Connect a Printer to a Phone Hotspot: Step-by-Step Guide

You can connect a printer to a phone hotspot when there is no router: in a new home before the internet is installed, during an outage, at a holiday rental, or in a small office where the broadband is down. To the printer, your phone’s hotspot is simply another Wi-Fi network. The tricks are choosing a band the printer can use, getting the printer and the laptop onto the same hotspot, and remembering to move the printer back to your normal Wi-Fi afterwards. This guide covers iPhone and Android.

How printing over a hotspot works

When you turn on a hotspot, your phone creates a small Wi-Fi network and shares its mobile data with the devices that join. If both a printer and a laptop join, they are on the same local network, just as they would be on a home router. The laptop finds the printer and sends the print job directly to it.

Two points follow from that:

• Both devices must be on the hotspot. A laptop on the hotspot cannot see a printer that is still connected to your home router, and the other way round.
• The phone hosting the hotspot is a special case. It provides the network rather than joining it, and whether it can also discover and print to the printer varies by phone and printer. If you only need to print from the phone, use the printer’s Wi-Fi Direct network instead; see below.

Step 1: set up the hotspot so the printer can see it

iPhone

Apple’s guide says to open Settings, tap Personal Hotspot (or Cellular, then Personal Hotspot) and turn on Allow Others to Join, keeping that screen open while other devices connect. The hotspot name is your iPhone’s name, and the password is shown on the same screen.

Then check the band. Apple says that on supported devices, Maximize Compatibility in the Personal Hotspot settings switches to 2.4 GHz connections that work better with older devices, and that it may reduce performance and security. Many printers only see 2.4 GHz networks, so turn it on for the setup and off again afterwards. Our 2.4 GHz printer setup guide explains why printers favour that band.

Android

Google’s Android help says to swipe down, touch and hold the Hotspot tile and turn on Wi-Fi hotspot; tap it to see or change the hotspot name and password. Menu names differ between phone makers, so you may find it under Settings, Network & internet or Connections, then Hotspot & tethering. Some phones also have an option for the hotspot band; if the printer cannot see the hotspot, look for a 2.4 GHz or “extend compatibility” setting in the hotspot options. Google notes that a Wi-Fi hotspot can share data with up to 10 devices.

Tip: if the password is long, change it to something easier to type on a printer’s arrow keys before you start. Apple says the iPhone hotspot password must be at least eight characters.

Step 2: join the printer to the hotspot

Use the printer’s normal Wi-Fi setup, exactly as you would with a router:

• Printers with a screen: open the Wi-Fi or network setup wizard, choose the hotspot name and enter its password.
• Printers without a screen: use the maker’s app or the computer installer. WPS will not help here, because phones do not offer a WPS button.

Keep the phone close to the printer, with the hotspot screen open, and do not let the phone lock and switch the hotspot off. If the name does not appear in the printer’s list, recheck the 2.4 GHz setting and search again. Our general wireless printer setup guide and the brand guides for Epson, Brother, Canon and HP show where the wizard lives.

When it connects, print the printer’s network status or configuration page. It should show the hotspot name and an IP address.

Step 3: join the laptop and add the printer

1. Connect the laptop to the same hotspot.
2. Add the printer: on Windows 11, Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Printers & scanners, Add device; on a Mac, System Settings, Printers & Scanners, Add Printer, Scanner or Fax; on a Chromebook, Settings, Print and scan, Printers.
3. If the printer is not found automatically, add it by its IP address from the status page. Our guides for Windows 11, Mac and Chromebook cover adding by IP.

On Windows, a hotspot is often treated as a metered connection. Windows may not download printer drivers over it unless you allow downloads over metered connections in Printers & scanners.

Step 4: watch your mobile data

Sending a print job from the laptop to the printer stays on the local hotspot network. Other traffic does not: opening a document from cloud storage, driver downloads, printer firmware updates and cloud printing services all use mobile data. If your allowance is small:

• download the documents before you connect,
• pause automatic updates on the laptop,
• turn off the hotspot as soon as you have finished.

Step 5: move the printer back home

Most printers remember one Wi-Fi network at a time. When your router is back, run the printer’s Wi-Fi setup again and select your home network. If you changed routers in the meantime, follow our guide to connecting a printer to a new Wi-Fi network. Devices that added the printer while it was on the hotspot may need to remove and re-add it, because its IP address will change.

When Wi-Fi Direct is the better choice

Many printers create their own small network, called Wi-Fi Direct. Your phone or laptop joins the printer’s network directly, with no router and no hotspot. It is ideal for printing from one phone, but the device connected to Wi-Fi Direct usually loses its internet connection while it is joined. Our Wi-Fi Direct printing guide shows how to set it up.

A quick rule: for one phone, use Wi-Fi Direct. For a laptop that needs to stay online, or for several people printing, use the hotspot.

If it does not work

• Printer cannot see the hotspot: turn on Maximize Compatibility (iPhone) or a 2.4 GHz option (Android), keep the hotspot screen open and move closer.
• Printer connects but the laptop cannot find it: check the laptop is on the hotspot, not on another network, and add the printer by IP address.
• Connection drops: some phones turn off the hotspot when nothing is using it. Keep the phone awake and plugged in while printing.