Learn to Add Wireless Network Printer on Mac

Bykevin anderson


The idea of setting up a printer scares many people. But once you know the way, it’s pretty easy to do. Whether you need to add one printer to your home computer, or lots of printers to a business network, then here is how to add a wireless network printer on a Mac. Connecting via WPS would typically demand you press the “Wireless” or “Wi-Fi” button on your printer, followed by the WPS button on your router. Still, steps will vary depending on which printer and router you have, so check your printer and router user guides for specific instructions. Once you’ve set up WPS, you can do to the way below.

Steps to Add Wireless Network Printer on a Mac

You can connect your printer wirelessly through a Wi-Fi-protected set-up (WPS) or a Bluetooth connection. Follow the steps given below depending on how you want to connect your printer.

  • First, click the ‘Apple’ icon in the top-left corner of your Mac screen.

  • Then, go to the ‘System Preferences.’

  • Now, click on the ‘Printers and Scanners.’ On older Mac versions, this will appear as ‘Print & Scan’ under ‘Hardware.’

  • Now, click the ‘+’ sign. For older Mac versions, you may have to click ‘Add Printer or Scanner’ after you click on the ‘+’ sign. You might also see printers detected by your Mac under ‘Nearby Printers’ in the ‘Add Printer or Scanner’ submenu.

  • Now, select the printer you would like to add. In the Default tab, your Mac displays a list of discoverable printers on your network.

  • Now, choose the printer’s software or driver in the ‘Use field.’ You can choose from the below options:

AirPrint- allows you to print from AirPrint-compatible printers via Wi-Fi on AirPrint-compatible printers. However, if your printer is not AirPrint-compatible, you will require to install the driver from Apple’s servers or the manufacturer’s website.

Your printer’s print driver- if you have that installed already.

Auto Select- if you don’t have the print driver, you want your computer to download the correct one when it updates.

  • At last, click on ‘Add.’ The new printer will be added to the list of printers. You will now see this on the left-hand side of the ‘Print & Scan’ window.

This is how to add a printer to a Mac. When you add a printer, macOS can detect whether the printer has special accessories installed. If not, a dialogue will appear that lets you name them. Ensure the settings in that dialogue accurately display your printer’s installed accessories so you can take full use of them.