Adding a printer in Windows 11: USB and network setup.

Windows 11 wants printer setup to be automatic. Plug a USB printer in or put a wireless printer on the same network, and Windows is supposed to detect it, download a driver, and add it without intervention. When this works, you don’t do anything; the printer just appears.

When it doesn’t work, the manual flow isn’t obvious. This guide covers both paths.

USB printer: the standard flow

For a USB-connected printer:

1. Make sure the printer is on.
2. Connect the USB cable from the printer to your computer.
3. Wait. Windows should detect the printer within a few seconds, show a notification that a new device was found, and begin downloading the driver from Windows Update if needed.
4. When the notification clears, open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners. The printer should be listed.

If the printer doesn’t appear automatically within a couple of minutes, the manual flow:

1. Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Click "Add device" at the top.
3. Wait for the search to complete. Windows scans for USB-connected and network printers.
4. If your printer appears in the list, click "Add device" next to it.
5. If the printer doesn’t appear, click "Add manually" at the bottom and follow the manual setup options.

Network printer (wired or wireless): the standard flow

For a printer connected to your network by Wi-Fi or Ethernet, the printer must already be on the network before Windows can find it. If your printer isn’t on Wi-Fi yet, see our general wireless printer setup guide first.

Once the printer is on the network:

1. Make sure your computer is on the same network as the printer.
2. Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
3. Click "Add device" at the top.
4. Wait for the network scan to complete. Network printers usually take a bit longer to appear than USB ones — sometimes 30 to 60 seconds.
5. When your printer appears in the list, click "Add device."
6. Windows downloads the driver and completes setup automatically.

When auto-detection doesn’t work

If the printer isn’t found by automatic discovery, click "The printer that I want isn’t listed" or "Add manually." Windows 11 offers several manual options, each useful in different situations:

"Select a shared printer by name." Use this if the printer is shared from another computer on your network. Enter the path in the format \\computername\printername.

"Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname." Use this if the printer is on the network and you know its IP address. The IP is usually shown on the printer’s display under network settings, or by printing a network configuration page from the printer’s menu. Most printers default to TCP/IP Port type.

"Add a Bluetooth, wireless or network discoverable printer." Use this to retry the automatic scan. Sometimes a second scan finds printers the first one missed.

"Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings." The most flexible option. You choose the port (USB, network, or LPT), pick a driver from the built-in list or install from disk, and configure manually.

Choosing the right driver in manual setup

When Windows asks which driver to use, you have three options:

Use Windows’ built-in driver. Windows ships with generic drivers for common printer languages (PCL and PostScript). These work for basic printing on many printers but don’t enable manufacturer-specific features like ink-level reporting or specialty paper sizes.

Download from Windows Update. Windows can fetch the manufacturer’s driver from its catalog. This is usually the right choice for printers from major brands.

Install from disk. You download the driver from the manufacturer’s support site, unzip it if needed, and point Windows at the INF file. This is the right choice when you want the full-feature driver with all the manufacturer’s utilities.

For driver downloads, always go directly to the manufacturer’s official support site. See our guide on finding official printer drivers for the specific URLs and how to avoid the fake driver sites.

Common problems

"Add device" finds nothing. For USB: try a different USB port (preferably one directly on the computer, not on a hub), and try a different USB cable. For network: confirm the printer is actually on the network by printing a network configuration page from the printer’s menu and checking the IP address. Confirm your computer is on the same network as the printer.

Printer is added but says "Driver is unavailable." See our guide on "Driver is unavailable" errors.

Printer is added but shows offline. See our guide on "Printer offline" on Windows 11.

Multiple copies of the same printer appear. Windows sometimes creates duplicate entries when a printer is added multiple times. Remove the extras through Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → click each duplicate → Remove. Keep the one that’s most recently working.

"Windows can’t connect to the printer" with no further detail. Usually a driver mismatch. Remove the printer, restart your computer, then try the manual flow with "Install from disk" using the manufacturer’s downloaded driver.

For persistent issues that don’t resolve through these steps, contact the manufacturer of your printer through their official support channels, or consult a qualified local technician.