HP Printer Setup for MacOS

HP Printer Setup for MacOS

SUMMARY

HP printer setup on MacOS is relatively simple although none of the steps are obvious. This page will guide you through printer set-up on MacOS computers.

For Windows computers, see: Windows set-up guide.

Drivers and user guides are available on support.hp.com.

Getting Started

The easiest way to get started is to connect the printer to the computer or network before doing anything.

Once the printer is connected either a network or the computer, it's easy enough to add the printer to the computer.


Setup

The most important thing to note here is the location of the printer settings in MacOS:

System Preferences app → Printers & Scanners


USB

With the printer powered on, connect the printer to the computer with a USB cable. Within a couple seconds, you will see a prompt asking

if you would like to download and install software for the printer. Click “Install” to continue.

Just make it the default printer in Printers & Scanners and you're set.


Wireless

To set up a wireless-connected printer, my best recommendation is to connect the printer to the wireless network first.

This is quite easy with newer HP printers that have touch screens. Simply navigate to the network settings on the printer control panel and

follow the Wireless Setup Wizard.

Once connected to the network, write down the IPV4 address of the printer. The IP address can be found in the network settings on the

printer control panel or on the configuration page which can be printed out from the Reports menu on the printer.

Now that we have the IP address, we can click the + button in Printers & Scanners to add the printer.


If you see the name of the printer in the new window, just select the printer and click the “Add” button. If the printer isn't listed,

click IP at the top of the window and type in the address. You can leave everything else and optionally put the location in the location field.

Wired Connection

Essentially the same as above, just connect the network cable and obtain the IP address in case the computer doesn't automatically see the

printer when you add the device.


HP Smart

Newer models of HP printers will enter “setup mode” when the printer is first powered on. This is a roughly two hour window when the

printer can be set up with the HP Smart application. If the two hours expire, you can put the printer back into setup mode by resetting all

network settings to default in the networking menu. For printers without a touch screen, there is typically a button or combination of buttons

you can hold down to reset the printer and enter setup mode again. Refer to the user guide Reset to Factory Settings.

HP Smart can be downloaded from from https://123.hp.com/setup

HP Smart only detects printers that are:

  1.  on the same network as the Mac computer
  2. in setup mode

When you open the application, it will detect nearby printers that meet that criteria. Find your printer and click “Set Up”


After clicking through the setup, you will be asked to connect the printer to a wireless network. Just select the network and

enter the password if prompted. You may need to press a button on the printer to complete the setup.


That's it!





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