How to Fix: Mac Can’t Find the Wireless Printer

By Nicholas J. Johnson | October 28, 2019

If your Mac can’t find the wireless printer you want to connect to, though it is on the same network, then it’s nothing new. Several Mac users have reported the same issue when their Mac cannot find the printer.

It can be a simple problem with the router. Or if the printer has the ‘AirPrint’ feature enabled and if it malfunctions, then there is a chance for you to get this error.

Also, if the ‘Permissions’ within the device somehow gets corrupted, or if the driver of the printer has some kind of glitch, then this issue can crop up. An outdated macOS too can lead to this issue.

Whatever the reason is, this issue needs to be fixed at the earliest to start using your printer wirelessly on your Mac.

Keeping that in mind, we have listed the solutions to this particular issue when a Mac cannot find the wireless printer. And, hopefully, after going through and implementing them, you’ll be able to get rid of this error in no time.

Mac cannot find the Printer: Try these Fixes

If your Mac cannot find the printer, you need to try the fixes mentioned below. Follow them one by one and get rid of this glitch right away.

Method 1: Power Cycle the Router and the Printer

Sometimes, if the wireless printer that you have connected to the Mac via the same Wi-Fi network has the ‘AirPrint’ feature enabled and then this issue can come up. Therefore the only answer to rectify this problem is to power cycle both the router and printer.

The steps to do it are as follows:

First, shut down the router and then switch off the printer.
After that, take out the power cables of both the devices from the wall socket and even take out the LAN wires.
Now, wait for a minute or so and then reconnect the LAN wires first. After that, reconnect the power cables of both the router and the printer.
At last, power on both the devices and then try to connect the printer to the network and see if this issue comes up or not.

Method 2: Remove the Wireless Printer and Add It Once Again

If the printer itself has some kind of issues in it, then there is a possibility for you to face this problem. If such is the case, you can try deleting the wireless printer from the Mac and add it once again to resolve this issue.

In order to do it, follow the steps below.

First, navigate to the top-left edge of the screen and click on the ‘Apple’ logo. This action will reveal the drop-down menu with a list of options.
Out of all those options, locate and choose the ‘System Preferences’ option. As soon as you select that option, a new page with the title ‘System Preferences’ will come up.
Inside that window, find and select the ‘Print & Scan’ option. This will open another window having the heading ‘ Print & Scan’.
Inside that window, go to the left pane and choose the wireless printer that you want to remove from the list and tap on the ‘minus’ button present at the bottom of the list.
After the printer is removed from the list, click on the ‘Add’ button at the end of the list.
Next, choose the ‘Add Printer or Scanner’ option from the popup menu. When you click on that option, a window with the name ‘Add’ will appear.
Within that window, go to the upper section and click on the ‘IP’ button. Now, a text area will appear, in it, enter the address of the printer.
At last, the wireless printer will be added to the same network as the Mac. So, try to print a document and see if this method fixes the error or not.

Method 3: Rectify the Permissions

If the permissions of the Macintosh computer get corrupt somehow, then this issue might show up. Therefore, the best way to resolve this problem is to rectify the permissions of the system.

For that, follow the steps below.

First, on the ‘Dock,’ locate and choose the ‘Applications’ folder. This action will open up a new folder having the name ‘Applications’.
Within this window, there will be a list of all the applications installed on the machine. Now, form that list, locate and choose the ‘Utilities’ option.
As soon as you click on that option, a new window having the name ‘Utilities’ will come up. In this window, you will get a list of all the system utilities.
From the list of utilities within that window, locate and select the ‘Disk Utility’ option.
Once you click on that option, a new ‘Disk Utility’ window will come up. Within this window, navigate to the left panel and choose the hard drive.
After that, go to the top section and tap on the ‘First Aid’ button.
Again, choose the hard drive and then press the ‘Repair Disk Permissions’ button to check and correct any corrupt permissions.
Finally, once everything is complete, check if this error is resolved or not.

Method 4: Set the Printing System Once Again

If the printing system of the Mac does not function properly, then also you might face this problem. So, you can try to reset the printing system to fix this issue.

When you reset the printing system of the Mac, all the printers and scanners along with their print jobs and settings are removed from the ‘Printers and Scanners’ preferences.

Follow the steps below to do that.

First, on the ‘Desktop,’ go to the top section and then select the ‘Apple’ logo. This action will open up a drop-down list with various options.
Now, from that list, locate and choose the ‘System Preferences’ option. As soon as you do that, a new window having the name ‘System Preference’ will come up.
Within that window, find and select the ‘Printers & Scanners’ option. Once you choose that option, a new window with the name ‘Printers & Scanners’ will come up.
Within that window, navigate to the left panel and then press and hold the ‘Control’ key. Next, while holding that key tap anywhere inside the left pane to pop out a menu.
After that, from that menu, select the ‘Reset printing system’ option and wait for the reset process to complete.
At last, check if this problem has been resolved or not.

Method 5: Delete the Printer Drivers

If the previous method of resetting the printing system is unable to resolve this problem, then another thing which you can do is delete any printer drivers from the Mac. Follow the steps below to do that. The steps in here do not apply for the ‘AirPrint’ printers.

First, from the ‘Dock’ present in the desktop, choose the ‘Finder’ application having a face icon.
As soon as you click on it, a new window having the name ‘Finder’ will come up. Inside that window, select the ‘Go’ option from the menu bar.
After that, from the drop-down list that appears, locate and choose the ‘Go to Folder’ option.
Next, within the text area that appears, type the path ‘/Library/Printers/’ and then hit the ‘Go’ button.
Now, a new ‘Printers’ folder will open up. Inside that folder, go to the menu bar and choose the ‘Edit’ menu. After that, from the list that shows, select the ‘Select All’ option. This action will choose all the items present within that folder.
Next, select the ‘File’ menu and then the ‘New Folder with Selection’ option. This will put every chosen item into the new folder with the name ‘New Folder With Items’.
Finally, delete this folder from the device and see if the problem gets resolved or not.

If your Mac can’t find the wireless printer, all you need to do is follow the fixes provided here. You can mention in the comments which of the solutions worked for you.

Posted in Mac