Printer Not Showing up on iPhone? Here Is the Fix

Common Fixes

• Ensure the printer isn’t in Sleep mode – If your printer’s power light is blinking or dim or the control panel is dark, it is in sleep mode. Press the Power button or follow its manual to exit it.
• Move close to the printer – If your printer and iPhone are connected to a 5GHz frequency band, keep both devices closer to increase the data exchange speed.
• Restart printer and iPhone – Use the physical Power button on your printer to restart it. To restart the iPhone, press and hold either volume button + side button and drag the power-off slider to shut it down. Press and hold the Power button again to reboot.
• Disable Airplane mode – Open the Settings app and disable the Airplane Mode toggle.
• Update iOS and printer drivers – To update iPhone, head to General, tap Software Update, and select Update Now. To update the printer, connect it to a desktop and use its dedicated app to update drivers.

Fix 1: Connect to the Same Wi-Fi Network 

If your printer and iPhone are connected to different Wi-Fi networks or frequency bands within the same network, they won’t detect each other.

Connect both devices to a single Wi-Fi network with the same frequency band (e.g., 2.4GHz or 5GHz). Your iPhone’s Wi-Fi settings can be managed under Settings > Wi-Fi.

Fix 2: Check AirPrint Compatibility

Apple’s AirPrint functionality allows you to connect and print documents or pictures from your iPhone wirelessly. If the printer isn’t showing up on your iPhone, it might not support this feature.

Visit the brand’s support page for your printer or check its manual to verify that your printer supports AirPrint.

Fix 3: Enable Hotspot to Print Using iPhone

If you still can’t detect the printer on your iPhone, set up a hotspot to link both devices together. Before you begin, ensure the Wi-Fi LED is blinking on your printer. Let’s take an HP printer, for instance.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap Wi-Fi.

Step 2: Select your printer name under My Networks and enter the passcode to connect to your printer.

Tip: Check the printer password by going to the Wireless menu of your printer.

Step 3: Finally, open your desired document to print and click Share at the bottom left corner.

Step 4: Select Print, specify preferences, and tap Print at the top right.

Fix 4: Restart Your Wi-Fi Router and Printer

Many Wi-Fi routers have a dedicated power switch to turn off and restart them. If there isn’t any on yours, pull its power plug, wait a few seconds, and plug it back in.

Alternatively, restart your router from the connected device by accessing its IP address interface (192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1).

To restart the printer, press the Power/Wake button and tap Restart. If nothing happens, power off its main switch, wait a few seconds, and switch it back on.

Fix 5: Reset Network Settings on iPhone

Lastly, you can reset the network settings on your iPhone to fix the printer not showing up error.

Step 1: Open General settings on your iPhone and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.

Step 2: Select Reset > tap Reset Network Settings. Enter your device passcode when prompted.