Let Guests Print on a Guest Wi-Fi Network: Setup Guide

A guest network is a good habit: visitors, holiday-let guests or a babysitter get internet access without your main Wi-Fi password. The catch comes when someone needs to print a boarding pass. Guest networks keep visitors away from your own devices, and your printer is one of them. This guide shows three ways to let guests print on a guest Wi-Fi network while keeping your main network private.

Why guests cannot see your printer

When you switch on a guest network, the router puts guest devices in a separate zone. They can reach the internet, but not the computers, storage drives, cameras or printers on your main network. That isolation is the whole point. It also means AirPrint and Android printing, which look for printers on the local network, find nothing.

Apple’s router recommendations make the security point clearly: a network without proper security lets anyone access shared resources such as printers and computers, and that applies to guest networks too. So always use a password on the guest network, even if you share it freely.

Option 1: share the printer from the router

Some routers and mesh systems let you punch a small, controlled hole in that isolation. Google’s Nest guest network settings, for example, say guests can get online and use shared devices you choose, such as a printer. In the Google Home app:

1. Tap Wi-Fi, then Network settings, then Guest network, and turn it on.
2. Set a guest network name and password different from your main network.
3. Under Shared devices, select the printer.
4. Tap Save.

Other brands use names such as “allow guests to see each other and access my local network” or “device sharing”. Read the description carefully: an option that opens the whole main network to guests is much broader than sharing one printer. If your router only offers the broad option, Option 2 is safer.

After sharing, a guest’s phone on the guest network should list the printer. An iPhone shows it in the print menu if the printer supports AirPrint; see print from iPhone. Android uses its default print service; see print from Android.

Option 2: use the printer’s Wi-Fi Direct network

Most wireless printers can create their own small Wi-Fi network, called Wi-Fi Direct (or Wireless Direct, or a similar maker’s name). A guest connects their phone to the printer’s network, prints, then reconnects to the guest Wi-Fi. They never touch your main network.

• Turn on Wi-Fi Direct from the printer’s control panel or its web settings page.
• Find the Wi-Fi Direct network name and password on the screen or on a printed network status page.
• Give those to the guest, or tape a card next to the printer.

The downside is that the guest’s phone is usually offline while it is joined to the printer. For a one-off print that rarely matters. Our Wi-Fi Direct printing guide explains the setup on each brand.

Option 3: print for them

The low-tech option is often the quickest: the guest emails or messages you the file and you print it from your own device. It avoids any network changes and works with any printer.

Why not move the printer to the guest network?

It sounds simpler, but it backfires. Your own laptops and phones would then need to join the guest network to print, and the printer, which stores your network settings and sometimes scans and documents, would sit in the less protected zone. Keep it on the main network and choose Option 1 or 2.

If you run a mesh system, our printer on mesh Wi-Fi guide covers the main-network setup, including reserving the printer’s IP address.

Lock down the printer’s own settings

Anyone who can reach a printer can usually open its built-in web settings page from a browser. Before sharing it with guests:

• Set or change the admin password. CISA’s guidance on network devices stresses changing default passwords and limiting who can manage a device. Many newer printers ship with a unique password printed on a label; older ones may have none. Our guide to opening the printer’s web settings page shows where to change it.
• Turn off what guests do not need, such as scan to network folder or fax settings, if your printer allows.
• Change the Wi-Fi Direct password after a long-stay guest leaves.

What to tell your guests

A short note by the printer saves a lot of questions. Include:

• Which network to join. The guest Wi-Fi name and password if you shared the printer from the router, or the printer’s Wi-Fi Direct name and password if you use Option 2.
• The printer’s name as it appears in print menus, so guests pick the right one if several devices are listed.
• How to print from a phone. On an iPhone or iPad: open the document, tap Share, then Print, and choose the printer. On Android: open the menu in the app, choose Print, then select the printer at the top of the preview.
• Laptops. A Windows laptop may need to add the printer once from Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Printers & scanners. A Mac adds it from the print dialog or Printers & Scanners.
• Paper and limits. Where the paper is, and whether colour or large jobs are fine.

If a guest’s phone shows no printers at all, the most likely cause is that it is still connected to mobile data or another network. Ask them to check the Wi-Fi name at the top of their Wi-Fi settings before trying anything else.

Option 4: let guests print from a USB stick

If your printer has a USB host port on the front, guests do not need any network at all. They copy photos or a PDF to a flash drive, plug it into the printer and choose the files on its screen. Nothing on your network is shared, and the printer only reads the drive. Supported file types vary by model, often JPEG for photos and sometimes PDF, so check the manual and leave a note next to the printer. Our guide to printing from a USB flash drive has the steps for typical models.

Extenders and guest networks

Range extenders can repeat the guest network as well as the main one, and some create extra network names of their own. If your printer stops appearing for your own devices after you add an extender, check that it did not join a repeated guest network by mistake: print its network status page and compare the network name and IP address with your computer’s. Our guide to connecting a printer to a Wi-Fi extender walks through the checks.

Holiday lets and shared houses

For a property with frequent guests, combine the options: share the printer from the router if it supports it, and leave a printed card with Wi-Fi Direct details as a fallback. Print a test page after any router change, and if the printer drops off the network, follow connect a printer to a new Wi-Fi network.