How to Install a Wireless Printer With an IP Address

An employee who has difficulty discovering a network printer over a wireless network must add the printer through the Windows control panel and enter the printer's IP address. For this setup to work, you must assign a fixed, or static, IP address to the wireless printer so it's always available at the same location. Assigning a static IP address to a wired or wireless network printer can also make troubleshooting and configuring advanced options easier.

Network Settings

Record the password that users enter to connect to the company's wireless network.

Launch a browser and access your wireless router's setup interface. For example, type "http://192.168.1.1" and press "Enter."

Choose the setup option for the Network or LAN settings. Locate the IP address on the screen and record the router's subnet mask, for example, 255.255.255.0. Note the DHCP range the router uses, for example, 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.145.

Printer Setup

Use the printer's menu options to access the wireless setup options. Change the DHCP setting from "Automatic" to "Manual" or "Static. "

Choose an IP address to assign to the printer that's outside of the DHCP range, but make sure the last number is less than 255. For example, if the DHCP range is 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.145, choose 192.168.100.146 for the printer's address. Choose 192.168.1.200, if the DHCP range ends with 192.168.1.154.

Use the arrow keys or the keypad on the wireless printer's set-up menu to assign the IP address to the router. Next, enter the subnet mask that you recorded from the wireless router.

Enter the router's IP address as the gateway address and as the DNS address and save your changes.

Choose the wireless setup options from the printer's menu. Select the name of your network from the list of available wireless networks on the display panel. If your printer doesn't display a list, enter the name of the wireless network.

Key-in the wireless password and save your changes.

Print a diagnostics page or wireless network test report to ensure it's properly connected to the network. Print a test page from a computer that's connected to the network but not directly connected to the printer to ensure it's functioning properly.