You tapped Print from your iPhone, expecting your Epson EcoTank ET-2850 to spring to life, but instead you saw "No Printer Selected" or a list that simply does not include your printer. AirPrint is supposed to be effortless, with no app or driver to install, yet right now nothing is coming out of the tray. The good news is that the ET-2850 is a genuinely AirPrint-enabled wireless all-in-one, so when it refuses to appear the cause is almost always a network mismatch, a stuck print queue, or an out-of-date setting rather than anything broken inside the machine.
Because this is a cartridge-free Supertank model that refills from ink bottles rather than cartridges, none of the usual cartridge-detection fixes apply here. The fixes that matter are about getting your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and the printer talking on the same Wi-Fi, clearing whatever is jamming the queue, and keeping firmware and drivers current. Work through the steps below in order, starting with the simplest and safest, and save the network reset and Epson Support contact for last.
Put the printer and your Apple device on the same Wi-Fi
AirPrint only discovers the ET-2850 when both devices share a single Wi-Fi network. Apple states it plainly: "Make sure that your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your printer." If your phone is on one network and the printer is on another, the printer will never show up in the AirPrint list, no matter how many times you tap.
Check the Wi-Fi name on your iPhone under Settings > Wi-Fi, then confirm the printer's status using the Wi-Fi icon on the ET-2850 LCD, which indicates connection status. A very common cause is the phone sitting on the 5 GHz band while the printer is joined to the 2.4 GHz band of the same router. Epson's official guidance treats the ET-2850 as connecting on the 2.4 GHz band, so getting both devices onto that band is often the whole fix.
Send the print job the way AirPrint expects
If the printer is on the network but you still cannot reach it, make sure you are actually walking through the AirPrint flow rather than looking for an Epson app. No app or driver is required for AirPrint; it is built into iOS and iPadOS.
- 1.Open the app you want to print from.
- 2.Tap the Share button or the Actions button.
- 3.Scroll down and tap the Print button or Print.
- 4.Tap 'No Printer Selected' and choose your AirPrint-enabled Epson printer.
- 5.Choose copies or other options.
- 6.Tap Print in the upper-right corner.
When you tap 'No Printer Selected' and the ET-2850 appears in the list, you know discovery is working and the connection is sound. If it does not appear at this step, move on to the network and restart fixes below.
Restart the router and the printer
A simple power cycle clears a surprising number of AirPrint discovery problems. Apple's official AirPrint troubleshooting says that if your printer is not appearing, restart your Wi-Fi router and then restart your printer, and make sure your iOS device software is up to date.
A power cycle is worth doing on both ends. Turn the printer off and back on, then unplug your router's power, wait briefly, reconnect it, and try again. Give both devices a minute or so to rejoin the network fully before you attempt another print.
Give your 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands separate names
Many modern routers broadcast one network name for both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, which can leave your phone on 5 GHz while the printer cannot follow. Epson's official ET-2850 guidance addresses this directly: "If you are using a 5 GHz wireless router, set the router to operate in dual band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) mode."
It continues: "If your router uses a single network name (SSID) for both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band, give each band its own network name (SSID) instead, such as Home Network 2.4 GHz and Home Network 5 GHz." Once each band has its own name, you can deliberately place both the printer and your iPhone on the band the printer can join, which removes the mismatch that hides the ET-2850 from AirPrint.
Re-confirm the printer's Wi-Fi from its control panel
If the LCD Wi-Fi icon is not showing a connection, set the printer up on your network again from its own control panel. A wrong network name or a mistyped password is one of the most common reasons the ET-2850 silently fails to join.
- 1.Press the home button.
- 2.Select Wi-Fi Setup.
- 3.Choose 'Wi-Fi (Recommended)'.
- 4.Choose your network name (SSID).
- 5.Enter your wireless password.
Epson notes: "If the product is not connected to the network, you may have selected the wrong network name (SSID) or entered the password incorrectly." Watch the Wi-Fi icon on the LCD, which confirms when the printer is connected, and remember to pick the 2.4 GHz network name if you have split your bands as described above.
Clear stuck jobs and bring the printer online
Sometimes the ET-2850 is on the network but a stalled job or an offline status is blocking everything behind it. Clearing the queue and forcing the printer back online frees up new prints, including AirPrint jobs routed through a computer's shared queue.
On Windows, take the printer online first. In the Epson print queue, select Printer and deselect the 'Use Printer Offline' checkbox. Then delete the stuck jobs by going to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers, right-clicking your product name, choosing 'See what's printing', right-clicking the stalled print job, choosing Cancel, then Yes.
On macOS 13.x through 26.x, go to the Apple menu > System Settings > Printers & Scanners, double-click your product to open the print queue, select the pending print job(s), and click the delete icon. On macOS 10.9 through 12, the path is the Apple menu > System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, then double-click your product to open the print queue and remove the pending jobs. If the queue still misbehaves, you can remove the printer and re-add it via the Apple menu > System Preferences or System Settings > Printers & Scanners (or Print & Scan, or Print & Fax), select your printer, click the button to remove it, then re-add it.
Update firmware, drivers, and your device OS
Outdated software on either end can break AirPrint discovery and printing. Apple advises updating your printer (and router) with the latest firmware from the manufacturer and updating your iOS device, so it is worth tackling both at once.
For the printer, use Epson Software Updater, the free Epson tool downloaded from the ET-2850 support page under the Downloads tab, to update the printer driver and check for printer firmware updates. If the connection still fails from a computer, reinstall the full driver and utilities package from the same ET-2850 support page Downloads tab. On your iPhone or iPad, make sure the OS is current, since Apple specifically calls out keeping the iOS device up to date.
Reset the network settings, then contact Epson
If the printer still will not connect after everything above, reset its networking and start the Wi-Fi setup fresh. This is the last self-service step before reaching out to support, so use it only after the earlier fixes have failed.
- 1.Press the home button if necessary.
- 2.Select Settings.
- 3.Select Restore Default Settings.
- 4.Choose 'Network Settings' (or choose 'Clear All Data and Settings' for a full reset that wipes everything).
- 5.Press OK to confirm, or press the stop button to cancel.
Choosing 'Network Settings' clears only the network configuration, while 'Clear All Data and Settings' wipes all stored data and settings on the printer, so pick the narrower option unless you truly want a full reset. After the reset, re-run Wi-Fi Setup from the control panel to rejoin your network. As Epson's offline guidance concludes, "If this does not solve the problem, contact Epson Support."
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to install an app to use AirPrint with the ET-2850?
No. AirPrint is built into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, and no drivers or extra software are needed for AirPrint. You simply tap the Share or Actions button, tap Print, and choose your AirPrint-enabled Epson printer.
Why does my ET-2850 not appear when I tap "No Printer Selected"?
The most common reason is that your Apple device and the printer are not on the same Wi-Fi network. Confirm the network name on your iPhone under Settings > Wi-Fi and check the Wi-Fi icon on the printer's LCD, keeping in mind the ET-2850 connects on the 2.4 GHz band while your phone may be on 5 GHz.
What is the difference between "Network Settings" and "Clear All Data and Settings"?
Under Settings > Restore Default Settings, choosing 'Network Settings' resets only the network configuration, so you keep your other preferences. Choosing 'Clear All Data and Settings' performs a full reset that wipes all stored data and settings on the printer, so use it only when you want to start completely fresh.
Does the ET-2850 use ink cartridges I need to check?
No. The ET-2850 is a cartridge-free Supertank model that refills from ink bottles rather than cartridges, so cartridge-related troubleshooting does not apply. AirPrint problems on this printer are network, queue, or driver related instead.
How do I update the printer's firmware?
Use Epson Software Updater, the free Epson tool from the ET-2850 support page under the Downloads tab, to update the printer driver and check for printer firmware updates. Apple also recommends keeping your router firmware and your iOS device software up to date for reliable AirPrint.
