You tapped Share, hit Print, and waited for your HP Smart Tank 5101 to show up in the AirPrint list, but your iPhone or iPad just spins on "No AirPrint Printers Found" or never sends the page. The good news is that the Smart Tank 5101 (product number 1F3Y0A) genuinely supports Apple AirPrint, so this is almost always a network or queue problem rather than a missing feature. The most common culprit on this model is its wireless band, because it talks to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only, so if your phone has drifted onto a 5 GHz network the two devices simply cannot see each other.
The fixes below are ordered from the quickest, safest checks to the official reset and support steps you should only reach for last. Work through them in order and stop as soon as printing comes back. Because the 5101 uses a button-and-icon control panel (Power, Wireless, Information, Resume, Cancel, and Black Copy buttons) rather than a touchscreen menu, every on-printer step here is a physical button press, not a menu tap.
Put Both Devices on the Same 2.4 GHz Network
AirPrint only finds printers that share the exact same Wi-Fi network as your Apple device. Apple's own guidance is direct, stating that your iPhone or iPad "must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your printer." HP echoes this, stating that "to use AirPrint, the printer must be connected to the same wireless network subnet as the Apple iOS device," and that when the printer is on the network the iOS device should automatically detect it with no extra setup.
The wrinkle specific to this printer is the band. HP confirms the Smart Tank 5101's "Wireless operations are compatible with 2.4 GHz routers only," so the printer can never join a 5 GHz network. If your router uses one combined name for both bands, your iPhone may be sitting on 5 GHz where it cannot see the printer at all.
- 1.Open your iPhone or iPad's Wi-Fi settings and confirm which network it is joined to.
- 2.If your router broadcasts separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz names, make sure the 2.4 GHz band is enabled and join your phone to it.
- 3.If your router uses one combined name, temporarily join the 2.4 GHz network, or split the bands so the printer and phone share a band.
- 4.Press the printer's Information button to print an information page, which shows its network connection so you can confirm which network the printer is actually on.
Wake the Printer and Power-Cycle Everything
AirPrint cannot find a printer that is asleep or sitting in an error state, and a slow or intermittent connection can make the printer flicker in and out of the AirPrint list. A clean restart of every link in the chain clears stuck states without changing any of your settings.
- 1.Press any button on the printer's control panel to wake it to a ready state.
- 2.Turn the printer off and back on to clear any error condition.
- 3.Restart your iPhone or iPad.
- 4.Unplug your Wi-Fi router's power, wait 15 seconds, then plug it back in to clear a slow or intermittent network connection.
Give the router a minute or two to fully come back online, then try printing again before moving on.
Confirm AirPrint Is Switched On for the Printer
AirPrint can be turned off at the printer level, in which case no amount of restarting will make it appear. You can check and enable it from the HP app or directly in the printer's Embedded Web Server.
- 1.Open the HP app or the printer's Embedded Web Server and select Network.
- 2.Look for AirPrint in the list.
- 3.Under AirPrint Status, select "Turn on AirPrint."
If AirPrint does not appear at all in that menu, the printer is not exposing it on that connection, and in that situation HP's guidance is to use an alternate method such as Wi-Fi Direct printing. For the Smart Tank 5101, though, AirPrint is part of the printer's official mobile-printing specs, so it should be available once the printer is properly on the network.
Update Your iPhone and Improve the Signal
AirPrint is built into iOS and iPadOS and needs no extra driver or app to work, which is exactly why keeping your device current matters, since the printing capability ships with the operating system. HP's own AirPrint-not-found checklist includes keeping your iPhone or iPad updated and tightening up the wireless signal.
Install any pending iOS or iPadOS update from your device's software-update screen. Then, if the printer sits far from the router, move the printer and your Apple device closer to the router to improve signal quality. A weak signal is a frequent reason a printer appears and disappears from the AirPrint list.
Clear a Stuck Queue on Windows
If you also print to this device from a Windows PC, an offline flag or a jammed queue on the computer can block jobs even when AirPrint from your phone looks fine. Start with the simple toggles before touching the spooler.
- 1.Open the print queue window for the printer.
- 2.Make sure "Pause Printing" and "Use Printer Offline" are not selected, and if a checkmark displays next to either item, select the item to clear the checkmark.
If the queue is jammed and jobs will not clear, reset the print spooler. Search Windows for and open Services (services.msc), right-click "Print Spooler" and select Stop, then delete all files in C:\Windows\System32\Spool\PRINTERS. Restart the computer and turn on the printer, then try printing again.
Reset Printing From a Mac
On a Mac, a corrupted queue or a stale printer entry can stop jobs the same way. The official fix clears everything and rebuilds the printer from scratch.
Be aware this is a clearing action. Resetting the printing system removes all printers and clears all jobs and saved settings, so you will need to re-add the printer afterward.
- 1.Open Printers & Scanners.
- 2.Right-click (or Control-click) in the Printers list and select "Reset printing system," which removes all printers and clears all jobs.
- 3.Restart the printer.
- 4.Click Add Printer and re-add the Smart Tank 5101.
Run the HP App's Diagnose and Fix Tool
The HP app includes an automatic repair tool that checks for and fixes several common print-stopping problems in one pass, so it is worth running before any reset. Install the HP app from 123.hp.com or your device's app store if you do not already have it, then launch the Diagnose & Fix tool, which is available for Windows and macOS.
Let the tool run to completion and follow any prompts it gives you, then test AirPrint again from your iPhone or iPad. If it reports a problem it cannot fix on its own, note what it found before moving on to the reset steps below.
Restore Wi-Fi Setup Mode, Then Factory Reset as a Last Resort
If the printer still cannot be found after everything above, the next step is to put it back into Wi-Fi setup mode and re-add it cleanly. This re-opens the printer's setup window without wiping your other settings, and the setup window stays active for up to two hours.
- 1.With the printer on, press any button to wake it.
- 2.Press and hold the Information button for 5 seconds until the buttons light up.
- 3.Press and hold the Wireless and Cancel buttons together for 5 seconds until the Wi-Fi light blinks blue.
- 4.Open the HP app and select Add printer to reconnect it.
If problems persist even after re-adding the printer, the official last-resort step is a full factory reset. Note that this returns the printer to its out-of-box state and clears its settings, so you will need to re-run setup and reconnect it to your Wi-Fi afterward.
- 1.Press and hold the Power button.
- 2.Without releasing it, press and hold the Black Copy and Resume buttons until a spinning-wheel animation displays on the control panel.
- 3.After about 20 seconds the printer restarts automatically.
- 4.Re-run setup, reconnect the printer to your 2.4 GHz network, and add it again in the HP app.
If AirPrint still will not find the Smart Tank 5101 after a factory reset and a fresh setup, contact HP support for further help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the HP Smart Tank 5101 actually support AirPrint?
Yes. AirPrint is listed among the Smart Tank 5101's official mobile-printing solutions, alongside Mopria Print Service, the HP Print Service Plugin for Android, and Wi-Fi Direct printing. AirPrint is built into iOS and iPadOS and needs no extra drivers or software to use.
Why does my iPhone say no AirPrint printers were found?
The most common reason on this model is a band mismatch. The Smart Tank 5101 connects to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only, so if your iPhone is on a 5 GHz network it cannot see the printer. Make sure both the printer and your iPhone are on the same 2.4 GHz network, since AirPrint only finds printers that share your Apple device's Wi-Fi network.
Can the Smart Tank 5101 connect to a 5 GHz network?
No. HP states the Smart Tank 5101's wireless operations are compatible with 2.4 GHz routers only. If your router broadcasts a 5 GHz band, you still need to keep the 2.4 GHz band enabled and connect the printer to it.
How do I check which network the printer is on?
Press the printer's Information button to print an information page. It shows the printer's network connection so you can confirm it is on the same network as your iPhone or iPad.
Will a factory reset delete my settings?
A factory reset returns the printer to its out-of-box state, so you will lose your saved settings and need to re-run setup and reconnect it to Wi-Fi. Try Wi-Fi setup mode and the HP app's Diagnose & Fix tool first, and only use the Power plus Black Copy plus Resume reset as a last resort.
