If your printer was made in the last ten years and it is already on your home Wi-Fi, you do not pair your phone with it at all. An iPhone finds it automatically through AirPrint, and an Android phone finds it through the print service built into the operating system. You open the photo, email or document, tap Share or the menu button, tap Print, choose the printer and send the job. Nothing to install.
The part that actually needs setting up is the printer, not the phone. Once the printer has joined the same Wi-Fi network your phone uses, printing is a three-tap job. Most "how do I connect my phone" problems turn out to be the printer sitting on a different network, a guest network getting in the way, or a VPN on the phone blocking discovery. Fixes for those are further down.
If your printer is older, has only a USB socket, or you are away from home with no router, there are still routes through: Wi-Fi Direct, the manufacturer's app, or a cheap print server. Those come after the standard method.
Match your situation to a method
| Your situation | Use this | App needed? |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone or iPad, printer on your Wi-Fi | AirPrint (built in) | No |
| Android, printer on your Wi-Fi | Default Print Service (built in) | No |
| Printer not on any network, or no router | Wi-Fi Direct | Usually no |
| Need to scan, check ink, or print from outside the house | Manufacturer app | Yes |
| Printer has only a USB port | Print server, shared computer, or OTG cable | Depends |
| Pocket photo printer | Bluetooth plus the maker's app | Yes |
From an iPhone or iPad: AirPrint
AirPrint has been in iOS since 2010. It works entirely over your local Wi-Fi: the iPhone sends out a Bonjour request, any AirPrint printer on the same network answers, and the job never touches Apple's servers or the internet. There are no drivers to download.
Does your printer support it?
Any colour Wi-Fi printer from HP, Canon, Epson, Brother, Lexmark or Xerox bought after about 2015 almost certainly has AirPrint built in. If you want to be sure, check the box for the AirPrint logo, look on the printer's own web page (type its IP address into a browser), or search Apple's printer list. Printers connected to a computer by USB or Bluetooth cannot use AirPrint, even if the computer itself can.
The steps
- Put the iPhone and the printer on the same Wi-Fi network.
- Open the app you want to print from and tap the Share button or the Actions button.
- Scroll down and tap Print.
- Tap No Printer Selected and choose your AirPrint printer.
- Set copies, page range, paper size and double-sided printing on the options screen. For many models this screen also shows ink and paper levels.
- Tap Print in the top right.
The printer is remembered for next time. If it does not appear at all, skip to the troubleshooting section below, because the cause is nearly always the network rather than the phone.
From an Android phone: the built-in print service
Every Android phone ships with a Default Print Service baked into the operating system. You do not install or switch it on. It uses Mopria core print technology, which now covers roughly 10,000 certified printer models and more than 120 million certified devices in the field. Wi-Fi Direct printing through this built-in service works on Android 9 and higher.
The steps
- Put the phone and the printer on the same Wi-Fi network.
- Open the item, then tap the three-dot menu or the Share icon.
- Tap Print.
- At the top of the preview, tap the dropdown that says Select a printer. The first time, give it a few seconds to find the printer over the network.
- Tap the downward arrow to change paper size, colour, orientation, double-sided and page range.
- Tap the round print button.
On a Samsung phone the settings live under Settings > Connections > More connection settings > Printing, where you may also see a Samsung Print Service Plugin alongside the default one. On stock Android the path is Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences > Printing.
When you need an extra app
Install the free Mopria Print Service app if the built-in service finds nothing, if your printer is older and not Mopria certified, or if you need finishing options such as stapling, specific paper trays, secure PIN release or true borderless photos. Install the manufacturer's app instead if you also want to scan, check ink levels or set the printer up from scratch.
One thing to ignore: Google retired Cloud Print at the start of 2021. Any guide that tells you to add a printer through a Google account or "Cloud Print" is out of date, and the Cloud Print button on some older printers no longer does anything.
No router, a hotel room, or a printer not yet set up: Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Direct makes the printer host its own small Wi-Fi network that your phone joins directly, with no router involved. It is the right tool for a brand-new printer you have not configured, a shared office printer you cannot get onto the corporate network, or a printer in a holiday let.
Turn Wi-Fi Direct on at the printer first:
- HP: Settings or Network menu, then Wi-Fi Direct, toggle on. The name looks like
DIRECT-73-HP OfficeJet. - Brother: Network > Wi-Fi Direct > Manual. The printer shows an SSID and passphrase.
- Epson: Wi-Fi Setup > Wi-Fi Direct > Start Setup. Some models show a QR code you can scan.
- Canon: LAN settings > Wireless Direct.
Then on the phone, open Wi-Fi settings, pick that DIRECT- network, and enter the password the printer is showing. The printer now appears in the normal AirPrint or Android print list.
Two things the manuals gloss over. First, while your phone is joined to the printer's own network it usually has no internet, so a web page or a cloud document will not print until you switch back to your normal Wi-Fi. Open the file first, then switch networks. Second, older HP models used a default password of 12345678; newer ones generate a random one shown under the Wi-Fi Direct details or on a printed network configuration page. Most printers only let about five devices connect this way at once.
When you actually need the manufacturer's app
The built-in methods print. They do not scan, they do not show ink levels, they cannot do the first-time Wi-Fi setup on a screenless printer, and they cannot print when you are away from the house. That is what the brand apps are for.
| Brand | Current app | What it adds beyond basic printing | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP | HP Smart | Setup, scanning, ink and toner levels, firmware, Print Anywhere for printing from outside the home, Instant Ink | iOS and Android |
| Canon | Canon PRINT (PIXMA and MAXIFY); separate SELPHY app for photo printers | Setup, scan, borderless photo layouts, cloud links, ink status | iOS and Android |
| Epson | Epson Smart Panel (replaced Epson iPrint) | Setup, scan, ink levels, head cleaning and maintenance, Epson Connect email print | iOS and Android |
| Brother | Brother Mobile Connect (replaced iPrint&Scan) | Setup, scan, machine status, firmware, cloud services | iOS and Android |
Two honest warnings. All four apps push you towards a cloud account during setup, and HP pushes enrolment in HP+ and Instant Ink. You can decline every one of those and still print over your own Wi-Fi. Read the HP+ screen carefully before tapping Continue, though: once a printer is enrolled in HP+, it refuses non-HP cartridges permanently.
The apps are also the easiest way to do a printer's first Wi-Fi setup. They hand your network name and password to the printer over a temporary Bluetooth or direct connection, which is far less painful than tapping a password out on a printer touchscreen.
Older printers with only a USB port
A USB-only printer can still be reached from a phone, but you are adding hardware or a computer to the chain.
| Method | Rough cost | iPhone AirPrint? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| USB Wi-Fi print server box | £20 to £40 | Sometimes | Cheaper boxes often do not advertise Bonjour, so AirPrint may not see the printer |
| Raspberry Pi running CUPS | £40 to £60 | Yes | Advertises AirPrint properly once set up |
| Shared from a Mac | Free | Yes | The Mac has to stay awake; the shared printer becomes AirPrint-visible automatically |
| Shared from a Windows PC | Free | Through an app only | PC stays on; the phone needs a print app pointed at the share |
| OTG cable to an Android phone | About £5 | Not applicable | Works with some phone and printer combinations, usually needs the maker's app, patchy |
| New entry-level wireless printer | £50 to £70 | Yes | Usually the least hassle over time |
The OTG cable route deserves a caution. Plugging a printer straight into an Android phone through a USB-C or micro-USB adapter works occasionally, almost always needs the manufacturer's app or Mopria, and fails silently as often as it succeeds. Treat it as a one-off rescue, not a setup you rely on. iPhones cannot print to an ordinary printer over a cable at all.
If you print more than a few times a month, the maths favours a cheap AirPrint printer over an adapter you have to nurse.
When the printer will not show up: the real reasons
Your phone and printer are on different Wi-Fi bands
Many routers broadcast 2.4GHz and 5GHz under one name and shuffle devices between them. A lot of printers, including many HP DeskJet, Canon PIXMA and budget Brother models sold up to around 2022, have only a 2.4GHz radio. If your phone is sitting on 5GHz, AirPrint and the Android print service may not see the printer even though both have working internet (Canon community). Give the 2.4GHz band its own network name and put the phone on it to print, or confirm the printer joined 2.4GHz during setup.
You are printing from the guest network
Guest Wi-Fi almost always has client isolation switched on, which is designed to stop devices on it from talking to each other. Both the phone and the printer will show internet access and still never find one another. Move both onto the main network.
Client isolation or multicast filtering on the main network
Some routers, and many mesh systems in their default state, block device-to-device traffic or filter the multicast messages that AirPrint and Mopria use to announce printers. In the router settings, look for AP isolation, client isolation or wireless isolation and turn it off. If there is an IGMP snooping or multicast option, allow multicast. On mesh kit, a firmware update often restores printer discovery that used to work.
A VPN or Private Relay is running on the phone
An always-on VPN, a work-profile VPN, or iCloud Private Relay can stop the phone reaching anything on the local network. Turn the VPN off or set it to allow local network access, then try again. On an iPhone, also check Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network and confirm the app you are printing from is allowed.
The printer is asleep or its address has changed
The first job sent to a sleeping AirPrint printer sometimes times out while the printer wakes. Send it a second time. If the printer appears twice in the list, one entry greyed out, its network address has changed: delete the saved printer on the phone and add it again, or set a fixed address for the printer in the router.
You need the page right now and nothing is working
Open the manufacturer's app and add the printer by its IP address directly. When network discovery is broken, a direct IP connection often still gets through. You will find the IP on the printer's network configuration page.
Bluetooth and portable photo printers
Bluetooth printing is mostly a photo-printer thing now: Canon SELPHY, HP Sprocket, Fujifilm Instax Link, Kodak. Pair the printer in the phone's Bluetooth settings, then print from the maker's app, which handles the layout and the colour processing that makes a small print look right. Full-size document printers rarely use Bluetooth, and where they do it is slower and lower quality than Wi-Fi, so use Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi Direct for anything on A4. AirPrint does not run over Bluetooth at all.
The one check that settles most problems
Nearly every printer can print its own network or Wi-Fi test page from the front panel, usually under Settings, Wireless or Reports. The same details sit on the printer's web page if you type its IP address into a browser. That sheet tells you the network name the printer is actually on, its IP address, and whether it is using 2.4GHz or 5GHz. Compare that with what your phone is connected to. If the names differ, or the printer has no IP address, you have found the fault before you have even picked the phone up.
Related guides
How to Connect a Printer to Wi-Fi (Step-by-Step Guide): get the printer onto your network first, the step this whole article assumes is already done.
How to Connect an HP Printer to Wi-Fi: the HP-specific walkthrough, including models with no screen.
Why Your Printer Won't Connect to Wi-Fi (and the Fix That Actually Works): for when the printer itself refuses to join the network.
Printer Not Printing? Here's What's Actually Wrong (and How to Fix It): the job sends from your phone but nothing comes out.
HP Printer Offline? Here's How to Get It Back Online: fixes the greyed-out printer that keeps dropping off the list.
How to Add a Brother Printer to a Mac: needed if you plan to share a USB printer from a computer.