Printer stopped working after its IP address changed

Find the printer’s current IP address

Print the network configuration report, or open the network or Wi-Fi status screen on the printer. Write the IP address down exactly, including every dot.

You should see: You have an address in the same range as your computer, such as 192.168.0.x or 10.0.0.x.

Reserve the address in your router

Open the router’s admin page or app, find DHCP or address reservation, and reserve the printer’s current address. The printer keeps asking the router for an address as normal, and the router always gives it the same one.

You should see: After a router restart, the printer’s report still shows the reserved address.

Avoid typing a fixed address on the printer

Printers also let you set a static address in their own network menu. If you do, choose one outside the router’s automatic range, or two devices may end up sharing an address and both misbehave. A router reservation avoids that risk entirely.

Open the printer’s port settings

Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners (Windows 10: Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners, then Manage), click the printer and choose Printer properties. Open the Ports tab and find the ticked port.

Edit the existing port’s address

With the ticked port selected, click Configure Port. Replace the value in Printer Name or IP Address with the new address, click OK, then Apply. If Configure Port is grayed out, the port is a WSD port that finds the printer automatically, and the next step applies instead.

You should see: Print Test Page on the General tab prints straight away.

Create a new TCP/IP port if needed

Click Add Port, select Standard TCP/IP Port and click New Port. Enter the reserved IP address, let the wizard detect the printer and finish, then make sure the new port is the one ticked.

Untick stale ports for the same printer

If the list shows several ports for one printer, such as an old address, a WSD port and the new address, tick only the one matching the current address. Unused leftover ports can be deleted with Delete Port once printing works.

Clear out old jobs

Click Open print queue on the printer’s page and cancel any old jobs you no longer need. Otherwise they may all print at once now that the printer is reachable again.

Remove the old printer entry

Open System Settings > Printers & Scanners, select the printer and choose Remove Printer. There’s no straightforward way to change the address of an existing entry, so a clean re-add is quicker.

Add it back by name, not number

Click Add Printer, Scanner or Fax and select the printer from the default list, where it’s found by name. A printer added this way keeps working when its address changes.

You should see: The printer appears with AirPrint or your model in the Use menu, and a test print works.

Use the IP tab only with a reserved address

If the printer only shows up through the IP tab, reserve its address in the router first, then add it with that reserved address so it can’t drift again.

Open your saved printers

Go to Settings > Advanced > Print and scan > Printers and find the printer in the saved list.

Update or replace the address

Open the three-dot menu beside the printer and choose Edit. Change Address to the new IP address and save. If the address can’t be changed there, choose Remove and add the printer again with the new address.

Print a single test page

Open any page, press Ctrl + P, choose the printer as the destination and print one page.

You should see: The page prints without the job sitting in a waiting state.