From the past few years, the use of wireless printers has
increased immensely. It doesn’t matter whether you own an iPhone, laptop,
tablet, or computer. You can use any of them to connect to a wireless network
and start printing the documents or images wirelessly. But some users possess a
wired printer, and they want to know how to make a wired printer wireless? Sound strange, right, but you can turn your wired printer into
wireless.
If you perform the procedure accurately, you can make your
existing printer turn into the wireless one, and it will fulfill all your
requirements wirelessly. Keep reading the guide to explore how to
make my printer wireless by following simple ways.
How to Make a Wired Printer Work Wirelessly?
Nowadays, the printers available in the market come up with the feature of Wi-Fi connection, but what if you have a wired printer!! Your first instinct would be to buy a new one having a wireless connectivity feature, but you doesn’t have to dig a hole in your pockets there are ways to make your printer wireless.
1. Get a Wireless Adapter Compatible with Printer Model
It is the most obvious as well as a bit expensive option. The
printer manufacturers sell a wireless module or adapter that will upgrade your
wired printer to the wireless one. So, if you are planning to buy one, then the
first thing to check is whether there is an official wireless adapter for your
printer or not. Don’t buy it right away rather than evaluate other options on
the table.
Also, the older printer models of printer have a good chance of getting the official adapter that will work perfectly with the modem. Probably, this option doesn’t exist with the recently bought printers.
2. Share Printer through PC
Several operating systems like Windows let you share the printer
connected to the PC with several other devices on the network. In such
situations, the PC has a printer attached, and it works as a print server.
When your printer is connected to the computer and is working
properly, then it is not difficult to share it:
- Start
by opening start > settings > devices > printers & scanners.
- Pick
the printer in question and tap to manage.
- Now,
open printer properties and switch to the share tab.
- Choose to “share this printer” option.
If you want, you can change the share name of the printer. It is the name that everyone will see while looking for a network printer to use. This option is probably the quickest way to turn your wired printer into a wireless one. With this option, there come several drawbacks, like your computer has to stay on every time; otherwise, your printer will not be available.
3 Connect Router via Ethernet
Even though your printer doesn’t have Wi-Fi, but it might have
an Ethernet port. If your printer comprises an Ethernet port, you can smoothly
connect it with a cable through the Ethernet port on the back of the router.
And, if you are using a powerline Ethernet extender, you can smoothly connect
the printer to the router virtually from anywhere at home.
Keep one thing in mind that you will need to configure the printer to work correctly over Ethernet. You can configure the printer smoothly by using the screen and buttons. Alternatively, you can configure it by using software on a PC or USB connection or perhaps logging into the printer over the network.
4 Use an Ethernet to WiFi Adapter
If you have a printer comprising of an Ethernet port, but you don’t want to use the powerline adapter method, you can use an Ethernet to Wi-Fi adapter. The only thing that you need to keep in mind is to connect the printer to the PC before ensuring all the network settings are correct before using the Wi-Fi adapter.
5. Connect Router through USB
In this method, you need to check whether your printer has a USB
port or not? Several routers now act as USB hosts. In most cases, it states
that you can connect an external USB drive, and the router will work as
network-attached storage to devices on the network. These routers can also work
smoothly with wireless print servers.
It states that you can plug the printer into the USB port, but you have to open the router’s settings page and then toggle the USB port from mass storage to print server duties smoothly. Every router functions differently, so you need to refer your router to do it.
6. Use a Reliable Print Server Device
If nothing works or doesn’t suit as per your requirement, here
is a relatively dedicated and affordable solution and, i.e., buying a dedicated
print server box. It is a small box with a USB connection on one side and an
Ethernet port. From the inside, it has a small dedicated computer that has the
task of accepting the network print jobs and handing them over to the printer.
So, it states that your printer is connected to the router
through Ethernet; it will allow the entire networking device to share the
printer. The print server doesn’t use much electricity and is always available.
Along with it, there are several wireless dedicated print server
devices also, but they are a bit expensive than Ethernet.
Go through the six methods mentioned above that will answer your
query about how to make a wired printer work wirelessly? You
can select one method that will be suitable as per your availability of
resources.
Bottom Line
That covers every method that we can think of to know about how
to make a USB printer wireless so that you can you can start printing
wirelessly from the modem gadgets. Follow the exact ways and use the compatible
Wi-Fi enabled device to start printing the images and documents wirelessly. When
you follow the methods precisely as mentioned, it will eliminate the
requirement to buy a new wireless printer. So, it is advisable to follow the
methods correctly and make your wired printer wireless in a few minutes.