Printers are certainly not a new technology, so you would think they would have no problems anymore. Unfortunately, this is not the case. One question you may encounter is when your printer is showing offline in Windows 10.
Any good printer can connect to your computer via Wi-Fi. However, what can you do when you get the dreaded “printer offline” status error? How do I turn the Printer back on online?
- Check the connection to your computer and Printer.
First things first: check all printer cables. Make sure they are correctly connected to the Printer and the computer.
Second, check that your network is working. If you are having trouble connecting to the Internet, it is not a localized problem with the Printer. If so, our guide on how to fix Windows 10 Wi-Fi issues will come in handy.
Third, if possible, use a different method to connect the computer to the Printer. If you are using Wi-Fi, switch to Ethernet and vice versa.
- Restart the Printer and the computer.
Power cycling is the act of turning on / off something. It’s the old tech tip, but you’ll be surprised how often it works.
First, turn off your computer and Printer. Then, unplug the power cord from the Printer, wait up to 30 seconds, and plug it back in. Wait again for the Printer to start up completely – it will not return from standby, so that it may take longer than usual.
Once the Printer is on, turn the computer back on and see if the Printer is now online.
- Run the printer troubleshooter
Windows 10 includes a set of troubleshooting tools that aim to detect and resolve problems automatically. There is a printer troubleshooting tool you can run, and I hope it fixes the offline printer error.
Press Windows key + I to open Settings and click Devices> Printers & Scanners. In the right menu, under Related Settings, click Run the troubleshooter.
The troubleshooter will open and run a series of checks. If it finds any problems, it will tell you what they are and the steps taken to solve them. If you don’t see the problem, you can still click View Details for analysis.
- Deactivate the “Use Printer Offline” mode
It would help if you verified that the “Use Printer Offline” mode is not enabled. You may have done this incorrectly, or the Printer or some software may have turned it on.
Press Windows key + I to open Settings. Go to Devices> Printers and scanners. Select your Printer and click Open Queue. Click Printer on the toolbar and make sure the Use Printer Offline option does not have a checkmark next to it. If so, click to disable it.
- Set the Printer as the default
Windows can automatically set the last used Printer as the default printer. This can be useful, but it could be why the Printer you want to use is offline.
To fix this, press Windows Key + I to open Settings, click Devices> Printers & Scanners, select your Printer, and click Open Queue.
Click Printer on the top toolbar and click Set as default printer. You may receive a message that says: “Setting this printer as the default means that Windows will stop managing the default printer.” If you do, do click on OK.
- Restart the spooler service.
The print queue is a service that manages the interaction with the Printer. Restarting this service can bring the printer back online.
Open the Start menu, search for services and open the corresponding application. Scroll down until Spool Printing appears in the Name column. When you find it, right-click and click Restart.
- Update the printer drivers.
If there are no problems with your computer, there is no need to update the drivers. However, it is sometimes necessary to find and replace outdated drivers, and an offline Printer is one such situation where updating drivers can help.
To do this, press Windows Key + X and select Device Manager. In the new window, double-click on the Printers category. After that, then Right-click on the Printer and click Update Driver.
If no updates are found, double-check the printer manufacturer’s website (HP, Canon, Brother, or whatever).
- Use the printer software.
Some printer manufacturers have their software to help you manage and troubleshoot the Printer. In this case, you need to install the software (the Printer may have a software CD, otherwise find it on its website).
You can check if you have already installed it. Then press Windows key + I to open Settings. Click Devices> Printers & Scanners, select the Printer, and click Manage. If the software is installed, you will see a button labeled Open Printer Application.
- Remove and reinstall the Printer.
If all else fails, you can remove the Printer from your computer and then add it again.
To do this, you have to click on Windows key + I to open Settings. Go to Devices> Printers and scanners. Select your Printer, click Remove Device, then click Yes.
Then click Add Printer or Scanner. Follow the wizard to reconnect the printer to the computer.
