How to get your printer back online: There may be situations where you need to print any file for an urgent meeting and need to send those files within 30 minutes. So what you usually do is open the file and go to the print option to print the document. But suddenly you noticed that in the bottom right corner of your system, your printer status is showing as offline. This is a common issue for users because even when your printer is clearly ON and ready to print, the status is showing offline.
This is due to the printer’s communication error with your system. There is no particular cause for this error, but the problem could be due to outdated or incompatible drivers, print spooler service conflicts, a problem with the physical or hardware connection of the printer to the PC, etc. So without wasting any time, let’s see how to get your printer back online in Windows 10 with the help of the tutorial given below.
How to get your printer back online in Windows 10
Make sure to create a restore point in case something goes wrong.
Method 1: Check your printer connection
When there is an error showing your printer status as offline, the system wants to tell the users that there is something wrong with the communication between the printer and the system via USB cable or network connection. To solve this problem, the steps are:
- To reset your printer, turn off the printer’s power supply, and then turn it back on.
- Now again check your printer connection.
- If your system is connected to the printer using a USB cable, make sure that your cable is working properly and that the connections to the ports are tight. You can also change the USB port to see if this resolves the issue.
- If the connection of your system with the printer is via wired networks, please check whether the connection to your cable is successful or not. Also, you can check if the signal to your printer is flashing or not.
- If your system’s connection to the printer is via a wireless network, make sure your printer is connected to your computer’s network and the wireless icon will light up to show that it is connected.
If nothing works then you should try running the Printer Troubleshooter:
1. Type “troubleshooting” in Control Panel and then click Solution from problems in the search result.
2. Then in the left window pane, select See everything.
3. Then, in the Troubleshoot my computer list, select Printer.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen and let the Printer Troubleshooter run.
5. Restart your PC and you should be able to put your online printer in Windows 10; if not, continue with the next method.
Method 2: Update the printer driver
1.Press Windows Key + R then type » services.msc » and press enter.
2.Find the print Spooler Service, then right click on it and select Stop.
3.Press Windows Key + R again then type printui.exe /s/t2 and press enter.
4. In the window server properties printer, find the printer that is causing this problem.
5. Next, remove the printer and when prompted for confirmation to also remove the driver, select yes.
6.Go back to services.msc and right click on Print spooler and select Start.
7.Next, go to your printer manufacturer’s website, download and install the latest printer drivers from the website.
For example in case you have an HP printer, you should visit the HP Software and Driver Downloads page . Where you can easily download the latest drivers for your HP printer.
8. If you still can’t correct printer offline status , you can use the printer software that came with the printer. These utilities can usually detect the printer on the network and fix any issues that cause the printer to appear offline.
For example, You can use HP Print and Scan Doctor to solve any problems related to the HP printer.
Method 3: Change the status of the printer
1. Turn off your printer, and then turn it back on.
2.Now press the key combination Windows Key + I to open Setting.
3.Now click on » Devices » and then in the menu on the left side, select the option » Bluetooth and other devices «.
4. in Related Settings, click on ” Devices and printers «.
5. Then you must click with the right button on the printer icon with a green check mark and choose » See what’s printing «.
Note: If there is no default printer set, right-click on your printer and select » Set as default printer «.
6. You will see the printer queue, you will see if there unfinished tasks and make sure remove them from the list.
7.Now from the printer queue window select your Printer and turn off the option “Use printer offline” Y ” pause printer «.
Method 4 – Restart the spooler service
1.Use the shortcut key combination Windows Key + R to open the Run application.
2. Now type » services.msc » and press Enter or click OK.
3. Scroll down to find » Print spooler » in the service utility window and check if the status is being running or not.
4.If you cannot see the status, you can right-click on Print Queue and choose » start «.
5. If not, double-click the spooler service and make sure the Startup Type is set to Automatic and the service is running, then click stop and then click start again to restart the service.
6. Click Apply followed by OK.
7.After that try to add the printer again and see if you can re-add the printer. connect your printer in Windows 10.
Method 5: Use a second printer
This approach to solving the problem will only work when the printer is connected through a network to the PC (instead of the USB cable). Otherwise, you can manually set your IP address for your printer.
1.Press Windows Key + I to open Settings then click Devices.
2. From the menu on the left, click » Bluetooth and other devices «.
3. Now from the right window panel, click on » Devices and printers «.
4. Right click on your printer and select Printer properties in the context menu.
5. Switch to the Ports tab and then click the » button Add port… «.
6. Choose » Standard TCP/IP port » under Available Port Types and then click the button New Port .
7. In the Wizard add standard TCP/IP printer port, click on Following .
8.Now write the IP adress and the port name of the printer and then click Following.
Note: You can easily find your printer’s IP address on the device. Or you can find these details in the manual that came with the printer.
9. Once you have successfully added the Standard TCP/IP printer, click on To finalize.
See if you can put it back your printer online in Windows 10 if not then you need to reinstall your printer drivers.
Method 6 – Reinstall your printer drivers
1. Press Windows Key + R, then type control printers and press Enter to open Devices and printers.
two. Right click on your printer and select » remove device » in the context menu.
3. When the confirmation dialog , click on Yes.
4. After the device has been removed successfully, download the latest drivers from your printer manufacturer’s website .
5. Then restart your PC and once the system restarts press Windows Key + R then type control printers and press Enter.
Note: Make sure your printer is connected to PC via USB, Ethernet, or wirelessly.
6. Click the » button Add a printer » in the Device and Printers window.
7. Windows will automatically detect the printer, select it and click Following.
8. Set your printer as default and click To finalize.
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I hope this article was helpful and now you can bring your printer back online easily on Windows 10 but if you still have any questions regarding this guide then feel free to ask them in the comment section.