How to Connect Canon Printer to Laptop

Canon offers a diverse range of printer models — usually one with the LCD screen and others without the LCD screen setup. But, regardless of the printer type, the process to connect them to your laptop is quite similar.

Using the WPS Push button on your router is a convenient way to connect the Canon printers to your laptop. You don’t even need to know the Wi-Fi network credentials with this method. Apart from that, you can also use a USB or ethernet cable to create the connection. These connection modes are helpful if your router does not come with a WPS Push button or if you want a more stable connection.

Using USB Cable

The primary method of connecting your Canon printers to your laptop is through the USB cable. Simply get a USB A-B cable and connect the rectangular (A) side to one of the USB ports on the laptop and the square (B) side to the USB port on your Canon printer.

1. Turn off the printer.
2. Take the B side of the cable and connect it to the USB port on your printer. The USB port on the Canon printer generally lies on the left or right-hand side of the back panel. Check it and connect the cable accordingly.
   
3. Now connect the A side to your laptop.
   
4. Turn on the printer.

Using WPS Push Button or Wi-Fi Password

You can also use wireless connectivity options like Wi-Fi and WPS to connect the Canon printer to your laptop.

If you have easy physical access to the router, we recommend the WPS push button method. With this method, you don’t need to bother entering that long Wi-Fi password into your printer. However, your router should also have the WPS button. Also, the network must be secured with WPA or WPA2 protocols and operate over the 2.4GHz frequency band.

On Canon Printers With LCD Screen

Here we are using the Canon PIXMA G4210 printer for demonstrating steps. You can follow similar steps on the printer with LCD setup.

1. Power on your printer.
2. Press the Utility button (button with pliers and screwdriver icons).
   
3. It will open a Setup page with a Wireless LAN menu. Press the OK button.
   
4. Use the Right Arrow key to go to the WPS (Push button) option.
   
5. Press OK.
6. Go to your router, locate the WPS button, and keep pressing it until the printer shows a Connected message.
   
7. Press OK.
8. Again press the Utility button.
9. You will now see the Wi-Fi logo on the printer’s display.

If you want to connect the printer via the Wi-Fi network’s password, follow these steps:

1. Turn on the printer and push the Utility button.
   
2. Press OK on Wireless LAN and move right to Manual connection.
   
3. Hit the OK button.
4. Choose the Wi-Fi SSID and press OK. It will ask for the network’s password.
   
5. Type the password using the number pad. Press the Back button to delete a character and hit the Asterisk button to switch to uppercase and numbers. Typing the password this way is pretty similar to typing in old keypad phones.
   
6. Press OK after you complete typing the password. You are now connected to Wi-Fi.

On Canon Printers Without LCD Screen

If your printer does not have an LCD setup, follow these steps to connect it to Wi-Fi using the WPS Push button method. Here, we are referencing the Canon PIXMA MG3500 series printer for demonstrating the steps.

1. Power on the printer.
2. Locate the Cancel/Resume button on your printer’s button panel. It looks like this.
   
3. Press and keep pressing it until you see the Alarm light flashing 17 times. Then release it.
   
4. Now press and keep holding the Wi-Fi button till the Alarm light flashes one more time.
   
5. Now the Wi-Fi button indicator will also start flashing blue.
   
6. After that, go to your router and keep pressing the WPS button. You should press the WPS button within two minutes after the Wi-Fi button indicator starts flashing blue.
   
7. You will see the Power button indicator and Wi-Fi button indicator keep glowing after the connection is complete.
   

Using LAN Cables

Using Ethernet or LAN cables is a simple yet effective way to connect your Canon printer to the laptop. Although it is a wired method and may have some inconvenience, the data transfer speed is faster than USB. Moreover, all the computers connected to the same network can also easily access the printer.

1. Get an ethernet cable.
2. Connect its one end to the RJ-45 port on your router.
3. Turn on the printer and connect the other end to the RJ-45 port on the back panel of your Canon printer.
4. If your printer has an LCD screen setup, you may need to go to LAN settings and activate the Wired LAN function. Please check it.
   

Finalizing Installation

Once you have established the connection using any of the above methods, it’s time to install the Canon printer drivers. Without the drivers installed, you may not be able to print your documents and use advanced printer functions like nozzle cleaning and printer head alignments.

If your printer came with a driver installation disc, you can easily run the setup file on the disc and install the drivers. Otherwise, you can go to the official driver download page of Canon and install the drivers.

1. Open the Canon printer driver download page.
2. Click the Set Up (Start Here) button in the home page.
   
3. Search your printer model and download the driver.
   
4. Launch the setup file and click Next.
   
5. Choose your residence on the next screen and click Next.
   
6. Choose the software you want to install and again click Next.
   
7. Agree to the terms and conditions and then click Yes > Next.
   
8. Then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
9. You can now start printing without any hassles.