Wireless printers use significant network bandwidth and interfere with the wireless of others on the network, even while they are idle. For this reason, ITS highly recommends that you use a USB cable to connect your printer to your computer instead of wireless.

If your wireless printer does not have a USB port, activate it on the BC network:

1. Find the printer's MAC address (consult your printer's documentation).
   A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a 12-digit alphanumeric code that is unique to each piece of networking hardware, and necessary in the Boston College wireless activation process.
2. Once you have the MAC address, use a computer that is already activated on the BC network and go to activate.bc.edu to activate your printer on the BC network.
3. To minimize the interference to others on the wireless network, make sure to turn it off when it is not needed. Note: When large printouts are in progress, overall wireless network throughput could be slower than expected.

Need help? Call the Help Center at 617-552-HELP (4357) or bring your printer to the Walk-In Help Desk.

Once activated, use these settings for your printer:

• Configure your printer for wireless, DHCP, and select an SSID (consult your printer's documentation).
• To use "bcsecure" (the secure network), you'll need to enter the secure password. You can find the password at www.bc.edu/secure.