Printing from Android Device

[chuckawd]

My mom is trying to figure out how to print using her phone and tablet both of which are Android devices. I have no problem printing but I have a wireless printer connected to my WiFi network. She doesn't have home internet or a WiFi network set up but did just buy a wireless printer. What are the options here? The printer is not Bluetooth enabled either but the sales guy at Best Buy convinced her that she could print from her phone or tablet without a WiFi network and that is beyond my techno level if you will.

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[jdub1981]

Not possible. Just get her a 20 dollar router. Connect the printer to it wirelessly and all is good.

Btw best buy employees typically dont know what they are talking about. There are exceptions, but most of the time they dont.

 

[jdub1981]

To further elaborate on the printer, wireless printers must have an ip adress that is given to it by a router. Thats how the phone and printer find each other on the network. Bluetooth devices pair so no router is needed. Are you sure her printer does not have bluetooth?

 

[chuckawd]

To further elaborate on the printer, wireless printers must have an ip adress that is given to it by a router. Thats how the phone and printer find each other on the network. Bluetooth devices pair so no router is needed. Are you sure her printer does not have bluetooth?

I'm sure about the Bluetooth indeed. I have been telling her to get a router but she's stuck on what the BB guy said. Router it is! Thanks man!

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[chuckawd]

To further elaborate on the printer, wireless printers must have an ip adress that is given to it by a router. Thats how the phone and printer find each other on the network. Bluetooth devices pair so no router is needed. Are you sure her printer does not have bluetooth?

Can you set up a wireless router without a PC?

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[KahneFan]

Can you set up a wireless router without a PC?

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I would think you could with the tablet? If the tablet has WiFi any router today should have an admin URL you can type into the tablet's browser to access the "backend" of the router.

 

[Centro85#AC]

I bought USB Bluetooth dongles for the work printers in some of the places I go week to week. I never could get my Pentax Pocketjet to print off the phone, even using bluetooth, but using PrinterShare premium/usb bluetooth dongles/hp home printers stationed certain places have been working fine.

 

[Uristocles]

More out of curiosity than anything:

I wonder how the Eye-Fi cards work. It's relevant to this thread because theoretically you can upload pictures automatically from your camera (that has an eye-fi memory card) straight to your phone on the road via wi-fi. And by "on the road" I mean in a field with no router.

I'm guessing there are probably some printers that also support something like this and some that don't. (HP Wireless Direct for example?)

I dunno - I don't own any of the above technology but have just read about them. I'd find out if that printer has some function like that or not. My knee-jerk reaction is to agree with most other folks on this thread that's probably the exception; but it doesn't hurt to figure out.

(I feel like saying something along the lines of "C'mon manufacturers -- we can send someone to the moon. We should be able to print from devices... haha.")

 

[bclinger#IM]

A painless method: purchase an HP Internet ready wireless printer, set it up with an HP email address, install the HP Android wireless application, set it up, and use it. Works with wifi or cellular.

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