My printer appears offline, how to fix it

My printer appears offline, how to fix it

Do you need to print a file and after clicking the Print button nothing happens? You are not the only one who is concerned about this problem. But don't worry, it's not a difficult thing to fix. In fact, you can easily fix it by following the steps below.

Check the printer connection

The printer disconnected state is the printer's way of indicating that something is wrong with the communication between the computer and the printer, through a USB cable or a network connection.

Turn off and then on the printer to restart it. Wait a while for it to be completely ready.

  • If your printer is connected using a USB cable , make sure your printer cable is properly connected.
  • If the printer is connected via a wired network , check that the printer cable is securely connected to the Ethernet port.
  • If your printer is connected through a wireless network , check your printer and make sure it is connected to your PC's network.

Update the printer driver

The problem can be caused by faulty printer drivers. So you can update the printer driver and see if it works.

You can update the printer driver manually by visiting the manufacturer's website, and searching for the latest correct driver.

Update the printer driver

Check the print status

The printer driver provided by Windows Update may change the printer settings without notifying you . Therefore, you must make sure that the status of the printer has no problems:

  1. Turn off the printer and turn it on again.
  2. Press the "Windows + I" key combination. After that click on "Devices".
  3. Click on "Devices and Printers."
  4. Right-click on your printer icon and click "See what's printing."
  5. If what you see here is a gray icon without the green check mark, right-click on the icon and click "Set as default printer."
  6. Then right-click and click "See what's printing."
  7. Click on "Printer." If you see a check mark next to "Pause printing" and "Use printer offline," click them to remove the marks.

Check if you can print now.

Restart the spooler service

Your printer will refuse to work if the spooler service doesn't work well. In some case, this service is somehow disabled. You need to check if it is working first , and then decide whether to restart it or not.

Restart the print queue service

Add a second printer

This method only works when the printer is connected via the network instead of the USB cable.

If none of the above methods work, you can still set a manual IP address for your printer and add a port on your PC to match.

You need to have an IP address for your printer. You can usually find it in your printer's manual. If you don't have the manual, try looking for it on the manufacturer's website.

  1. Press the Windows + I key combination. Click on "Devices."
  2. Click on "Devices and Printers."
  3. Right-click on the printer and select "Printer Properties."
  4. Click on the "Ports" tab and then "Add Port."
  5. Select "Standard TCP / IP Port" and click "New Port."
  6. Click on "Next."
  7. Enter the IP address of the printer. Click "Next."

Your printer should already work perfectly.