HP printers are undoubtedly the best when it comes to high-quality and speedy printing. The brand has a good amount of printer models to choose from and for every printer, there is a compatible driver. Installing the driver for your printer is really important if you want the printer to work smoothly. HP printer drivers enhance productivity and provide high-quality output.
In this guide, you will read about the different methods available to download and install the driver for your HP printer.
– Allow Windows Update to Download Driver Automatically
Firstly, you need to set the computer to download driver software automatically.
- Look for ‘Change device installation settings’ and open it.
- Select ‘Yes’ when you see the Device Installation Settings window and click ‘Save Changes’.
– Setting Up HP Printer
Next, you have to set up your printer and connect it to your computer before proceeding to the driver installation process. There are three methods that you can undertake for HP printer installation i.e. to establish a connection between your printer and computer.
- Setting Up HP Wireless Printer
- Setting Up HP Printer for USB Connection
- Setting Up HP printer with Wired Connection
– Installing The Driver
Now, you have to install the driver for your printer as the last step. There are two methods using which you can install the driver for your HP printer model.
Method-1: Use the Windows Add a Printer wizard to install the built-in print driver.
- Wireless or wired network connection (Windows 10, 8)Here are the steps to be followed to use the built-in print driver over a network connection and install HP drivers for Windows 10 or 8.
- Through the ‘Start’ menu, go to Control Panel.
- Then click on the option ‘Devices and Printers’, and then select ‘Add a printer’.
- For the option, ‘choose a device or printer to add to this PC’, select your printer, press ‘Next’, and follow the instructions to install the driver.
- If your printer is not in the list, click ‘The printer I want isn’t listed’, and click on the option ‘Add a local printer or network printer’.
- Press ‘Next’ and select the port to be used by your printer, and hit ‘Next’.
- Click on ‘Windows Update’ and wait till the print drivers get updated.
- Click HP in the Manufacturer pane, and then choose the name of your printer from the Printers pane.
- If your printer is not listed, click the back arrow to return to the ‘Find a printer by other options’.
- Then, select the option ‘Add a printer using TCP/IP address or hostname’, press ‘Next’.
- Choose ‘AutoDetect’ from the drop-down menu.
- Enter your printer IP address into the text box, and click ‘Next’. You can also print a Wireless Network Test report or a Network Configuration page to find the printer IP address.
- Wait till the computer connects to the printer, and press ‘Next’ to install the HP driver.
- Wired or Wireless Network Connection (Windows 7, Vista)Here are the steps to be followed to use the built-in print driver over a network connection and install the HP printer driver for windows 7 or Vista
- Go to ‘Control Panel’ via the ‘Start’ menu.
- Then click on the option ‘Devices and Printers’, and select ‘Add a printer’.
- Next, click on Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer.
- On the next window, select your printer, press ‘Next’, and follow the on-instructions to install the driver.
- If your printer is not listed, go back to the previous window.
- Click on the option ‘Add a local printer’ and select ‘Use an existing port’, press ‘Next’.
- Click on ‘Windows Update’ and wait till the print drivers get updated.
- Click HP in the Manufacturer pane, and then choose the name of your printer from the Printers pane.
- If your printer is listed, select it, press ‘Next’, and follow the instructions to install the driver.
- If your printer is not listed, go back to the ‘What type of printer do you want to install?’ window.
- Hit Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer window, and click ‘The printer that I want isn’t listed’.
- Choose ‘Add a printer using TCP/IP address or hostname’, press ‘Next’.
- Choose ‘AutoDetect’ from the drop-down menu.
- Enter your printer IP address into the text box, and click ‘Next’. You can also print a Wireless Network Test report or a Network Configuration page to find the printer IP address.
- Wait till the computer connects to the printer, and press ‘Next’ to install the driver.
- USB Connection (Windows 10, 8)Here are the steps to be followed to install the built-in print driver through a USB connection with Windows 10 or 8.
- Through the ‘Start’ menu, go to Control Panel.
- Then click on the option ‘Devices and Printers’, and then select ‘Add a printer’.
- For the option, ‘choose a device or printer to add to this PC’, select your printer, press ‘Next’, and follow the instructions to install the driver.
- If your printer is not listed, click ‘The printer I want isn’t listed’, and click on the option ‘Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings’.
- Press ‘Next’ and select ‘Use an existing port’, and again press ‘Next’.
- Click on ‘Windows Update’ and wait till the print drivers get updated.
- Click HP in the Manufacturer pane, and then choose the name of your printer from the Printers pane.
- Press ‘Next’, and go with the instructions to install the driver.
- Remove the USB cable of the printer from the computer, and then re-join the cable.
- USB Connection (Windows 7, Vista)Here are the steps to be followed to install the built-in print driver through a USB connection with Windows 7 or Vista.
- Through the ‘Start’ menu, go to Control Panel.
- Then click on the option ‘Devices and Printers’, and then select ‘Add a printer’.
- Next, click on ‘Add a local printer’.
- Select ‘Use an existing port’, and again press ‘Next’
- Click on ‘Windows Update’ and wait till the print drivers get updated.
- Click HP in the Manufacturer pane, and then choose the name of your printer from the Printers pane.
- Press ‘Next’, and go with the instructions to install the driver.
- Remove the printer USB cable from the computer, and then reconnect the cable.
Method-2: Get Drivers from HP
HP also provides drivers for its printers that are compatible with the operating system of your computer. HP has a support page from where you can directly download the software and driver for your printer and can update them as well whenever required. Here is the process you need to follow to download and install the HP printer driver.
Downloading the Driver
- Go to the HP Customer Support – Software and Driver Downloads page and under the heading, ‘Let’s identify your product to get started’, select ‘Printer’.
- On the next page, under the heading ‘Identify your printer’, enter your product name i.e. your printer’s name.
- Or you can also select your printer from the list given just below the ‘Identify your printer’ section.
- Once you select your printer, you will see the drivers available for download.
- Click on the ‘Download’ option and the download process will start.
- Once the file is completely downloaded, you can proceed with the installation process.
Installing the Driver
Once you have downloaded the file for your HP printer driver, here are the steps that you need to undertake to install it:
- Go to the location where you have saved the downloaded driver file and double-click the file.
- Click ‘Ok’ when your operating system asks for approval and then click ‘Next’ to approve the default installation location and launch the install wizard.
- Choose out of the ‘recommended installation or a custom installation’. The recommended version will automatically install all the components while the custom installation will let you select the options you want.
- After the process is over, click ‘Install’ and press ‘Finish’.