Want a wireless-enabled printer at home? You can easily set up your USB printer to behave like one! However, there are a few things you will need to get things started. We will be describing the entire process to convert an old USB printer into a WiFi printer – read on!
Previously treated as just an office commodity, printers have now become very personal. Owning a personal printer at home has eradicated the need to visit a cyber place to get things done. Well, it wasn’t always like this because of the huge sizes that older printer models used to feature. Nowadays, printers come in a variety of sizes – even minis which are extremely portable. Although most newer printer models are now wireless, some users still own a USB printer and want to upgrade it to wireless. What if we tell you that it’s possible to create a wireless printer out of what you already have? You will just need a spare router with a USB port!
How to convert your USB printer to a WiFi printer?
Now, the process will differ a little depending on your printer and router’s manufacturer. Nevertheless, it’s an easy-to-understand process. Follow through the steps below:
1) Firstly, connect the printer’s USB cable to the router’s USB port. Do that and switch on your router and printer. Also, before moving on to the next step, make sure that you have installed the printer drivers on your PC. If you have used the printer on your PC before, the drivers should be installed already. If not, you can find downloadable drivers on your printer manufacturer’s website.
2) Now, you will need to open your router’s configuration page. Look for the configuration IP for your router in the manual that came with it. Once you make note of the configuration page, connect your PC to the WiFi network of your router. Open Google Chrome (or any browser), type in the router’s config page address, and hit Enter. Sign in using your credentials and follow along to the next step.
3) Here comes the tricky part – you will need to look for “Sharing” options on the config page. Look for a setting that says “printer”. As it happens, this setting is named differently for different router manufacturers. Enable any kind of “sharing” related to “printer”. For example, if you are using a TP-Link Router, you will need to select USB Settings from the left vertical menu and then select Print Server. Now, press the button to convert Stop to Start. That’s it.
4) Next, you will need to download a specific print utility software from your router manufacturer’s website. Visit the manufacturer’s website and look for Support specific to your router model.
5) Once you download the software, launch it and you should be able to start printing wirelessly.
Note
Also Read: Connect to printer error on Windows 11: How to fix it?
As you may have realized, this process is very manufacturer-specific. If you are confused regarding the above-mentioned process or are facing any issue, look for your router manufacturer’s guide on how to add wireless functionality to your printer. Being a fairly popular query among printer users, you will easily find such guides online.
