Put a Canon printer on your Wi-Fi

Canon has different pages for different PIXMA families, and the wording follows the model. Two pages give the pattern: one for manual connect on the TR4520 and one for the display panel on MX models. A European page describes WPS.

Steps

1. Have your Wi-Fi name and password

   Canon's pages say you type the password on the printer.

2. Open Setup, then Wi-Fi setup

   Canon's TR4520 page names the path through Setup, Wi-Fi setup and Manual connect. MX models choose Wireless LAN setup from the setup menu.

3. Let the printer search

   It lists access points.

4. Pick your network and type the password

   Check capital letters.

5. Or use WPS

   A Canon page for the MG3052 says to press the printer's Wireless button and then the router's WPS button within two minutes. The network must use WPA or WPA2.

6. Check the band if it fails

   A community thread says some PIXMA models talk only on 2.4 GHz. Dual-band routers can steer devices to 5 GHz, so a separate 2.4 GHz name helps; see the band-split article.

7. Install the driver or app

   Canon points to ij.start.canon for setup software.

Which Canon page is mine?

The one with your model number. Canon organizes pages by family. If the printer's screen does not match, call 775-575-9593 only for the network side, such as the router; for printer screens, use Canon's page.

What if setup stalls halfway?

Restart the printer and the router and try again closer to the router. Make sure a guest network is not the one you picked. A guest name on 2.4 GHz is sometimes the way through.

Does the printer need a fixed address?

Not usually, but it avoids trouble later. See giving a device a fixed address.

What if the printer joins but my computer cannot find it?

The computer and the printer must be on the same network. If the router has more than one name, a guest name or a separate band, they may sit on different ones. Join both to the same name. Then run Canon's setup software or the computer's add-printer tool so it learns the printer's current address.

If the printer found the network but the computer will not print, a fixed address often cures it. Reserve one on the router as described in the address-reservation page, restart the printer, and add it again. Canon's support site has driver downloads by model number if the computer needs one.

Do I need to go outside or touch the antenna for this?

Please keep off the roof. The antenna, radio and outdoor cable are handled only by a High Desert technician, and a phone call starts that.