01 Pick the Fastest Way to Find It
Menu names vary by printer maker and model. The pattern is the same: look for Network, Wi-Fi or Status, then an item called IP address.
See what the internet sees
A printer's address is private and only works inside your home. The Network Identity panel shows your public address, which is a different thing. Compare them in What Is an IP Address?.
You only need one method, and the best one depends on what you can reach right now. The printer screen needs no computer. Windows, Mac and Linux read the address from the printer's entry on the computer. A phone app shows it on a phone. The router's device list works even when the printer has no display. A printer connected only by a USB cable is not on the network, so it has no IP address.
| Method | Needs | Works with no display | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Printer screen | Access to the printer | No | Lowest |
| Maker's app | A phone and a printer set up in the app | Yes | Low |
| Windows Properties | A Windows PC with the printer added | Yes | Low |
| Mac or Linux terminal | A Mac or Linux computer with the printer added | Yes | Low |
| Router device list | Router login | Yes | Medium |
The router route needs the router's own address first. Our guide to finding your router's IP address shows how.
02 Where a Printer Gets Its Address
A network printer gets a private address from your router, just like a laptop does, usually through DHCP, the protocol defined in RFC 2131. Because the address is private, it only works on your own network. If you are unsure what that means, read what an IP address is first.
The router can hand the printer a different address after a restart. Any device that saved the old address then sends print jobs to an address nobody answers.
03 Windows 10 and 11
Windows stores the printer address in the port the printer uses, so the answer sits in the printer's properties.
- Open Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, then Printers & scanners, and select your printer.
- Choose Printer properties and open the Ports tab.
- Look at the checked port. If it shows an address, often written like
IP_192.168.1.50, that is the printer's address. - If the port name starts with
WSD-, the printer uses a WSD port and the name does not hold the address. Open the Web Services tab in the same window, where the address is listed. - No address on either tab? Use the printer screen method instead.
The PowerShell commands in the picker give the same answer for a normal TCP/IP port. For a WSD port the address column can come back empty, which is why the Web Services tab matters.
04 Mac and Linux
Both use CUPS. The command lpstat -v shows each printer and the device it is attached to. The device URI holds the address in forms such as ipp://192.168.1.50/ipp/print, lpd://192.168.1.50/queue or socket://192.168.1.50:9100.
If the URI holds a name such as printer.local, the printer is found by name, and pinging that name reveals the numeric address. A dnssd:// URI carries a service name instead of an address, so use the printer screen or the router list in that case.
05 From the Printer Itself
Nearly every network printer can print a configuration page, often called a network status sheet or LAN details page. It lists the address, subnet mask and gateway in one place, which is useful when you also need to fix a connection problem. Printers with a screen print it from the Network or Wi-Fi menu. Printers without a screen use a button, and the manual for your model names it.
Some printers show 0.0.0.0 until they have finished getting an address. Wait a minute and print the page again.
06 Brother, HP, Epson and Canon Menus
Menu names differ by maker and model. These routes come from each maker's own support pages and fit many models, not all of them. If your screen looks different, print the network status or configuration page instead.
| Maker | On the printer | Also useful |
|---|---|---|
| Brother | Print the Network Configuration Report. On models with a menu it sits under Print Reports, then Network Config. The report lists the IP address, subnet mask, node name and MAC address. | If it reads 0.0.0.0, wait a minute and print it again. |
| HP | Touchscreen: open Wireless Summary or Network Settings. No touchscreen: press the Information button to print an Information Report. | HP app: tap your printer, then Network Information. |
| Epson | Setup, then Wi-Fi/Network Settings, then Confirm Wi-Fi/Network Settings. The settings show on the screen, and a Start button prints a network status sheet. | Type the address into a browser to open the printer settings page. |
| Canon | PIXMA inkjets: Home, Setup, Device settings, LAN settings, Confirm LAN settings, then Print LAN details. | Type the address into a browser to open Remote UI. |
| Lexmark | Top left of the home screen, or the TCP/IP section of the Network/Ports menu. | A printed network setup page shows the same TCP/IP section. |
07 From a Phone or Tablet
A phone does not list other devices' addresses, so use the printer maker's app. In the HP app, tap your printer, then Network Information. Other makers' apps usually show network details in the printer or settings screen. AirPrint printers often appear by name only. If the app does not show an address, use the printer screen or the router list instead.
08 Keeping the Address From Changing
By default the router may hand the printer a different address after a restart, which breaks printing set up by address. Two fixes exist: a DHCP reservation on the router, or a static address set on the printer. The reservation is easier to undo and keeps all settings in one place. You set it in the router's admin page, which the router IP guide shows how to open. Method details are in our guide to finding the IP address of any device.
| Feature | DHCP reservation | Static on the printer |
|---|---|---|
| Set on | Router | Printer |
| Risk of address clash | Low | Higher if misconfigured |
| Survives a router change | No, redo it | Yes, if the range still matches |
| Best for | Most homes | Offices and fixed setups |
09 Add a Printer by IP Address
Adding the printer by its address is the most reliable setup, because it does not depend on automatic discovery working each time.
- Windows: open Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, then Printers & scanners, and choose Add device. Select Add manually, then Add a printer using an IP address or hostname. Choose TCP/IP Device as the device type, type the address and finish the wizard.
- Mac: open System Settings, then Printers & Scanners, and choose Add Printer. Open the IP tab and type the address. Choose the protocol your printer supports: Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) for most modern printers, or Line Printer Daemon (LPD) for some older ones. Then add it.
Use a reservation or static address first, as described above. A printer added by an address that later changes will show as offline.
10 Test the Connection With Ping
A ping test separates network faults from software faults. From a computer on the same network run ping 192.168.1.50 on Windows, or ping -c 4 192.168.1.50 on Mac and Linux, using your printer's address. Replies mean the printer is reachable. No reply usually means the computer cannot reach it, but some printers ignore ping, so also type the address into a web browser: most network printers answer with their own settings page.
11 Troubleshooting: Printer Offline or Not Found
Most printer problems come from a changed address, the wrong network, or the wrong port type. Match your symptom below.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Offline although powered on | The address changed after a restart | Print a configuration page, then update the port address (Printer properties, Ports, Configure Port) or add a reservation |
| Address starts 169.254 | Printer got no address from the router | Check the Wi-Fi or cable, restart the printer and router, and confirm DHCP is on |
| Address shows 0.0.0.0 | The printer has not finished getting an address | Wait a minute, then print the report again |
| Ports tab shows WSD- and no address | The printer was added with a WSD port | Read the address on the Web Services tab or the printer screen |
| Works for some devices only | Different network, guest Wi-Fi or client isolation | Put all devices on the same network and turn off AP or client isolation |
| Stopped after a new router | New router uses a different address range | Find the new address and re-add the printer |
| Found by name but not by address | Discovery by name works but the saved address is old | Add the printer again by its current address |
| Intermittent errors on Windows | A WSD port can lose the device | Switch to a Standard TCP/IP port with a fixed address |
If every step fails, restart the printer, router and computer in that order, then run the ping test again before changing anything else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thirteen questions about finding, keeping and fixing a printer address.
Start from what you can reach, then follow the method that needs the least access. Brand menus and the phone route come next, then how to stop the address from changing so the lookup does not have to be repeated.
Windows, Mac and CUPS steps follow Microsoft, Apple and CUPS documentation. Printer menu paths come from Brother, HP, Epson, Canon and Lexmark support pages and vary by model, so the page also says how to print the status sheet. WSD- port names and the Web Services tab come from Microsoft Q&A answers written by community members, not a Microsoft reference page, and the AirPrint remark comes from a vendor blog. Steps were not run on every printer model.