Seeing the error “No AirPrint Printers Found” after updating your iOS or changing to a new or different iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch? If so, you are not alone. Every day, we see readers complain about AirPrint problems!
More than a few of our readers report that they are unable to print to an AirPrint-enabled printer. And when attempting to print, they receive the message: “No AirPrint Printers Found.”
This message is, unfortunately, a common error complaint and occurs more frequently than anyone cares to admit.
Contents
- 1 Quick Tips
- 2 The Golden AirPrint Rule
- 3 Check Your Specs When Getting No AirPrint Printers Found
- 4 Confirm Your Printer has AirPrint
- 5 Check the Simple Stuff First
- 6 Tips for Fixing “No AirPrint Printers Found.”
- 7 If You are Still Getting No AirPrint Printers Found
- 8 Printer Paused, Secure Option Failed with Airprint, How-To Fix
- 9 HP Airprint Not Working, Could it be related to an Apple Upgrade?
- 10 iPhone to HP Printer Connection Issues, Additional Tips
- 11 HP Airprinter Only Prints Photos. No Webpages or emails Getting Printed
- 12 How To Reset AirPrint Printing System on your MacBook
- 13 Reader Tips for No AirPrint Printers Found
- 14 Summary
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Quick Tips 
Follow These Quick Tips To Get AirPrint Working on Your iPhone or iPad Today
- Check that your printer supports AirPrint via the manufacturer’s info
- Use WiFi setup on your printer and try a WiFi wizard if available. You will need to re-enter the password for your WiFi network(s) so have those on-hand before initiating any wizard or set-up assistance
- Make sure that you enable the Bonjour setting on the printer. If that setting is disabled, you cannot print via Apple AirPrint
- Verify that your router support Bonjour packets
- Ensure your computer or device, AND the printer connect to the SAME WiFi network
- Switch your iDevice WiFi bandwidth setting from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz or vise-verse (from 5 GHz to 2.4 GHz)
- Turn OFF Airplane Mode and turn ON Bluetooth
- Update your DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (Google’s Public DNS) or another public DNS
- Disable any Firewall while printing
The Golden AirPrint Rule
First, make sure that you are not printing from a public network. AirPrint is not supported via public wireless networks (e.g., public Wi-Fi or hotspots). So you will always see “No AirPrint Printers Found” when attempting to print via public WiFi.
Your iDevice (iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch) and your printer(s) must connect to the same private 802.11 wireless network.
AirPrint uses Bonjour, Apple’s zero-configuration networking, to automatically discover your wireless printer over your local network.
Public wireless networks such as WiFi hotspots, Bluetooth connections, or cellular data connections do not support AirPrint.
Check Your Specs When Getting No AirPrint Printers Found
Verify that your iDevice meets the following requirements to print with AirPrint
- An Apple iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch that runs iOS 4.2 or later
- Apple pre-installs AirPrint on any device with iOS 5 and later
- iOS 4.2 installs AirPrint as an update
- Not all features are compatible with all Apple devices
- AirPrint and multitasking are available on iPad (all models), iPhone (3GS or later), and iPod touch (third generation or later
Check that your app supports AirPrint
- Most of Apple’s native apps support AirPrint, including Safari, Mail, Photos, and iWorks. And many third-party apps available in the app store support AirPrint as well
- To check if an app supports AirPrint
- Try printing from the app by tapping the Action icon. Tap Print to print with AirPrint
- If NO Action icon or Print button appears, that app does not support AirPrint at this time
Confirm Your Printer has AirPrint
Next, double check that your printer has AirPrint built-in. Check your printer’s manual or website to ensure your printer comes with AirPrint. Alternatively, check Apple’s website for AirPrint to ensure your printer is listed.
AirPrint is not backward compatible with older products, and there is no workaround to enable backward compatibility with older printers.
Make sure the router forwards Bonjour packets
Not all wireless routers support Bonjour or all of Bonjour’s features. Since Bonjour is the default method for discovering printers on a network, first make sure your wireless router supports Bonjour.
Check the specifications or support documentation for your router or contact the router manufacturer to make sure your router supports Bonjour. It must also support forwarding Bonjour packets.
- If your router does not support Bonjour, use a router that supports Bonjour or add the printer to your printer list using the IP tab and the printer IP address.
The Fine Print
Also, make sure you select the correct printer name. It’s often hard to distinguish printers if you have more than one printer by the same manufacturer. So check the exact model numbers and names.
And one more thing, AirPrint will not work if your iDevice is connected directly to the printer using WiFi Direct instead of your router or access point.
Once you confirm your printer forwards Bonjour, has AirPrint, and that you are using the correct printer name, follow the tips below.
Check the Simple Stuff First
- Make sure that your printer has a paper in its tray and that your printer ink or toner is not empty
- Ensure that your printer is turned on. If the printer is on, turn it off and then on again to see if that simple step resolves the issue.
- Check that there are no error messages on the printer control panel
- Remember that WiFi printers often take several minutes to join WiFi networks after they turn on. So before you start, verify that your printer is connected to your the WiFi network before you attempt to print
- If you are using Cannon printers, check for the latest update
Tips for Fixing “No AirPrint Printers Found.”
- Move the router closer to the printer but no closer than 6 feet (1.8 meters) from the router. And verify that other everyday household items like microwaves, baby monitors, and cordless phones are not nearby. These often interfere with your wireless signal
- Make sure that the AirPrint-enabled printer connects to the same Wi-Fi network as the iOS device. Note that Wi-Fi printers may take several minutes to join a Wi-Fi network
- Cellular Networks do not currently support AirPrint
- Make sure Airplane mode is OFF
- Make sure that your iDevice is running the latest version of iOS and your printer has the most recent firmware version installed.
- Check that your printer has not turned off wireless
- If it is turned OFF, press the wireless button on the printer to get it running again.
- Try switching your iPhone or other iDevice WiFi bandwidth setting from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz or vise-verse (from 5 GHz to 2.4 GHz)
- If you are unsure how to check this setting, contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP)
- Turn your iDevice off and back on again. Turn your printer off and back on again
- Switch off BOTH your router AND your modem, wait 30 seconds and turn back ON
- Turn off Bluetooth and try printing
- Make sure that AirPrint is enabled in your printer settings. Check your printer’s manual for this
- If you have any computers connected by ethernet to your network via a router/modem, shut those computers down. With that computer(s) off, try AirPrint again
- Change the Internet Printing Protocols (IPP) setting from Off to On to make the printer findable via AirPrint
- The IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) is usually found under the printer’s Advanced Settings sub-menu
When turning devices off, try to remove the wifi router and printer from its power source and wait for 30 seconds. Then plug it in and try again.
If You are Still Getting No AirPrint Printers Found
- Find your printer DNS settings and enter 8.8.8.8 for the first DNS and 8.8.4.4 for the second DNS
- Some printers revert back on their default settings following a firmware upgrade
- For example, if you are using an HP printer, make sure the IPP(Internet Printing Protocol) settings are enabled for the network printer if you have configured the printer as an IP printer
- Check your router’s firewall (or software firewall on your Mac) and let AirPrint through it using ports 9100, 139, 515, 631, 5393.
- Or temporarily disable your firewall and see if this solves the problem
- Set your printer’s IP address to FIXED or STATIC. Refer to your printer’s manual for how-to’s for your particular printer model.
- DHCP often reassigns the printer’s IP address when printer’s IP is set to DYNAMIC
Check Printer’s Network Configuration
- Find your printer’s IP address by printing a Network Configuration Page (refer to your printer’s manual).
- For instructions on printing a Network Configuration page, go to your printer manufacturer’s customer support site. Type your printer model, and then search for the document to “print a configuration page.”
- Check the Active Connection Type in the General Information section of this report. The connection type should be Wireless.
- Check the status in the 802.11 Wireless section in the report. The status should be Connected. The printer IP Address also displays in the 802.11 section of the report for active wireless connections.
- Make sure the Network Name (SSID) in the report is the same as the name of the wireless network for your networked printer.
Verify AirPrint is Enabled
- Open the Embedded Web Server (EWS) and then make sure AirPrint is enabled
- Print the Network Configuration page to obtain the printer IP address needed to view the EWS webpageFor instructions on printing a Network Configuration page go to your printer manufacturer’s customer support site. Type your printer model and then search for the document to “print a configuration page.”
- Find the printer IP address on the Network Configuration page
- On any computer, open an Internet browser
- Type the printer IP address in the browser address bar and then press Enter
- Make sure you type the IP address into the Internet browser’s address box. If typed into a toolbar search box or search engine, the EWS does not open
- If a website security certificate displays in the Internet browser, click Continue
- The EWS information page for the printer opens
- Click the Settings tab
- Click Security, and then click Administrator Settings
- Under Network Settings, select AirPrint, if it is not already selected, and then click Apply
- Restart your printer and try AirPrinting
And remember that public wireless networks (e.g., public Wi-Fi hotspots) and Mobile/Cellular Data do not support AirPrint!
Printer Paused, Secure Option Failed with Airprint, How-To Fix
Recently some users reported issues with Airprint that were related with the new ‘Secure Option’. This issue has not impacted iPhone or iPad users but has created inconveniences for users who recently updated their iMac or MacBook to macOS Mojave.
If your Airprint operation is failing and you see the messages ‘Printer Paused’ or Secure option failing when connecting to your Airprint printer, here are some steps that should help you.
First Delete the Printer connection from your MacBook.
- Click on > System Preferences > Printers
- Select your Printer from the list and choose the ‘-‘ on the left. Confirm to delete printer.
- Start your Mac and re-install the printer via System preferences > Printers >Add Printer
- When you add your printer, at the bottom if you see the option Use: Secure print, change it to printer-name instead of Airprint.
- Restart your MacBook and see if the issue is resolved
The secure option usually fails in some types of Dell printers and HP Printers saying “access data for encrytion expired”. This is probably due to a security certificate that needs updating.
If your HP airprint is not working after a recent iOS or macOS upgrade and you have followed the basic troubleshooting tips including resetting your Wi-Fi, rebooting your printer and updating it with the latest firmware, here are some additional things to look for.
This is primarily related to ‘encryption credentials expired’ issue when using your HP Airprint. This issue has been creating issues recently.
- On your HP Printer, Go to the menu screen and navigate to ” Administration–Network – Ethernet – Security–Reset Security–Yes”. The Reset Security action fixes this issue
- Changing the default printer name from ‘Airprint’ to your printer name while adding the printer also solves this issue, as described in the prior section.
Lastly, look for universal HP Printer firmware latest updates on the Apple site and keep your firmware upgraded and see if it resolves your HP Airprint issue.
iPhone to HP Printer Connection Issues, Additional Tips
The HP Officejet pro is a very popular all in one printer that many Apple users use in their daily lives.
Here are few suggestions to look at if you have connection issues between your iPhone and HP printer. These tips require evaluating the settings on your printer and focus on the meaning of the IP Addresses that you see on the screen.
- Make sure your printer is connected directly to the wall socket instead of the surge protector when troubleshooting.
- Click on the Wireless icon on your Printer menu display
- If you are not connected to your Wi-Fi network, Click on the gear, wireless settings, and Wireless Setup to connect the printer to your wireless network.
- If the printer’s IP address starts with ‘169.254’, this would mean that there is an issue with your Wi-Fi router. You may need to reboot your router or apply latest upgrade to the router and restart
- If the Printer’s IP address starts with a ‘192.168’ or ‘10’, this means that your HP Printer is successfully connected to your network. In this instance, you may want to restart your iPhone or iPad and reset Network settings on the iOS device and try again.
HP Airprinter Only Prints Photos. No Webpages or emails Getting Printed
For users who have upgraded to all in one printers such as HP Officejet 7612, one common issue that shows up sometimes is that your printer only prints photos from your iPhone or iPad.
It just doesn’t print anything else. Your emails or webpages never make it to the printer.
This issue happens due to a particular printer configuration and is not related to your Apple device or iOS upgrade.
If you see this issue happening, you will have to go into your printer settings and enable shared printing.
Once enabled, you will be able to use your iPhone or iPad to print all types of contents on the HP Airprint instead of just photos.
How To Reset AirPrint Printing System on your MacBook
If your Airprint problems are happening primarily on your MacBook or iMac,
Try and reset the printing system and see if it helps. Here is how you can do it in three easy steps.
- Click on > System Preferences > Printers and scanners
- While holding down the control key on your Mac, click on any of the printers listed on the left
- Choose ‘Reset Printing System’ From the menu
- Restart your Mac
Reader Tips for No AirPrint Printers Found
- One of our readers found that switching off the airplane mode for a while and then turning it back safer 3 – 5 minutes solved this problem. Thanks for the workaround, Jenni!
- I went into WiFi setup and used the WiFi wizard to reinstall the password. No my printer shows up on my iPhone
- Trapper discovered that he needed to enable Multicast on his router before AirPrint could work. The location of the Multicast options in your router’s admin menus depends on the manufacturer. So check with them if you can’t find these settings!
- Locate Network Setting > Broadband > Internet Connection > Advanced Setup > RIP & Multicast Setup > Multicast, and set it to IGMP v1 / IGMP v2 / IGMP v3
- Go to Network Setting > Home Networking > and set IGMP Snooping to ‘Disabled.’
- Find Network Setting > Wireless > General > Wireless Network Settings > and set Enhanced Multicast Forwarding to ‘Enabled.’
- Most routers need multicast or UPnP enabled, and/or IGMP Proxy disabled, to work. When looking at Multicast Options, check the following:
- Enable Multicast under firewall settings
- Turn on (enable) Multicast on LAN, WLAN interfaces
- Allow (enable) firewall access rules from LAN to Multicast zones
- Create 2 IP helper policies for NetBIOS from WLAN to LAN and for mDNS from LAN to WLAN subnets and vice versa
- Dennis got the No AirPrint printers found on his two iPhone 6 AND his two iPads.
- Even though his Epson iPrint app on all four devices could see the wireless Epson printer and reported on its status.
- Dennis was able to see the assigned IP address of the printer too. But there’s also a manual tab in Epson iPrint on those devices.
- He tapped manual and then manually entered the IP address. It identified the printer by name.
- When Dennis went into Photos to try printing, the error stopped popping up. AirPrint saw the printer, and he could print again. Good catch Dennis!
- And GeekyGramps reports that if you have a multi-band wireless router, place your wireless printer and your iPad or iPhone to the same wireless router frequency bandwidth.
- And be aware that dual-band routers broadcast signals on two different frequencies, 5Ghz, AND the older 2.4Ghz.
- Older printers only connect at 2.4Ghz. Older routers are single band (2.4Ghz), and AirPrint wireless printing through these routers works fine.
- For reasons beyond us, AirPrint does not operate on some dual-band routers. But the good news is that you quickly change this WiFi frequency on your iPad or iPhone to the older 2.4Ghz using “Settings” menu.
Another Great Reader Suggestion
- Locate your printer’s embedded web address by printing out the printer’s information sheet
- Enter that web address as an URL on a browser
- This opens your printer’s embedded web server site
- Change Network> IPv4 setting to “Manual IP” (choosing “select a manual IP address”) and “Manual DNS Server.”
- Enter 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
- Under Advanced Settings>Network Settings>Infrastructure, check WPA-PSK Authentication>WPA Version>”Automatic (WPA2 or WPA1)” and under Encryption check “Automatic (AES or TKIP)”
- Under Network>Internet Printing Protocol I enable IPP
- Under Bonjour, select enable Bonjour
- Check your router’s web address and see if it needs updating
- Verify that all your devices are on the same network
- Power down both router(s) and printer
- Wait 30 minutes then reboot everything
- Now see if you can print wirelessly from all of your connected devices
Thanks to Eugene for providing this in-depth, step-by-step tip!
Summary
It is no fun when our AirPrint printers suddenly stop working. We’ve outlined what we know and what we’ve learned from you, our readers.
Hopefully one of these tips will work for you.
If you know of a way to get AirPrint to work from your experience, please share in our comments section. We love to add more tips in our articles, so we all benefit from the sweat and time equity of others.