Everyone experiences problems with their printer from time to time. The printer cannot be found on your PC, cannot connect to the network or simply refuses to print. By setting up your printer correctly in Windows 10 right away, you can prevent many problems.
It sounds like an open door, but make sure you gain some knowledge about how your printer works. For example, do you have the right cables? Do you need to connect the printer via USB or is that not necessary? Wireless printers can connect to you wifi network, so you just have to set them in a different way.
Add Printer
To insert a printer Windows 10 to add, go to the Settings app on your PC and click Devices and then click on the left menu bar Printers and scanners. Here you will eventually see the list of printers you have connected, but also some other options like Microsoft print to PDF and Microsoft XPS Document Writer. Despite the fact that you see these options under printers and scanners, they are not really intended for printing. For example, with Print to PDF you can save files as PDF.
If you have connected your printer to your PC with a USB cable, click on Add a printer or scanner. Windows 10 will then search for supported devices and list them for you. If you see the name of your printer, you can add it. You can then start printing directly from any app in Windows 10.
Add wireless printer
If you have a wireless printer, make sure you connect your printer to your local network first. Some printers work with bluetooth. The manual of your printer often describes how you can connect the printer to your PC, because that differs per device. Once you’ve done that, you can click the option again Add a printer or scanner click and add the printer.
If you were successful in adding your printer, you can set some additional options in the same menu where you added your printer. This is how you find the option Let Windows manage my default printer, which allows you to let Windows 10 set a default printer based on the last printer you used in your current location.
With Download over metered connections prevent Windows 10 from downloading new drivers or software updates if you use a data-limited internet connection. For example, if your laptop is connected to a mobile internet connection, updates and new drivers will only be installed as soon as you connect your laptop to your WiFi or fixed network again.
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