Connectivity

How to fix a printer that shows "Offline" in Windows 10 & 11

An "offline" printer that is clearly powered on is almost always a software or network hiccup. Work through these steps in order and it will come back online.

Updated March 2024

Quick wins first

  1. Power-cycle the printer, router and PC. Wait 30 seconds between off and on.
  2. Open the print queue (Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners › your printer › Open print queue).
  3. In the Printer menu, untick "Use Printer Offline" and "Pause Printing".
  4. Cancel any stuck documents in the queue, then send one test page.

Make sure you're on the same network

Print a network or Wi-Fi configuration page from the printer to see its IP address. Confirm your PC is on the same network (not a guest SSID or a different band that's isolated). If the printer's IP looks like 169.254.x.x, it didn't get an address from the router — reconnect it to Wi-Fi.

Stop the IP address from changing

If the printer works after a reboot but goes offline later, its IP is probably changing. In your router's DHCP settings, reserve a fixed IP for the printer's MAC address. Then, if needed, re-add the printer in Windows using that address.

Disable SNMP status on the port

Windows uses SNMP to check a network printer's status and sometimes wrongly marks it offline. Go to printer Properties › Ports › select the printer's port › Configure Port › untick "SNMP Status Enabled".

Restart the Print Spooler

Press Win+R, type services.msc, find Print Spooler, right-click and choose Restart. Set its startup type to Automatic. If jobs are badly stuck, stop the spooler, clear C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS, then start it again.

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