Printing and Scanning From a Mac, iPhone or iPad: Why It Stops Working and How to Fix It

A printer that worked yesterday and will not print today is one of the most common problems we see. It is rarely the printer itself. Usually something has changed on the network, in the print queue or in a setting.

This guide covers the causes in the order we check them, for a home or a small office.

How printing from an Apple device works

Most printers sold in recent years support AirPrint, Apple’s built-in way of printing. There is nothing to install. Your iPhone, iPad or Mac finds the printer over Wi-Fi or a network cable and sends the job straight to it.

AirPrint needs the printer to support it, the printer to be connected by Wi-Fi or a network cable, and your device to be on the same Wi-Fi network as the printer. That last condition explains most printing problems.

Start with the simple checks

Check that the printer is on, awake and showing no error lights, and that it has paper, ink or toner. Some printers need a minute or two to join the network after they are switched on, so wait a moment before you try again. Restarting the printer fixes more problems than you would expect.

Make sure you have picked the right printer. In an office with more than one printer it is easy to send a job to the wrong one.

Then check the network. If your device is on a guest network, or on a different Wi-Fi name from the printer, it will not see the printer. If you have changed your router or your Wi-Fi password, the printer has lost its connection and needs to be joined to the network again from its own screen.

Printing from an iPhone or iPad

Open what you want to print, tap the Share button, scroll down and tap Print. Choose your printer, then tap Print. Not every app supports printing. If you cannot find the Print option, try another app.

If the printer does not appear, check that it supports AirPrint, that your device is on the same Wi-Fi network, and that the printer has been restarted. If you use the printer maker’s own app, check that the app is allowed to reach your network. Open Settings, tap Privacy & Security, then tap Local Network, and make sure the app is switched on. AirPrint itself does not need this setting.

Printing from a Mac

Open the document, choose File, then Print, and pick your printer from the menu. If it is not listed, choose Add Printer.

You can also add it from the Apple menu. Choose System Settings, click Printers & Scanners, then click Add Printer, Scanner or Fax and pick your printer. Most printers connect using AirPrint and need no driver. If your printer does not support AirPrint, install the latest software from the printer’s maker. If a network printer is not listed, we can add it for you using its network address.

Keep macOS up to date from System Settings, General, Software Update, and check whether the printer’s maker has an update for your model.

When a print job is stuck

Click the printer’s icon in the Dock to open its queue. If the queue is paused, click the button to resume it. If one job has failed and is blocking everything behind it, select that job and delete it.

Try printing from a different app, such as TextEdit. If it prints from there, the problem is with the first app and not the printer.

Remove the printer and add it again

If the printer still will not print, remove it in Printers & Scanners and add it again. This clears out a faulty setup and often fixes a stubborn problem.

As a last resort, you can reset the printing system. Control-click the printer in the list and choose Reset Printing System. This removes every printer, your finished print jobs and your saved print settings from that Mac, so you will need to add your printers again afterwards.

Scanning

Many printers include a scanner. On a Mac, open System Settings, click Printers & Scanners, choose your printer and click Open Scanner. Choose Use Document Feeder if you are scanning a stack of pages, or leave it off for a single page or photo on the glass. Pick where the scan should be saved, and click Show Details to choose the type of scan and the quality. If you do not see an Open Scanner button, the scanner may not be set up properly.

If you do not have a scanner, your iPhone can do the job. On your Mac, Control-click inside a note, an email or a folder, choose Insert from iPhone or iPad, then choose Scan Documents. Your phone opens its camera, straightens the page and sends the scan straight to your Mac. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth need to be on for both devices, and they need to use the same Apple Account.

On an iPhone or iPad alone, open Notes, tap the Attachment button and choose Scan Documents. In the Files app, tap More, then Scan Documents, and save the result as a PDF.

In an office

When a shared printer vanishes from every Mac overnight, the usual cause is the printer’s address on the network changing. We give office printers a permanent address, so this does not happen again.

If a printer is shared from one Mac, it only works while that Mac is awake and sharing is switched on. A printer that is connected directly to the network is more reliable.

If your printer scans to an email address or to a shared folder from its own screen, that depends on the printer’s settings and your network, not on your Mac. It is one of the things we set up for offices.

Very old printers are the other common cause. If a printer does not support AirPrint and its maker no longer updates its software, it can stop working after any update. At that point, replacing it is usually cheaper than the time spent keeping it going.

Need a hand?

If you have been through these steps and the printer is still missing, the cause is usually the network and not the printer. Our guide to fixing weak Wi-Fi may help.

We can check your printer and scanner at home through our Printing & Scanning service, and set them up for an office through our Networks, NAS, Wi-Fi & Printers service. Or contact Your Mac Tech.