The printer says offline even though it is switched on
Why does my printer show offline when it is turned on and connected?
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
Windows marks a printer offline when it cannot reach it for a moment and does not always mark it back online. A stuck queue or a changed Wi-Fi address keeps it there. The quickest thing to try first: untick use printer offline — Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Printers and scanners, choose your printer, open the print queue, and under the Printer menu untick Use Printer Offline. Most people are done in about 15 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 6 steps for Windows and Mac, rated easy.
Sounds like this
- •Printer offline under its name
- •Jobs pile up in the queue
- •It prints from your phone but not the computer
Why it happens
Windows marks a printer offline when it cannot reach it for a moment and does not always mark it back online. A stuck queue or a changed Wi-Fi address keeps it there.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Untick Use Printer Offline
Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Printers and scanners, choose your printer, open the print queue, and under the Printer menu untick Use Printer Offline.
- 2
Clear the stuck queue
In the same window choose Printer, Cancel all documents. One failed job blocks everything behind it.
- 3
Power cycle in the right order
Turn the printer off and unplug it for 30 seconds, restart the router, then the computer, then the printer. Printer makers recommend this order so each device gets a clean address.
- 4
Restart the print service
Press Windows and R, type services.msc, find Print Spooler, right click and Restart. Set its startup type to Automatic while you are there.
- 5
Give the printer a fixed address
Print the printer's network configuration page from its own menu, then reserve that address in your router settings. Printers that change address quietly go offline every few weeks.
- 6
Remove and add it again
Remove the printer in Settings, then Add device, and choose the entry with the correct model name rather than an older copy such as Copy 1.
If none of that worked
Install the maker's own helper tool, HP Smart, Epson Software Updater, Canon IJ Network Tool or Brother iPrint, which repair the connection automatically.
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Who wrote this and how we checked it
The CommonFixes team
Writer and researcher
We are a small group of people who spend our days repairing laptops and desktops for family, friends and small offices. Every guide here starts with a problem someone actually brought to us, and we only write down the steps that put the machine right.
- Everyday repairs
- Windows and Mac
- Plain language
CommonFixes review desk
Technical editor
Before a guide goes live, a second person walks through it on a real machine and checks each instruction against the maker's own support pages. Anything we cannot confirm is removed rather than guessed at.
- Fact checking
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This guide was last updated on 10 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
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