How to print from Xiaomi phone to printer via Wi-Fi

Xiaomi smartphones are no longer just phone devices, becoming full-fledged mobile offices. Often times, you need to print a document, ticket or photo, and the computer is not at hand. Fortunately, the Android ecosystem and wireless technologies allow you to solve this problem in minutes without unnecessary wires.

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco devices can use several proven methods to organize printing. The choice of the specific method depends on your printer model, operating system version and personal preferences. In this article, we will discuss all the current connection options in detail so that you can choose the most convenient for yourself.

The main advantage of the wireless method is that it's free to do things. You don't have to look for it. USB-You can use cables or connect your phone to your computer, and you can have both devices on the same network, and it starts, and this is especially true for students copying educational materials and office workers working remotely.

Equipment preparation and network setup

Before you start software setup, you need to make sure that the equipment is physically ready. The basic requirement for stable operation is to have a running router and a working printer with Wi-Fi support. Old laser models without a wireless interface will require the purchase of an additional adapter or use the computer as a gateway.

The most common scenario is to connect over a home network. Make sure your Xiaomi smartphone and printer are connected to the same router. If you have a dual-band router, it is advisable that both devices run at 2.4 GHz, since many older printers do not see the 5 GHz network.

⚠️ Note: If your printer supports Wi-Fi Direct, it can create its own hotspot, in which case the phone connects directly to the printer, bypassing the home router, but the Internet access on the phone may disappear.

Check the status of the cartridges and the presence of paper in the tray. Errors often block the device from being detected by the phone. After turning on the printer, wait about a minute until the procedure is complete (self-check) when the device stops making mechanical sounds.

Use of the built-in Mopria service

Starting with certain versions of the MIUI shell, Xiaomi smartphones pre-installed the Mopria Print Service system plugin, a versatile solution supported by most modern printers such as HP, Canon, Epson and Samsung.

To activate the feature, go to your phone's settings. Find Connect and Sharing or Additional Settings. From the list of options available, select Print. Here you'll see the Mopria service switch. If it's off, activate it with a slider.

Once the service is turned on, the phone will automatically search for available printers on the network, and if the device is found, its status will change to Connected. Now you can open documents in the gallery or file manager, click the "More" button (three dots) and select "Print".

In the preview window that opens, you can select the printer you want from the list if there are more than one, and you can also have basic settings: number of copies, page range, sheet orientation and color. Press the print button and the document will go in line.

Mi Print app for Xiaomi ecosystem

For owners of Xiaomi and Redmi equipment, the best solution is the Mi Print application. It is often preinstalled in the Tools or Services folder, but if necessary, it can be downloaded from the GetApps store or Google Play. This application is designed to work with photo printers and MFPs of popular brands.

Run the app and allow access to the LAN. The program automatically scans the environment and offers a list of available devices. If your printer is not displayed, use the Add Printer button and type in IP-a manual address that can be found by printing out the configuration report on the printer itself.

Mi Print features not only print documents, but also create photo collages, scan documents directly into PDF and send them to email. The application interface is fully Russified and adapted for finger control.

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To print photos without fields, select the “No Fields” option in the Mi Print settings and make sure that the tray has loaded photo paper of the appropriate size (usually 10x15 cm).

Printing through Google Cloud Print and third-party services

Although Google’s classic Cloud Print service has been officially shut down, its functionality has moved to native Android capabilities, but for older printer models or specific tasks, you can use intermediary applications such as PrinterShare or NokoPrint.

These applications act as a universal driver, and they can even work with printers that don't directly support wireless printing, if you plug your phone into a computer or use it. OTG-For wireless work, you just need to install an application, select a printer model from a large database, and get started.

The advantage of third-party solutions is that you can control the paper feed, select a particular tray (if there are more than one), and adjust the density of the toner, which is useful when working with graphs or drawings, where line accuracy is important.

⚠️ Warning: Free versions of third-party apps often have restrictions, such as watermarks on documents or a limit on the number of pages per day.

When using cloud services, make sure your phone has mobile internet or Wi-Fi enabled with WAN access. Local printing is faster and does not consume traffic, so it is preferable when you are at home.

Setup of printing photos and documents

The quality of the final copy depends on the correctness of the selected parameters before sending the task. In the print menu, which is called from any application, there are many important settings hidden, ignoring which leads to overspending of paint or defect.

For text documents, always choose Black and White or Toner Savings mode if color is not required, which will significantly save the cartridge life. For photos, instead, you need to choose the type of paper "Gloss" and the maximum quality of printing, so that the colors are saturated.

Special attention is paid to zooming. If you print an Excel spreadsheet or a web page, turn on the option "Enter to the page." Without this, some of the data can be cropped by the edges of the sheet. Orientation (book or landscape) is better set automatically, but for wide tables, you must force the landscape.

When working with important contracts or diplomas, it is recommended to first do a trial printing of one sheet, which will allow you to evaluate the fields and readability of the font. Only after making sure that the display is correct, start printing the entire volume.

Solving Connection Problems and Errors

Even when you set it up properly, it can crash, and the most common problem is that the phone can't see the printer, and 90 percent of the time, it's done by restarting the router, and the network equipment sometimes freezes and stops giving the addresses to the devices correctly.

If the printer is visible but the print is not going, check the queue status. The hung task can block all subsequent ones. Go to the print settings and click "Clear queue." Also helps remove the printer from the list of saved devices and re-add.

Driver issues often occur on newer versions of Android. If the standard plugin doesn't work, go to Settings → Connect and Sharing → Print, click three dots in the corner and select "Default Plugin." Try changing it to System Print Service or updating it via Google Play.

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The main cause of printing errors is desynchronization IP-If the router gives the printer a new address, the phone may try to knock on the old one, and rebooting both devices solves the problem in most cases.

In rare cases, an antivirus or firewall on a router can block the ports needed to transmit print data. Try temporarily disabling traffic filtering or creating an exception to the problem. IP-The address of your printer in the router security settings.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)