How To Add A Printer In Windows 11

If you just purchased a new printer or want to hook up an old one to your new laptop, then you’re in luck. Windows 11 makes the setup process really easy. Most printers are plug-and-play, so once you connect it to your USB port (or USB dock) on your laptop, you’ll be good to go. But just in case that doesn’t go as planned, or you run into issues, we have a look at how you can add a printer on Windows 11.

Related

Troubleshooting guide for printing on Windows

Struggling to print from your Windows machine? Here’s a guide to get your printer up and working again.

How to add a printer in Windows 11 over USB

If your printer is connected over USB, you shouldn’t have to do much. All you need to do is make sure your printer is plugged into an outlet and the USB cable is connected to your PC and the printer itself. Windows will automatically install the necessary drivers and you should be up and running quickly. You can check if your printer was recognized by opening the Settings app and navigating to Bluetooth & devices. The printer should appear on this page.

If your printer isn’t listed, try the following steps:

1. From the Bluetooth & devices section of the Settings app, click Printers & scanners.
2. Choose Add device.

   

3. If your printer still doesn’t show up, click Add Manually.
4. In the dialog, choose My printer is a little older. Help me find it.

   

5. Follow the instructions to download the driver and install the printer.

That should be all you need to do. Worst case scenario, you can try looking up the name of the printer online to see if you can find appropriate drivers for it.

Add a printer to Windows 11 over the network

In the event that you’re adding a network printer that’s hooked up to Wi-Fi or over an Ethernet port, the process is pretty similar. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open the Settings app and navigate to Bluetooth & devices> Printers and scanners.
2. Choose Add device.
3. If your printer doesn’t show up, click Add Manually.
4. Now, you can choose one of three options depending on the information you have:
   1. If you know the printer’s name and location, click Select a shared printer by name and browse to the printer under your Network page.

      

   2. If you know the printer’s IP address, choose the second option and then enter the IP address.
   3. If your printer is a Wi-Fi printer, choose the option for Add a Bluetooth, wireless, or network discoverable printer. This option will search for the device over the network, and it should be added.
5. Follow the steps to finish setting up your printer.

That’s all you need to know about adding a printer to Windows 11. Once your printer is added, you can click on its name under the Printers and Scanners page to manage it. You can open the print queue, print a test page, run a troubleshooter, and more.

Troubleshoot your printer

If you still can’t connect to your printer, there are other things you can try. First and foremost, try restarting your computer to see if the printer is picked up. It’s also a good idea to double-check the instructions that came with the printer to make sure you’re setting it up correctly.

If your PC still isn’t finding the necessary drivers, you may have to download them manually from the manufacturer’s website. While we can’t give you links for every printer out there, you can check out the download centers for major brands below:

• Brother
• Canon
• Epson
• HP
• Lexmark
• Xerox

Setting up your printer should be easy

This should be all you need to get your printer up and running as intended. printers have been around for a long time and Windows has evolved to support them pretty well out of the box without needing a very complicated setup process.