HP Smart is gone on iPhone: what to use instead

If you’ve looked for HP Smart in the App Store lately, you won’t find it. HP has retired the app and replaced it with a new one, simply called the HP app. Here’s what changed, and what your options are if you just want to print from your iPhone to an HP printer.

What changed

According to HP’s own FAQ, the HP Smart app is no longer available for download. Its replacement, the HP app, combines the features of HP Smart and myHP in one app.

The part most people ask about is the account. HP’s answer has two halves: you don’t need an HP account to use the HP app, but signing in with an HP account is required for its full functionality. HP also notes that not every HP device or service is available in the new app.

If you liked HP Smart because it just worked, that’s worth knowing before you install anything.

Your three options

1. The HP app

HP’s official app for printing and scanning with supported HP printers, plus printer setup and HP services. It’s the right tool for some jobs (see below), and the account requirement only applies to the parts that need it.

2. AirPrint, built into your iPhone

Most HP Wi-Fi printers support AirPrint, Apple’s built-in printing. If yours does, you don’t need any app: open a photo, PDF or web page, tap Share → Print, choose your HP printer and tap Print. No account, no download, nothing to set up.

3. Printer

Our app, Printer, uses the same AirPrint connection and adds what AirPrint can’t do by itself: a document scanner that uses your camera, signing and marking up PDFs, choosing exactly which pages to print, and printing notes, contacts and web pages from one screen. There’s no account and no ads.

Side by side

	HP app	AirPrint (built in)	Printer
Account	Optional; required for full functionality	None	None
Price	Free download	Built into iOS	Free download; Printer Pro subscription for unlimited prints and scans
Works with	Supported HP devices	Any AirPrint printer	Any AirPrint printer, any brand
Scanning	With supported HP devices	Not included	iPhone camera, with automatic edge detection
Sign, crop, pick pages before printing	—	Page range only	Yes
First-time printer setup, ink levels, firmware	Yes	No	No
Data collection	See HP’s App Store privacy label	Part of iOS	“Data Not Collected” on the App Store

Print to an HP printer without the HP app

If your HP printer is already on your Wi-Fi, this is all it takes:

1. Join the same Wi-Fi

   Make sure your iPhone is on the same Wi-Fi network as the printer. A guest network or a separate 5 GHz network can keep them apart.

2. Open what you want to print

   A photo, a PDF in Files, a web page or an email.

3. Tap Share → Print and choose your HP printer

   Tap Printer, select your HP model, set copies and options, then tap Print.

If your HP printer doesn’t appear, work through “No AirPrint Printers Found”. For model-specific tips, see our page on printing from iPhone to HP printers.

Common snags when printing to HP without HP Smart

Most problems after switching away from HP Smart come down to the connection, not the app. If your HP printer doesn’t show up in the print list, check these first:

Still nothing? Our step-by-step fix for “iPhone can’t find printer” goes through the rest in order, from the simplest check to the last resort. If a job starts and then hangs, see print job stuck.

When the HP app is the better choice

Use the HP app when you need something only HP’s software can do:

• Setting up a new printer or moving it to a new Wi-Fi network for the first time.
• Checking ink or toner levels and printer status from your phone.
• Updating the printer’s firmware.
• Managing Instant Ink, HP+ or other HP services tied to your HP account.
• Scanning from the printer’s own scanner glass, if your model is supported.

Nothing stops you from using both: the HP app for setup and maintenance, and AirPrint or Printer for everyday printing.

When Printer makes sense

Printer is a good fit if you:

• want to print and scan without creating an account,
• scan paper with your iPhone’s camera instead of the printer’s glass,
• need to sign a PDF, crop a page or print only some pages before printing,
• have printers from more than one brand at home or at work,
• care that your documents stay on your iPhone. Printer has no ads and no tracking.

Printer is free to download. Printer Pro, a weekly or annual subscription with a 3-day free trial, unlocks unlimited prints and scans, the Pro tools and printing without a watermark. It doesn’t show ink levels, update firmware or set up a new printer. That’s what the HP app is for.