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ipad 2 cannot find airprint printer

StanDarville

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I have an HP Photosmart D110a, an iPad 2 and a Linksys (Cisco) wireless router.
I can currently print to another HP wireless printer (with a static IP), from my Mac, so I know that the network is working.
The Photosmart has the latest firmware and has a static IP, and the network configuration page indicates that everything is in order.
The iPad 2 has the latest OS release.
The Router has the latest firmware.
I have restarted everything and still the iPad cannot find the printer.
Have searched but cannot find any thread or site that specifically provides help with this.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
 
Apple have their own proprietary printing protocol called 'AirPrint'. Only a few printers support it at present - HP is one of those that do and you can see if your model is on the list at the Apple web site

Apple - iPad - Print right from your iPad with AirPrint.


If it is there, then you can print directly under iOS 4.2 and 4.3 from apps that support in-app printing, such as Apple's iPad iWorks suite ('Pages', 'Numbers' and 'Keynote'). Not all apps support in-app printing, so you need to check out whether the app you're interested in does. For example, Apple's native iPad 'Calendar' app does not support in-app printing.

If your printer is not on the list then there are third-party apps that can help. Some printer manufacturers have released apps for PCs with their printers connected (i.e. Lexmark). On these models, an app on your PC or Mac 'pretends' to be an AirPrint printer and the app translates the AirPrint printing protocol into a form that the printer understands.

However, there are standalone apps for the iPad and 'Print N Share' is one of the best known. It can print directly from the iPad to a WiFi printer without any PC being involved. It does this by 'pretending' to be an AirPrint printer. It then, similar to the previous case, translates the AirPrint printing protocol to a form that your printer understands.

Most all WiFi equipped printers are supported by 'Print N Share' but even those few that are not are able to print via a PC using, again, a small (free) app that's available from the developers of 'Print N Share'. Once again, this app sits on your PC or Mac and links your iPad to the printer via your PC - meaning, too, that the printer can be WiFi, USB or even Bluetooth. The downside is that the PC has to be switched on.

One 'issue' that sometimes confounds users of 'Print N Share' is that this only works under iOS 4.2 or 4.3 - the iPad's 'multi-tasking' operating system (OS). 'Print N Share' needs to be loaded and running before you can print!! So, if you're going to be doing some printing, you need to first of all fire up 'Print N Share' and leave it running in the background. You can check whether it is running by double tapping the iPad's 'Home' button, to see the tasks that are 'loaded' in the 'Multi-task' menu bar. For various reasons, it's helpful if 'Print N Share' was loaded quite recently. If you haven't printed for a while, use the multi-task bar to 're-activate' it.

If you're happy to leave your PC switched on then another - and probably better - way forward is to use a PC program called FingerPrint. This is a program that runs on your PC and makes it 'look' like an AirPrint printer. It's as close as you'll get to plug-and-play printing for non-AirPrint printers. You simply download the program (there's a free 7-day version available so you can try it at no risk), install it, start the program (it automatically inserts itself into the PC's startup menu) choose the printers you want to offer to the iPad - it shows you the usual list that you get from a regular Windows print dialog box - and that's it. When you want to print on your iPad (there's no separate app for the iPad) you simply choose the print menu in apps that support in-app printing and FingerPrint makes your PC look like an AirPrint printer. You'll be offered, in the iPad, the choice of printers that you selected on the PC and off you go. FingerPrint receives the printing data from the iPad over WiFi and translates it into a form that your printer understands. I have it on my PC and it works just great.

Hope this helps, but don't hesitate to post any more detailed questions that you might have.

Tim
Scotland
 
Tim,

thanks for the suggestions.
The apple link does not lead to any instructions or help. (Go figure)
I have an HP Airprint printer and I do want to use AirPrint and not a third party software. I could have used third party to print to the printer that I had originally, but wanted to print directly from my iPad 2 and iPhone 4.
Do you know of anywhere that I might find instructions on help if the AirPrint does not magically work as Apple suggests it should? :)

Stan
 
Same problem. New hp printer no printing from ipad2. What the......
 
Could it be due to the latest OS update? It took a little work to get my HP printer to work and it never had a problem before the update.
 
Tim,

thanks for the suggestions.
The apple link does not lead to any instructions or help. (Go figure)
I have an HP Airprint printer and I do want to use AirPrint and not a third party software. I could have used third party to print to the printer that I had originally, but wanted to print directly from my iPad 2 and iPhone 4.
Do you know of anywhere that I might find instructions on help if the AirPrint does not magically work as Apple suggests it should? :)

Stan

The link only provides a list of the printers that work with AirPrint. The printer that you mentioned comes with two firmware releases - only one of these is AirPrint compatible. But your latest post seems to confirm that you have a printer that has the AirPrint firmware in it (because it would say this on the box the printer came in).

As the last poster mentioned, there have been some problems reported by Members after the latest iOS update. You say that you've reset the printer, the router and the iPad (a complete power down and then power up) and that the iPad still cannot 'find' the printer. You have also confirmed that you can print to this printer from your computer, so clearly the printer, WiFi, router etc work just fine.

When you say that the iPad cannot 'find' the printer, I'm assuming that you mean that when you try to print from an app on the iPad that supports in-app printing you are not presented with any printers. I mention this because some Members have had a problem where the iPad appears to find the printer but, when they choose the option to print everything 'appears' to be OK but just no printing appears.

Tim
 
That is correct Tim. When I try to print from an application that supports in-app printing, I am not presented with any printers.
Do you know what printer firmware and OS release will work?
Regards,
Stan
 
Call HP support. I had to do that with an HP p1102w - all it required was a firmware update from HP which was easy to install. However I now have other problems, the printer goes off the network after a power cycle.
 
To all having print issues with iPad to AirPrint

Been having problems printing it happen to me it worked before then stopped it found the printer but icon would disappear when I clicked on print....funny thing my iPod could print but my iPad no go...I have the hp the b210a something like that...well here is what I did it mine started to work...go to the wireless icon on the printer then click then go to disable wireless wait a bit then go to enable wireless wait a bit...now try and print something hope it works bye
 
Hello

I had the same problem but the problem was that linksys router offers two networks. One is your main network and the other one is for guests. I had my iPad on the guest network and my printer was set up to the main network so that was why it could not AirPrint. Just make sure that the iPad is in the same network as the Airprinter.
 
This is definitely something that Apple has to work around. They can't expect people to adjust their entire purchasing process around their products.
 
the only way i could find to fix this was to either buy a air print enabled printer for a lot of extra bucks OR i downloaded and paid 10 dollars for a program called finger print
 
centenario1000 said:
I had the same problem but the problem was that linksys router offers two networks. One is your main network and the other one is for guests. I had my iPad on the guest network and my printer was set up to the main network so that was why it could not AirPrint. Just make sure that the iPad is in the same network as the Airprinter.

I can't thank you enough. My iPad just stopped printing and we spent many days and money on new apps trying to find the answer!!! I went to the Apple help today thinking maybe there is some new info and a box popped up suggesting this app. I thought what the heck I will try it. I put in my question with a little different wording and there you were with the answer. I changed my network settings, found something to print expecting nothing. The box came up with the printer in it and the print button lit! I pressed it and waited to hear the melodious tones of the printer in the next room. IT WAS PRINTING!!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you XOXOXO

Barbara
 

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