You installed HP Smart on your Snapdragon laptop to set up your printer, and the app crashes on launch — or opens fine but cannot find a printer sitting three feet away that your phone found instantly. Printing is supposed to be solved technology; on ARM Windows it still has sharp edges.

HP Smart on ARM has two layers: the Store app itself (which has an ARM build) and the printer discovery/driver layer underneath. Most failures are not ARM-specific at all — they are network discovery issues (printer and laptop on different bands, VPNs blocking discovery, firewalls) or a corrupted app install. Genuine ARM issues are rarer: very old printers whose drivers were never ported, which is where Brother printer drivers on ARM and Canon printers on ARM laptops face the same wall. App-build confusion of the same family also affects ASUS ProArt PZ13 AI issues and Zoom on ARM64 . Peripheral detection issues have cousins across the OS — Studio Effects mic not detected follows a similar driver-and-permission checklist.

This guide gives you six fixes in order: install the correct Store version, fix app crashes, fix printer discovery, fix driver problems, handle scanning issues, and use driver-free printing as the fallback.

Why this happens

  • Wrong app package installed: The legacy HP Smart desktop download may install an x64 build that misbehaves under emulation — the Microsoft Store version carries the proper ARM build.
  • Corrupted app data: HP Smart’s local cache (discovered printers, sign-in tokens) corrupts after crashed updates, producing launch failures and phantom printers.
  • Printer and laptop on different networks/bands: Discovery protocols (mDNS/Bonjour) do not cross subnets — a printer on 2.4 GHz and a laptop on 5 GHz with client isolation enabled cannot see each other.
  • VPN or firewall blocking discovery: VPNs reroute all traffic away from the LAN; Windows Firewall can block the discovery protocols HP Smart uses.
  • Printer driver not ARM-compatible: Very old HP printers rely on x64-only drivers. Without an ARM64 driver or universal-print support, the printer cannot install properly.
  • Outdated printer firmware: Old printer firmware has buggy network stacks that fail modern discovery — updates fix it.
  • HP account sign-in issues: Some HP Smart features require sign-in; a broken auth token can hang the app at startup.

How to fix it

Work through these in order — diagnose first, then act.

Fix 1: Install the Microsoft Store version

Make sure you have the right app package — the Store version is the ARM-correct one.

  1. Uninstall any HP Smart installed from HP’s website (Settings > Apps > Installed apps).
  2. Open the Microsoft Store, search HP Smart, and install it from there.
  3. Launch the Store version and sign in with your HP account if prompted (you can skip and add it later).
  4. Check Store > Library for HP Smart updates and install any pending — discovery fixes ship regularly.
  5. If the app still crashes on launch, continue to Fix 2 before touching the printer.

Fix 2: Reset or reinstall the app

Crashes, hangs, or phantom printers — clear the app’s local state.

  1. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps > HP Smart > Advanced options.
  2. Click Repair first and test — repair preserves your printers and settings.
  3. If repair does not help, click Reset — this clears all local data; you will re-add printers afterwards.
  4. Still broken? Uninstall HP Smart, restart the laptop, and reinstall fresh from the Microsoft Store.
  5. After reinstall, add your printer before signing in — isolate printer setup from account issues.

Fix 3: Fix printer discovery

The app runs but cannot find the printer — work the network layer.

  1. Confirm the printer and laptop are on the same network — check the printer’s network report for its IP and compare the subnet with the laptop’s (ipconfig).
  2. If the printer only supports 2.4 GHz, temporarily connect the laptop to the 2.4 GHz band too — some routers isolate bands from each other.
  3. Fully quit your VPN and retest discovery — VPNs are the most common discovery killer.
  4. Check Windows Firewall: allow HP Smart through (Settings > Privacy & security > Windows Security > Firewall > Allow an app) for both private and public networks as a test.
  5. Restart the printer (full power cycle, 30 seconds off) and the router — stale mDNS advertisements cause “printer was here yesterday” ghosts.

Fix 4: Fix driver and installation issues

The printer is discovered but will not install, or prints garbage — the driver layer needs attention.

  1. In HP Smart, remove the problematic printer and re-add it, letting the app fetch the driver fresh.
  2. Check HP’s support site for an ARM64 driver package for your exact printer model — install it if one exists.
  3. For older printers with no ARM64 driver, try the HP Universal Print Driver in its PCL6 variant — many legacy models work through it.
  4. In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, remove duplicate or grayed-out entries for the same printer before reinstalling.
  5. Print a Windows test page after each driver change — it isolates driver problems from app problems.

Fix 5: Fix scanning issues

Printing works but scanning fails or the scanner is not found — scanning uses a separate protocol path.

  1. In HP Smart, open the Scan tile and check whether the scanner source lists your printer — if not, the scan driver (WIA/TWAIN) did not install.
  2. Reinstall the full driver package from HP’s site (not just the print driver) — scanning needs the full feature software.
  3. Check Windows Printers & scanners: select the printer, open Printer properties, and confirm a scanner device exists alongside it.
  4. For network scanners, the same discovery rules from Fix 3 apply — VPN off, same subnet, firewall allowed.
  5. As a fallback, use Windows Scan (Microsoft Store, free) — it uses the standard WIA path and works with most HP scanners independently of HP Smart.

Fix 6: Use driver-free universal printing

If the printer is simply too old for ARM drivers, stop fighting and use universal print protocols.

  1. In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, click Add device and let Windows discover the printer via Mopria/IPP.
  2. Most network printers from the last decade support IPP Everywhere — Windows installs them with no manufacturer driver at all.
  3. Test printing a document — basic printing, duplex, and trays usually work; exotic finishing options may not.
  4. For scanning without HP drivers, Windows Scan from the Store covers flatbed and ADF scanning over the network.
  5. Accept the honest tradeoff: universal printing covers 95% of needs — ink-level monitoring and maintenance utilities are what you lose, and those live in HP Smart when it works.

Closing

HP Smart on ARM Windows is a good app with a network-discovery habit of failing for boring reasons — same subnet, VPN off, firewall allowed, printer power-cycled. Get the Store version installed, work the discovery checklist, and most setups complete in minutes. The honest boundary: printers old enough to lack ARM64 drivers and universal-print support are genuinely hard to use on Snapdragon laptops — the IPP fallback in Fix 6 is the practical answer, not another driver hunt. For printer firmware updates, HP’s support site has model-specific instructions.

Frequently asked questions

Does HP Smart work on Windows on ARM?
Yes — HP Smart is available for Windows on ARM through the Microsoft Store, and HP publishes ARM64 printer drivers for many models. Install the Store version rather than the legacy desktop download for the best ARM experience.
Why can't HP Smart find my printer on my Snapdragon laptop?
Discovery failures are usually network issues: the printer and laptop must be on the same network (and the same band — some printers only use 2.4 GHz). VPNs, firewalls, and guest-network isolation all block discovery.
HP Smart crashes on launch. How do I fix it?
Reset the app via Settings > Apps > HP Smart > Advanced options > Reset, then update it from the Microsoft Store. If it still crashes, uninstall and reinstall the Store version — the ARM build specifically.
Do I need HP Smart, or can I print without it?
You can often print without it — Windows 11 includes IPP/Mopria universal print support that works with most network printers driver-free. HP Smart adds scanning, ink levels, and maintenance features, but basic printing does not require it.