IP (Internet Protocol) , surely we have heard this term in countless texts, the reason is that it is widely used on the Internet, and basically it is a communication protocol. But, if we join this and complete it with IP address , we say that it is a network registry. Which means that all devices are assigned a number of this type. Well, it is with which they connect and interact in the virtual world.
As we well know, the world of technology has advanced and with it the devices, thus linking them to the digital and facilitating all processes. When printers come with network connectivity, they use this address to connect directly or wirelessly to other computers, making their functionality easier.
To explain more about this and the steps you need to know this identification in the different operating systems, we invite you to continue reading to discover it.
Index:
What type of IP address is that of a printer?
The IP is the address adopted by the different devices to connect to each other or to the Internet. If this is not acquired, they could not communicate with others, nor link to the network, so there would be no way to exchange information.
There are two types of public and private IP:
- Private IPs are those used to identify different computers within a private network, be it your home or business. That is, the devices that are in your home (computer, printer or mobile), are connected through a WiFi connection, so each of them has a private IP address.
- By On the contrary, a Public IP is the one used to identify the computers within a public network, such as the Internet. Routers have such an address, as they are linked to the public Internet network.
In general, the printers work in private IP addresses and for security measures that is the most recommended. This is because it is not a device that feeds directly from the Internet, unlike a computer which usually works with a public IP.
It should be noted that this is generated automatically when they are connected to a network and the connection is made through installation programs that they bring.
Why do I need to know the IP address of the printer and any hardware?
Knowing the IP addresses of your printer or some of your hardware devices that work with the Internet, it is very important to be able to access some configuration parameters of these.
Particularly in the case of printers, is used to connect from other computers to the same network on which it is operating.
Steps to find the IP of my printer and other hardware of my computer
If you do not find any way to know your IP address, today we will show you how to do it with these simple, basic steps in any operating system.
In Windows 7 and 8
The path to follow is the same or similar in the 3 Windows. However, the 10 menus vary by being a more updated system, therefore, the entries have different names. Consequently, here we will only focus on the first 2.
- The first thing will be to go to “Control Panel” > accountedH ardware and sound »>” View device and printers “.
- Once you follow these menus, you only have to identify the connected printer, and with the mouse we will right click on it and click on “Printer properties”.
- Then we must go to “Ports”> “Configure port”. There you must see if the number indicated is within the private IPs.
In Windows 10
In this case we will use the printer properties:
- The first thing will be to go to «Start»> «Settings»> »Devices».
- Once you access these menus you will see that here you can find all the devices you can have or have. In this case you should go to «Printers and scanners».
- There you must find the name of your device and select it. Click on it to open the options, which are: “Open queue”, “Manage” and “Remove device”.
- Click “Manage” and then “Printer properties”.
- In the “Ports” tab we will see the type that has been assigned to this.
On the contrary, if we want to add a new printer and know its respective IP we must go back. In the option “Printers and scanners” we will click on where it says “Add a printer or scanner”.
- In the wizard that was deployed, we will select «Add a printer using a TCP / IP address or host name».
- Then press “Next”, and in the other window choose “Web service device” in the field “Device type” .
- We follow the instructions they give us and finally we can know the type of port assigned to the Web Services Devices, and in the left column we will find the MAC address of the printer.
On MacOS
On a Mac computer the procedure is a bit simpler:
- We enter the Apple menu.
- We go to the “System Preferences” section.
- We choose the option «Printing and scanning».
- Finally, we choose the printer from which we need to know the IP address and we enter its configuration to see this data.
On Linux
To know this information in linux we must follow the following steps:
- With the printer on, connected to the computer and the network, we will go to “Control panel for printer management”, in “Systems settings”
- Click on the «Printing»
- Then, we will select the name of the printer model to which we are looking for the address, and in the management of this in the “Network” section we will find the IP.
Five different methods to find the IP of my printer
In case the aforementioned was not enough for you, here are another 5 different ways to find your identification:
Print a report
Another common way to do this is by printing the configuration page from the printer itself to know the address it has:
- For this we must turn it on .
- Then we must press and hold the “Feed & Cut” button for at least 10 seconds.
- This will automatically print a sheet with all the information.
From the printer screen 
Currently, most of these devices have a screen where we can observe different things, including the IP address. So it is appropriate to use it to see what identification number you have and also to connect it to the WiFi if necessary.
Although each of these is different, many times we can see its properties by accessing the settings or its configuration from its buttons. Once there we can find it near the connection option to the Internet network as shown in the image.
From the printer software 
All these bring a configuration software, which is the one used to install it and later to configure it to the computer. From this part we also have a way to meet her.
From the router’s DHCP
If it has a connection to the router, one of the ways is to do it from its configuration. Consequently, we must enter the browser to it, we look for the DHCP server and we can visualize the IP.
Keep in mind that this IP may vary depending on the server, so the best way to adjust it and this does not happen, is to establish a fixed IP. How do we do this? Manually. Where from?
- From the software.
- From the screen you have.
- From a computer.
- From the router configuration.
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With an application
Fing is an application that is used in Android and iOS to know which devices are connected to your WiFi and to help you identify them. This is how it has been positioned among the best tools of network scanner Reason why this software also makes it easy for us to find the IP address of a printer, locate it and get all the important information about it.