If you have tried to print a document in Windows 10 but it won’t print and printer status showing offline there are chances the printer itself not run on. And turning on the printer and waiting a few seconds for the status to change from offline to online. But if still printer says offline there are chances it’s due to paper jam or going out of paper. If its network printer keeps going offline there are chances minor network connectivity issues.
Again if the connection between the computer and the printer is slow/unresponsive, multiple unfinished print jobs are in the queue or the printer has encountered an internal error printer driver problem or the print spooler service not running also causes this problem as well. Whatever the reason keep reading this post to change the printer’s status from “offline” to “online” and fix printer problems in windows 10.
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What To Do When Your Printer is Offline
If this is the first time you experience this problem check printer is turned on, If it’s already then try power cycling your printer and computer.
If you have a local printer connected through a USB cable make sure the cable to your printer and CPU USB port is well connected. Well if the connection cable is loose, too old, or broken, you may need to replace them if needed.
Again if you have a network shared printer check your PC network connection and also check the PC it turns on where the printer is physically installed. For network, printers check the LAN cable connected properly to the Ethernet port.
Make Printer Online in Windows 10
Sometimes, even though the printer is online and connected, the settings are incorrectly configured which causes the printer offline state.
- Open control panel,
- Click hardware and sound then Devices and Printers,
- Here Check if the correct printer is set to Default,
- Now Right-click on your default printer and select the print queue,
- Here if unfinished tasks are pending there, remove them from the list.
- Now click on Printer in the menu bar and then make sure to uncheck Pause Printing and Use Printer Offline.
Restart the Print Spooler service
the print spooler service handles the print jobs on Windows computer If the service is stuck or not started you might experience printing problems.
- Press Windows Key + R type services.msc. Press Enter or click OK
- This will open the windows services console, locate the Print Spooler service, right-click it and choose Restart from the menu.
- If the print spooler service is not started right-click and select properties, here change startup type automatic and start the service next to service status.
- Click apply and ok to make save changes, restart your PC and check if the problem is solved.
Run the Troubleshooter
If the printer is Grayed Out, the option to make printer Online is grayed out or the printer comes online briefly and then goes back offline again, there are chances the problem is with the Windows printing subsystem, and running the build-in troubleshooter might help.
- Open settings using Windows + I keyboard shortcut,
- Go t update & security then click troubleshoot on left,
- Now on the right-hand side select printer and click run the troubleshooter option,
- And follow on screen instructions to start the diagnosis process,
- This will check the printer drivers or compatibility issues, print spooler service is running, clear stuck print job and more.
- Once the troubleshooting process completes restart your PC and checks if the printer showing online.
Reinstall your printer drivers
If you can’t get the printer working yet, then there are chances the printer driver causing the issue. And in such situations, the best option might be to remove and then reinstall the printer. According to few windows 10 users, the Printer Offline message was fixed after reinstalling printer drivers.
- Go to the Devices and Printers section in Control Panel.
- Locate your printer, right-click it and choose Remove device
- When the confirmation dialog appears, click on Yes.
Once done restart your PC to completely remove the printer drivers from your PC. Next, download the latest driver for it from your printer manufacturer and install them. After doing that, the problem should be resolved.
Use Printer Manufacturer Diagnostic Tool
If your printer is still showing offline, run the printer diagnostic tool offered by the manufacturers itself that resolves the common problem related to their printer. Some of the most popular ones are HP Print and Scan Doctor, For Canon, go to their support site, enter your model number and then click on the Software tab. You can download their My Printer software to manage and maintain your printer. The same thing applies to other printer manufacturers as well.
Also read:
- Fix Windows Cannot Connect to the Printer Error in Windows 10
- How to Cancel or Delete a Stuck Print Job in Windows 10, 8.1 and 7
- Solved: Print Spooler keeps stopping Not Running on Windows 10
- Solved: Can’t print documents, Printer Driver is unavailable in Windows 10
- Step By Step Install and Configure Printer on Windows 10
