How to Connect Printers Wirelessly to Your Computer

The advent of wireless technology has greatly revolutionized the way not just how we get connected to the Internet. It has also provided us the option to create computer and printer networks without the need of cables running to and from a router or a hub. Many computers and even printers are now equipped with the ability to be connected wirelessly to each other with the use of plug and play wireless networks. Connecting your computer or laptop to a printer through wireless means is extremely easy. Here is how you can do just that.

Step 1. Get your equipment in order

The first thing that you would need to do is to first check if all of your computer equipments are capable of connecting with each other via a wireless connection. Newer printer models are now equipped with this capability. This information is usually included in the printer's manual. If you are not sure that printer has been equipped to connect to computers and laptops through a wireless connection, check the manufacturer's website. Better yet, contact your printer manufacturer's customer service hotline to find out.

Step 2. Update your drivers

In order to ensure that your wireless connection between the computer and printer does not encounter any problems, make sure that your wireless network printer drivers are up-to-date. You can do this by simply going to the support page of the website of your wireless network card or your laptop's manufacturer. This is particularly crucial if your computer or your laptop is running on Windows Vista since your wireless network card would not work well if it is not updated.

Step 3. Choose a good location for your printer

Although you would be connecting to your printer through a wireless connection, it is ideal to make sure that your printer is placed not far from the router for two reasons. The first is that in order for you to connect to your printer through a wireless connection, you would need to connect your printer at the port located behind your router. The second reason is that because you would be connecting to your printer through the use of a wireless connection, the further your computer or laptop is to the printer and router, the weaker the signal would be.

Step 4. Create the network

If you are just connecting just one computer to the printer, you can go ahead now and test the connection by turning your printer and laptop or computer on to see if your printer would be recognized and connected. If you are going to use different laptops and computers to one printer, the next step is to create a wireless network for your home office. Before doing this, make sure that you have the IP address of each computer handy. You can easily check this by clicking on the Start button and selecting the Run option. Type cmd in the space provided to bring you to the MS-DOS screen. Type Ipconfig and then press enter for you to view your computer or laptop's IP address.

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