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Wireless printer not detected by the network

Wireless printers give you the ease of printing from anywhere in the house as long as you are connected to the home network.  However, if you encounter an error saying wireless printer not detected by the network, there might be some settings that you need to check and modify to resolve this issue. 

NOTE:  The wireless printer not detected by the network error commonly occurs during initial installation.  Don’t forget to read the user manual or documentation before the setup to ensure smooth installation.
 
This article lists some tips that you can use to make your wireless printer work.
 
 
 
Security settings include the antivirus software and built-in firewall of your computer.  There are some firewall and antivirus software that block some printer drivers necessary to detect the printer. 
 
What you can do:
  • Update the virus scan patterns of your antivirus or Internet security software.
  • Add exceptions for your printer manually.
 
The settings saved on your printer should match the settings of your network to ensure that you are in the same range with the rest of the devices.  Although there’s a slim chance for your printer to connect to a different network, the possibility remains.
 
Check these settings:
  • Wireless network name (SSID) – This is the name of your network
  • Network password or passphrase – This is the password that you use to connect wirelessly
  • Security mode – The type of encryption that your network uses.  Choose a security that is compatible to all the devices in your home.
  • Network mode – The wireless technology that your network utilizes.  Linksys routers operate on the following modes: A, B, G, N, and AC technology.
  • SSID Broadcast – This should be Enabled.  If the SSID broadcast of your router is disabled, you need to add the network manually on your printer.  Refer to the user manual for instructions on how to add the network manually.
  • MAC Filter – If you intentionally turn this ON, add the MAC address of your printer to allow access to the network.  Otherwise, you can disable this security feature.
NOTE:  It is recommended that the above-mentioned settings are personalized to ensure that you are connecting to your own network.  Linksys Wi-Fi and Smart Wi-Fi routers have default names so you might get confused with other networks in the area if you don’t change yours to something else.
 
If you need help in checking the wireless settings, choose from the links below:
 
 
After you checked and figured out that you need to modify the wireless settings of your router, follow the instructions on how to change the settings from the links below:
 
 
 
Another way to check if your printer is connected to your own network is through the network settings.  The following should be in range with your wireless network:
  • IP address
  • Subnet Mask
  • Default Gateway
  • DNS Servers

NOTE:  Check the user manual to learn how to check the network settings of your printer.

Isolating the problem

After you added exceptions to your firewall or Internet security software and verified that the settings of your router matches the settings saved on your printer and you are still getting the wireless printer not detected by the network error you need to further isolate the problem.  Here are some things that you can do:

  • Check if your other computers can detect the printer
  • Check if you can print directly to the printer (via USB or Ethernet cable)

These are the basic fixes that you can do to resolve the wireless printer not detected/found error message.  If none of these steps fix your issue, you may also contact your printer manufacturer to verify if there are special troubleshooting steps that you need to do to make your printer work with the Linksys Wi-Fi and Smart Wi-Fi Routers.

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