How to Add Printer to iPhone? | Explore Different Ways to Connect Printers With and Without AirPrint

Apple’s AirPrint feature supports a seamless and secure printing experience for businesses. Going even further than commercial use, it also supports personal use, meaning you can easily add a printer to your iPhone. This has eliminated the need for installing drivers or going through traditional, complex setup processes.

In this article, we will understand various wireless and wired methods to know how to add a printer to an iPhone for fast printing service without any third-party support.

How to Add a Printer to an iPhone with AirPrint Support?

AirPrint is Apple’s Wi-Fi printing technology that supports wireless printing between Apple devices without additional hardware. Most modern printers come with the AirPrint feature and once you have verified the compatibility, use any of the given methods to connect your iPhone to the printer.

1. Using Wi-Fi Direct  

This is the most common way to get the printout of a document by connecting an iPhone and a printer. For this, first, you need to ensure both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi and then continue with the steps given below:

1. Open the picture or document that you want to print and tap on the Share icon.

   

2. Now, scroll down and select the Print option.

   

3. On the print settings page, you can make necessary changes to the document by using options like presets, copies, range, double-sided, paper size, orientation, and scaling. Once, you are done, tap on the Printer option from the top.

   

4. Choose your device from the list. Also, scroll to the bottom and see the preview of the pages to ensure all of them are placed correctly and ready to print.

   

5. Finally, hit the Print option from the top right corner to complete the printing process.

   

In case you don’t have access to AirPrint, you can directly connect your printer to the iPhone using a USB cable or to the router using an Ethernet cable. Once, you have inserted both ends, continue with the above-given process.

Also Read: How to Choose the Right Router For Your VR Setup

2. Using Bluetooth

You can also access the Bluetooth connectivity option to print from your iPhone to a printer. For this, you need to turn on the printer and follow the mentioned steps:

1. First, on your iPhone, navigate to Settings > Bluetooth > Toggle it to turn on. 

   

2. Now, you will see a list of available Bluetooth devices. Locate and select your printer to pair and set a connection.

3. Once done, open the document or picture that you want to print and tap on the Share button. 

   

4. Then, scroll down and hit the Print option.

   

5. Now, tap the Printer option.

   

Alt tag: Tap on Printer and select your device

6.  Select your printer from the list of available devices.

   

7. Finally, select the Print button from the top right corner to start printing. 

   

Note: Some printers have a special button to turn on Bluetooth, so make sure you have enabled it while trying to connect. 

3. Using NFC

Before starting with the process, ensure your printer has NFC or Near Field Communication support, and then continue with the following steps:

1. First, turn on NFC on your iPhone.

• For iPhone 7-X: Go to the Control Center and tap on the NFC button to enable the NFC Tag Reader. 
• For iPhone XS, XR, 11, 11 Pro (Max), and SE (2nd gen): The device will automatically search for NFC signals. 

2. Now, place your iPhone close to the printer’s NFC tag and once they are connected, start printing by following the same steps that you used for Wi-Fi or Bluetooth printing. 

Note: In some printers, you need to tap your device on the NFC mark given on the front of the printer to connect.

Also Read: Creating a NFC business card? Here is a complete guide.

How To Connect Printer to iPhone Without AirPrint?

Though AirPrint is the simplest technique to connect your printer and iPhone, there is the possibility that your printer does not have AirPrint compatibility. In such a case, you can access any of the given methods to get the required printout. 

1. Use a Compatible Printer App

Various major printer manufacturers, such as Brother iPrint & Scan, Epson iPrint, Lexmark, Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY, HP Smart, and others, have dedicated applications to support printing between devices. You can easily download the compatible app from the App Store on your iPhone and after registering and logging in to your account, continue with the given process:

1. Next, open the document or picture that you want to print and tap on the Share icon or a three-dotted ellipsis icon (that represents the More menu) to display the Share Sheet.

   

2. Scroll through the list, find out the installed third-party app, and select it to share.
3. Finally, use the printer app features like preview, edit, or store the file, and when the file is ready, hit the Print button to complete the process.

Note: Don’t forget to connect your printer and iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network to enable wireless printing. 

Also Read: Here’s Top 11 Things to Consider While Opting for Quality Internet Services!

2. Use Your Computer as an Intermediary

You can also add any old printer to an iPhone by setting a connection between the printer and a macOS or Windows computer. In this case, you also need to have third-party software, Printopia, installed on your Mac and follow the process discussed below:

1. After installation, launch the Printopia software on your macOS, and it will detect the printers installed on your system. Also, in the Overview pane, enable the sharing status.

   

2. Now, you can see the list of all the wired and wireless printers connected to the Mac by heading to the Printers pane. Select the required printer here.

   

3. After that, on your iPhone, open the file or picture you want to print out and tap on the Share icon.

   

4. Next, scroll down and select the Print button in the Sharing Sheet. 

   

5. Tap on the Printer option and adjust the number of copies and the range of pages. 

   

6. Next, select your printer from the available devices.

   

7. Then, hit the Print button from the top right corner.

   

8. Now, Printopia will take over the process, and you can see the progress in the Jobs pane of the app on your Mac.

Tips:❗It is suggested to use a free trial version of Printopia on your MacBook to see if it works properly with your device and once you are satisfied, you can switch to the premium version. 

Also Read: How to Disconnect iPhone from Mac?: Try These 11 Effective Ways

Conclusion

Thanks to the AirPrint feature or dedicated apps that have solved the issue of how to add a printer to the iPhone for wireless printing. Even if you are using an old version of a printer, you can easily connect it to the iPhone via a USB or Ethernet cable.

In case you are having any trouble while connecting the devices, it might be because of internet connectivity issues, poor condition or loose fitting of cables, a glitch in the app, etc. To fix them, check your WiFi GHz on iPhone, reboot the router and the printer, update Safari on Mac, iPad, and iPhone, etc. 

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