iPad printer goes in and out when finding printer

Just upgraded my modem to Zyxel C4000. Now IPad Air printer is out of whack. I can go to Notes/documents…hit print and it finds my Brother printer and prints fine. Then if I go back it tells me “no air printer found” Sometimes it finds printer only in documents but not on web.

Most days it can’t find printer at all? I know I’m on the same network…my Windows computer never has a problem finding the printer at all just the IPAD.

I’ve tried everything…turning Wi-Fi on/off…shutting down printer/modem/IPad nothing works. I have to wait for that out of the blue moment when I hit print and it miraculously finds my printer only to disappear and see no air printer found. Very frustrating.

Has anyone ever had this problem with connection going in and out…problems is with both my air 3 and iPad Pro. Thanks

iPad Air 3 Wi-Fi

Posted on Jul 17, 2022 11:15 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 17, 2022 12:10 PM

You may find that restart of your network components will resolve the problem. You’ll need to restart your network devices in the correct order. Assuming that you WiFi Router provides DNS services for your network, restart devices in this order - allowing time for devices to fully boot/restart prior to restarting other devices:


  • WiFi Router
  • Upstream wired Network Switch(es)
  • WiFi Access Points / Network Extenders
  • Other fixed infrastructure devices - such as Printers
  • Client devices


Restarting your iPad, after restarting other devices in the correct sequence, is most simply achieved by a forced-restart of the iPad:


  • On an iPad with a Home button: Press and hold the top button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.
  • On an iPad with Face ID: Press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the top button. When the Apple logo appears, release the button.




If you continue to have difficulties, check to see if your iPad is using the new WiFi Private Address feature. This feature is intended to provide additional privacy and security when using “public” (untrusted) WiFi networks.

Settings > WiFi > [Your WiFi Network / SSID] - tap the “i” icon - Private Address


The Private Address feature is largely unnecessary for your home WiFi network; if enabled, Private Addressing can interfere with anticipated operation of other devices, such as AirPrint. In such circumstances, you may need to disable this feature - and can be enabled or disabled for each individual network.


Use private Wi-Fi addresses in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 - Apple Support

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 17, 2022 12:10 PM in response to Liz3689

You may find that restart of your network components will resolve the problem. You’ll need to restart your network devices in the correct order. Assuming that you WiFi Router provides DNS services for your network, restart devices in this order - allowing time for devices to fully boot/restart prior to restarting other devices:


  • WiFi Router
  • Upstream wired Network Switch(es)
  • WiFi Access Points / Network Extenders
  • Other fixed infrastructure devices - such as Printers
  • Client devices


Restarting your iPad, after restarting other devices in the correct sequence, is most simply achieved by a forced-restart of the iPad:


  • On an iPad with a Home button: Press and hold the top button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.
  • On an iPad with Face ID: Press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the top button. When the Apple logo appears, release the button.




If you continue to have difficulties, check to see if your iPad is using the new WiFi Private Address feature. This feature is intended to provide additional privacy and security when using “public” (untrusted) WiFi networks.

Settings > WiFi > [Your WiFi Network / SSID] - tap the “i” icon - Private Address


The Private Address feature is largely unnecessary for your home WiFi network; if enabled, Private Addressing can interfere with anticipated operation of other devices, such as AirPrint. In such circumstances, you may need to disable this feature - and can be enabled or disabled for each individual network.


Use private Wi-Fi addresses in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 - Apple Support

Jul 17, 2022 02:39 PM in response to LotusPilot

Thank you so much but I already have an update to give before I tried your steps:

I never shut down the IPad Pro just the Air3 since thats what I use most often. Once I restarted the Pro my printer on both devices was found! I just hope this sticks and does not go out again like before.

If so the secret is to make sure ALL Apple devices are shut down and then restarted

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iPad printer goes in and out when finding printer

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