Printer Says Offline But Is Connected? Here Are 7 Ways to Fix It Many Windows 10 users have noticed that the printer seems to be offline even when it is connected and turned on. This article contains a number of strategies that should help you solve this problem. When you want to print a document, photo, or text file, the operating system sends it to the printer and starts printing. For this to happen, the printer must be set to ‘Online.’ When the printer status is Offline, it is unable to communicate with the computer and hence cannot print documents. This is a typical problem that can be quite inconvenient, particularly if you need to print documents rapidly or rely on a printer for your daily work. Why Is My Printer Offline? For a variety of reasons, including connectivity issues and powered-down printers, your computer may display an offline printer status. If your printer displays an offline status, see the solutions detailed in the guide below… 1) Check Your Printer Connection Check the computer-printer connection to see if there is a hardware problem. To begin, turn off and on the printer. Wait a few moments for it to finish. If the printer is connected to the computer through a USB cable, make sure that both ends of the cable are properly connected. Make sure it’s also connected to a working USB port on the PC. If the printer uses a Wi-Fi connection, check to determine if it is connected to your computer network. Check that the printer’s cable is properly connected to the Ethernet port if it is connected to a hard-wired network. If there are no physical problems with the cables, USB ports, or other components, the problem is most likely software-related. 2) Run Windows Troubleshooter As a fast check, use the Windows troubleshooter. Windows has a number of troubleshooters designed to quickly identify and automatically resolve a wide range of computer issues. To start troubleshooting, go to Settings, type “troubleshoot,” and then choose “Troubleshoot” from the list. Select “Printer” from the “Get up and running” section, then click “Run the troubleshooter.” The troubleshooting process will start. Follow the steps to see if it finds any printing problems. Restart the computer to see if the printer problem is resolved. 3) Check Your Printing Settings If you have updated the Windows 10 operating system, Windows Update may have changed the printer settings without your awareness. To check how those precise settings are altered, go to Settings and select “Devices.” From the left pane, select “Bluetooth & other devices,” then from the right pane, click “Devices and printers.” By right-clicking the printer symbol with the green checkmark, you may access the context menu and choose “See what’s printed.” If your printer does not have a green checkmark, right-click on it and choose “Set as default printer.” Right-click again and choose “See what’s printed.” By clicking “Printer,” you can view the “Pause Printing” and “Use Printer Offline” settings. A check mark will appear next to both of them if they are enabled. Now, go to “Printer” and see if 4)Add Second Printer Consider adding a “second printer.” This strategy is only applicable if your printer is network-connected to your computer (and not via USB). To begin, you must know your printer’s IP address. It should be included in the printer’s manual or available on the manufacturer’s website. Go to Settings, then “Devices,” and finally to the “Bluetooth & other devices” section on the left pane. Look for “Devices and printers” under “Related settings” on the right pane and click it. When you right-click the default printer, choose “Printer properties” from the context menu. In the printer properties box, select the “Ports” tab, then click “Add Port…”. If “Add Port…” is greyed out, right-click the printer and select “See what’s printing” from the contextual menu. From the “Printer” menu, choose “Open as administrator.” Then, click “Printer” again and select “Poperties.” Return to the Ports tab; you should now see “Add Port” as an option. In the Printer Ports window, select “Standard TCP/IP Port” and then click “New Port…”. In the Printer Port Wizard window, click “Next.” Make that the printer is turned on and the network is correctly connected and configured. Enter the printer’s IP address and port name for the specified device. Choose “Next.” Follow the steps to see if this fixes the printer problem. 5) Restart The Print Spooler Service Windows Services (services.msc) are used to change how Windows services behave on your system. You can modify a service’s parameters for security, debugging, and performance reasons. One of these is the Print Spooler service. This service manages printer interactions and spools print jobs. If you disable this service, you will be unable to print or see your printers shown on the system. To restart the Print Spooler service, open the Run dialogue box by pressing the Windows key (Win key) + R on the keyboard. You may also acquire it by doing a search for “run” and selecting the “Run” result. Enter “services.msc” in the Run dialogue box and press Enter or click “OK.” Enter “services.msc” in the Run dialogue box and press Enter or click “OK.” A list of services will be displayed. Find and choose the “Print Spooler” service. Select “Restart” from the contextual menu to see if this resolves the printer status issue. 6) Disable VPN Turning off or disconnecting a VPN (Virtual Private Network) fixed the printer status issue for certain customers. If you are using a VPN client, we recommend that you temporarily disable it. Some users have reported that when connected to a VPN, the printer status is displayed as “Offline.” Connect the printer by USB cable or unplug from the VPN before printing papers. You can also fix the problem by changing the VPN configuration settings and granting yourself ‘local network access.’ 7) Re-add Printer This section explains how to uninstall and then reinstall the printer. Windows should install the relevant printer drivers…
Read more
Recent Comments