// PRINTER FIX GUIDE
Printer Stopped Working After Changing Your WiFi Password?
You changed your WiFi password — sensibly, perhaps after a scare — and every phone, laptop and tablet asked for the new one and got on with life. The printer didn't ask. It just went quiet. That's normal: printers never prompt for a new password, they simply keep trying the old one. Here's where to re-enter it on the main printer types, why scanning breaks separately, and the right re-securing order if a scam prompted all this. Rated 4.9 on Google.
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- ● Rated 4.9 on Google
/01 — WHAT'S GOING ON
Every device re-joined except the printer — here's why
You changed the WiFi password, every phone and laptop asked for the new one and carried on, but the printer just sat there — jobs stuck in the queue, and the computer insisting the printer is offline. Nothing is broken. Printers store the WiFi password once, during setup, and almost none of them ever pop up a message asking for the new one; they quietly keep trying the old password forever.
Because your router and network name haven't changed, this is purely a credential re-entry job: tell the printer the new password once and it should behave. Below we cover the three ways to do that — the printer's own setup wizard if it has a screen, the WPS button method if it doesn't, and the USB-cable-plus-app route when neither works — plus the separate gotcha that catches people out: printing comes back but scan-to-computer stays broken.
One check before you start: this page assumes only the password changed. If you've switched broadband provider or been sent a new router, the network name has usually changed too, which is a slightly different problem — see our guide to a printer that won't connect after changing broadband instead.
At a glance
| Most common cause | The printer is still trying the old password — printers save it once at setup and never prompt when it changes. |
|---|---|
| DIY first step | Re-run the printer’s Wireless Setup Wizard and type the new password slowly — it’s case-sensitive and 1, l and I are easy to confuse. |
| No screen on the printer? | Use the WPS buttons on router then printer, or connect a USB cable temporarily and run the maker’s free setup app. |
| Printing works, scanning doesn’t | Scanning is registered separately and may point at the printer’s old address — remove and re-add the printer or re-run the scan setup. |
| Can it be fixed remotely? | Yes — most problems on this page are fixed in one short remote session, no fix, no fee (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm). |
| When to call us | If the wizard, WPS and USB routes all fail it’s usually a router settings mismatch, not a broken printer — call 01202 775566. |
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/02 — THE EASY WAY
Printers with a screen: re-run the wireless setup wizard
If your printer has a touchscreen, or a small display with arrow buttons, it can take the new password directly. Look in its settings for something called Wireless Setup Wizard, WiFi Setup or Network Setup — the exact name and menu position move between makes, models and even firmware versions, so hunt for the word "wireless" rather than following a rigid click-path. The wizard scans for nearby networks; choose yours — it will be the same name as before, since only the password changed — and type the new password.
Two things trip people up here. First, WiFi passwords are case-sensitive and printer keyboards are fiddly: a lowercase l, a capital I and the digit 1 look near-identical on a small screen, as do 0 and O. If it fails once, don't assume the method is wrong — re-type it slowly. Second, once the printer re-joins, the jobs that failed earlier are often still jammed in the queue. Open the print queue on your computer, cancel anything sitting there, and send a fresh test page. If the printer joins the network but your computer still shows it offline, see the printing-versus-scanning section below — that's usually an address problem, not a password one.
/03 — NO SCREEN?
Button-only printers: WPS, or a temporary USB cable
Plenty of budget printers have no screen at all — just a WiFi light and a couple of buttons. You have two routes.
WPS is the quickest, if your router supports it: press the WPS button on the router, then within a couple of minutes press the WiFi (or WPS) button on the printer, and the two exchange the new password automatically — no typing. The honest caveats: some broadband routers ship with WPS switched off, some have dropped it entirely for security reasons, and the exact button-press — tap versus hold, which light should flash — varies by printer, so a glance at the quick-start leaflet or the maker's website helps.
The USB route is the reliable fallback. Connect the printer to your computer with an ordinary USB printer cable, then run the manufacturer's own setup app — HP, Epson, Canon and Brother all offer one as a free download from their official support sites — and use its wireless setup option to send the new password to the printer over the cable. Once it's on the WiFi, unplug the cable.
If the printer seems stuck in a sulk whatever you try, most models let you reset just their network settings to factory and join fresh — often the cleanest cure for a wedged connection.
/04 — THE GOTCHA
Printing works again — so why is scanning still broken?
This is the bit that catches almost everyone. Printing and scanning travel different roads. When you print, your computer goes looking for the printer. When you scan — especially scan-to-computer from the printer's own buttons — the software relies on a saved registration, and that registration often records the printer's network address. Re-joining the WiFi can hand the printer a new address, so printing recovers while the scan side quietly points at the old one.
The fix is re-registration, not repair. Re-run the scan setup in the manufacturer's app — each maker has its own scan utility, and its name moves between versions, so look for "scan" in their software rather than a specific title. Alternatively, remove the printer in your computer's settings and add it again, which refreshes both printing and scanning in one go. If you normally scan from the computer's side rather than the printer's buttons, that same remove-and-re-add usually sorts it too.
Nothing is faulty and no new hardware is needed — this is bookkeeping, not breakage. It's also why a printer can look "half fixed" for weeks: the half you use daily recovered, and the half you use monthly didn't.
/05 — IF A SCAM STARTED THIS
Changed the password after a scam scare? Good — here's the full order
A lot of people change their WiFi password straight after a scam phone call or an alarming pop-up, and it's a sensible instinct. But be honest with yourself about what it protects: it stops strangers joining your network, and that's all. It does not remove any remote-access software a caller talked you into installing, it doesn't change your email or banking passwords, and it doesn't undo anything that already happened on the computer itself.
If a scare kicked this off, the WiFi password is step three, not step one. Our order:
- Uninstall any remote-access program the caller had you download, and restart the computer.
- Change your important account passwords, starting with email — it's the master key to everything else — ideally from a device the caller never touched.
- Then the router and WiFi passwords (which is what stranded your printer).
- Run a full malware scan, and keep an eye on bank and card statements for a couple of weeks.
We've written a step-by-step guide for exactly this situation — what to do if you gave a scammer remote access — and if you'd rather a human checked the machine over properly, that's a routine job for us, not an embarrassing one. And one thing before anything else: if you paid the caller, read out card details, or online banking was open while they were connected, call your bank first — dial 159, the anti-fraud number that safely connects you to your own bank — before you worry about the printer.
/06 — STRAIGHT TALK
When it's not worth fighting — and what we'd do
Two honest scenarios. First: you've typed the password carefully, run the wizard twice, tried WPS and the USB app, and the printer still won't hold a connection. Don't burn an evening on it — and please don't buy a new printer yet. In our experience this is usually a settings mismatch, not a hardware failure: some newer routers default to security modes that older printers don't understand, and that's a short job to diagnose, not a reason to bin the machine. With your permission we can connect via remote support, see what the printer and router are each doing, and fix the mismatch — no fix, no fee.
Second, the other side of the honesty coin: if the printer is genuinely ancient, drops off the network every few weeks anyway, and a set of ink costs more than the machine did, we'll tell you plainly that reconnecting it isn't the best use of your money — and what a sensible replacement costs, before you decide anything. We don't sell printers, so we've no reason to push you either way.
Our printer support page covers everything we handle, or call 01202 775566 and talk it through first — that call costs nothing.
FAMILY-RUN SINCE 1995 · ★ 4.9 ON GOOGLE · 200+ COMPUTERS UNDER OUR CARE · NO FIX, NO FEE · SAME-DAY REMOTE SUPPORT
// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
Why won't my printer connect after I changed my WiFi password?
Because the printer is still trying the old password. Printers save the WiFi password once, during setup, and unlike phones and laptops most never prompt you when it changes — they just fail silently and show as offline. The router and network name are unchanged, so nothing is broken: you simply need to re-enter the new password on the printer itself, using its wireless setup wizard, the WPS button method, or a temporary USB connection to the manufacturer's app. Once it re-joins, stuck print jobs usually need cancelling and re-sending.
How do I put the new WiFi password into my printer?
On a printer with a screen, find the setting called something like Wireless Setup Wizard or WiFi Setup — menu names move between makes and models — choose your network and type the new password exactly, because it's case-sensitive and printer keyboards make 1, l and I easy to confuse. On a printer without a screen, either use WPS (press the router's WPS button, then the printer's wireless button) or connect a USB cable temporarily and run the manufacturer's free setup app, which sends the new password across for you.
Why can I print but not scan to my computer after changing my WiFi password?
Because scanning is registered separately, and it often remembers the printer by its old network address. When the printer re-joined your WiFi it may have been given a new address, so print jobs find it but the scan software quietly points at the old one. Re-running the manufacturer's scan setup, or removing and re-adding the printer in your computer's settings, refreshes the registration and normally brings scanning back. It's bookkeeping rather than a fault — nothing needs repairing or replacing.
Do I need to reinstall my printer after changing the WiFi password?
Usually not. If only the password changed and the network name stayed the same, re-entering the password on the printer is normally enough and your computer carries on as before. The exception is when the printer comes back on the network with a new address — then the computer may still show it offline, and removing and re-adding the printer, or re-running the manufacturer's setup app, sorts it. Full driver reinstalls are rarely needed and mostly just cost you an evening.
Can I use WPS to reconnect my printer without typing the password?
Often, yes — if both your router and printer support it. Press the WPS button on the router, then within a couple of minutes press the WiFi or WPS button on the printer, and they exchange the new password automatically with no typing. Two honest caveats: some broadband routers have WPS switched off or removed for security reasons, and the exact button-press varies by printer, so it can take a couple of attempts. If WPS isn't available, the USB-cable-plus-app method is the reliable fallback.
I changed my WiFi password after a scam call — was that the right thing to do?
It's a sensible step, but on its own it isn't enough. Changing the WiFi password stops strangers using your network, but it doesn't remove any remote-access software a scammer had you install, and it doesn't protect your email or banking logins. Deal with those first: uninstall anything the caller had you download, change your important account passwords starting with email, then run a full malware scan and watch your bank statements for a couple of weeks. If you'd like a professional to check the machine over, that's a routine job for us.
Printer still won't take the new password?
Call 01202 775566 — with your say-so we connect remotely, see what the printer and router are each doing, and get you printing again. No fix, no fee.
01202 775566 · help@365techies.co.uk · MON–FRI 9AM–5PM