settings one. You can also type that IP address directly into a browser's address bar on any device on the same network to open the printer's built-in configuration page, which is the fastest way to confirm it's actually reachable before blaming Windows or macOS.
Adding the printer to Windows or a Mac
Joining the network and being available to print from are two separate steps. Once the status sheet confirms the printer has an IP address on your network:
Windows: Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > Add device. Windows will usually find it automatically over the network; if not, download the specific model's driver from Epson's support site rather than relying on the generic Windows driver, which sometimes omits scanning or duplex printing features.
Mac: System Settings > Printers & Scanners > Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax. Most current Epson models appear automatically via AirPrint, which covers basic printing without any driver install; if you want the full feature set (ink levels, scanning, maintenance tools), install Epson's driver package instead.
When it still won't connect
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Printer's network list is empty or missing your SSID | Router is broadcasting 5GHz only, or a combined-band SSID | Split the router into separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz network names, connect to the 2.4GHz one |
| Connection fails immediately after entering the password | Wrong password, or router set to WPA3-only | Some older Epson models can't join WPA3-only networks; either re-check the password or temporarily enable WPA2 alongside WPA3 on the router |
| Printer shows connected, but nothing can print to it | Printer's IP address changed after it went to sleep for several days | Print a fresh status sheet to get the current IP, or set a DHCP reservation for the printer in the router so its IP never changes |
| Setup fails partway through, no clear error | Too much distance or a wall between printer and router | Move the printer closer for setup, then relocate it once confirmed; Wi-Fi extenders can help afterwards |
On WPA3 specifically: newer models like the WorkForce Pro WF-C4810 and the EcoTank ET-2800 support it, but plenty of established models, including the EcoTank ET-4760, don't. If your router defaults to "WPA3 only" or "WPA2/WPA3 transitional" and an otherwise-correct setup keeps failing, checking your printer's exact security protocol support before assuming the password is wrong will save you several repeated attempts.
What to do once it's actually connected
With the printer reliably on the network, the natural next step most people hit is printing or scanning when they're away from home, sending a document from a phone on mobile data, say, or emailing a scan straight from the printer. That's handled through Epson Connect, a free service tied to the printer's own email address, which is separate from the local Wi-Fi setup above and worth setting up once, rather than troubleshooting a "why won't it print from outside my house" problem later.
Related Guide
How to Connect a Canon Printer to Wi-Fi (Every Method), if you're setting up a Canon alongside or instead of an Epson, the same 2.4GHz-band trap applies there too.
How to Add a Printer to a Mac (Wi-Fi, USB & IP), for the driver and AirPrint detail behind the "Adding the printer to a Mac" step above.
HP Printer Not Printing? The Real Causes and Fixes, useful if a second printer on the same network has stopped responding after your Epson setup changed the router's settings.