How to Add a Printer in Windows 10: Step-by-Step Guide

To add a printer in Windows 10, start in one place: open Settings, go to Devices, then Printers & scanners, and select Add a printer or scanner. Windows searches your network and USB ports, lists what it finds, and installs a driver when you pick your printer. This guide walks through that main route, the manual options hidden behind “The printer that I want isn’t listed”, USB printers, the default printer setting, and what the end of Windows 10 support means for printing.

Before you start

A few minutes of preparation saves most failed attempts:

• Finish the printer’s own setup first. Unpack it, load paper, fit the ink or toner and let it run its first start-up routine. Our new printer unboxing guide covers this.
• Put the printer on your network if you will print over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. See the wireless printer setup guide or the Ethernet printer setup guide.
• Check the PC is on the same network as the printer. A laptop on a guest network or a phone hotspot will not see a printer on the main Wi-Fi.
• Have the printer’s IP address handy in case automatic search fails. Print a network configuration report from the printer, or see how to find a printer’s IP address.

Add a printer in Windows 10, step by step

1. Select Start, then Settings (the gear icon).
2. Select Devices, then Printers & scanners in the left column.
3. Select Add a printer or scanner at the top of the page.
4. Wait while Windows searches. Network printers, Wi-Fi Direct printers and USB printers can all appear in the list.
5. Select your printer, then Add device.
6. Wait for Windows to finish installing. The printer then appears in the list below.

To confirm it worked, select the printer, choose Manage, then Print a test page.

On many printers the name in the list includes the model and sometimes part of the network address. If you see the same printer twice, for example once as a network printer and once under a slightly different name, pick the one that matches the connection you intend to use and remove the other later to avoid confusion.

When the printer is not listed: the manual options

If the search finishes without your printer, select The printer that I want isn’t listed. This opens the older Add Printer wizard with several choices:

Option	When to use it
My printer is a little older. Help me find it.	Older printers that Windows does not detect automatically. Windows runs a wider search.
Select a shared printer by name	A printer shared from another Windows PC, typed as \\computername\printername.
Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname	A network printer whose IP address you know. This is the most dependable manual method.
Add a Bluetooth, wireless or network discoverable printer	Printers that announce themselves on the network or over Bluetooth but did not appear in the first search.
Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings	Advanced cases where you choose the port and driver yourself.

Adding by TCP/IP address

1. Choose Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname and select Next.
2. Leave the device type on Autodetect and type the printer’s IP address in Hostname or IP address.
3. Select Next. Windows contacts the printer and, in most cases, picks a driver.
4. If asked to choose a driver, pick the maker and model from the list, or select Have Disk if you downloaded the maker’s driver package.
5. Name the printer, decide whether to share it, and finish. Print a test page when offered.

Because this method points at a fixed address, it helps to reserve that address in your router so it does not change later. If you need the driver step in more detail, our guide to installing a printer without the CD explains where to find current software.

Adding a USB printer

USB is the simplest route on Windows 10:

1. Switch the printer on.
2. Plug the USB cable into the printer and into the PC.
3. Wait a few seconds. Windows usually detects the printer and installs a driver on its own, then shows it under Printers & scanners.

Some maker installers ask you not to connect the USB cable until the installer tells you to. If you are running the maker’s setup program, follow its order. For cable types and laptop specifics, see how to connect a printer to a laptop with USB.

Setting the default printer

Below the printer list is a tick box called Let Windows manage my default printer. When it is ticked, Windows makes the printer you used most recently at your current location the default. That suits people who move a laptop between home and office, but it surprises many others.

To choose your own default:

1. Untick Let Windows manage my default printer.
2. Select the printer you want, choose Manage, then Set as default.

Windows 10 support ended: what it means for printing

Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. Its support page says the software continues to function, so your printer does not stop working and the steps above still apply. What changed is that Windows 10 no longer receives free security fixes or technical assistance. Microsoft points to an Extended Security Updates program for people who need more time; check its page for current terms.

In practice, for printing:

• Existing printers keep printing. Drivers already installed continue to work.
• New printers usually still install, because many use standard protocols and generic drivers. Over time, though, some makers may stop testing or releasing software for Windows 10.
• Security matters more for a PC on a network. Keep the printer’s own firmware current and consider moving to a supported system.

If you have upgraded or bought a new PC, the menus are different; follow how to add a printer in Windows 11 instead.

Removing an old printer in Windows 10

Before you add a replacement, remove the old printer so documents do not go to it by mistake. In Windows 10, open Settings, Devices, Printers & scanners, select the printer and choose Remove device. That deletes the printer entry but leaves its driver installed. To remove the driver as well, run printui /s, open the Drivers tab and remove the driver package. The same tool and the PowerShell cmdlets Remove-Printer and Remove-PrinterDriver work identically on Windows 10 and Windows 11; our guide to removing a printer in Windows 11 explains them in detail.

Adding a printer by command line

On several Windows 10 PCs, a short PowerShell script is faster than the Settings app: Add-PrinterPort with the printer’s IP address, then Add-Printer with a driver name and that port. See add a printer with PowerShell. If you are moving from a USB connection to Wi-Fi at the same time, follow change a printer from USB to wireless first.

If the printer still will not add

Keep this to setup checks before looking further:

1. Same network: compare the Wi-Fi name on the PC with the one on the printer’s network report.
2. Printer awake and ready: no error lights, paper loaded, setup finished.
3. Try the TCP/IP method with the address from the network report.
4. Restart the printer, the PC and the router, then search again.
5. Download the maker’s current driver if Windows offers no driver for your model. If an install fails with error 0x8007007e, see our guide to printer error 0x8007007e.

Once the printer is added, other devices can join in. Phones print directly over Wi-Fi; see print from iPhone and print from Android.