An “offline” printer is one of the most common, and most fixable, printer issues. In nearly every case, the printer itself is fine — it’s the communication between your computer and the printer that has broken down. Try these nine fixes in order and stop once printing is working again.
1. Verify the printer is actually powered on
It sounds obvious, but “sleep” mode on some printers can look like “off”. Look for any blinking lights and press a button to wake it.
2. Restart the printer
Power off, unplug for 60 seconds, plug back in. This single step fixes about 30% of offline issues.
3. Restart your computer and router
A short reboot cycle reassigns IP addresses and clears stuck network jobs.
4. Make sure your computer and printer are on the same Wi-Fi
This is the #1 cause on multi-band routers — your laptop is on 5 GHz, the printer is on 2.4 GHz, and even though they share an SSID they may not see each other depending on your router’s settings.
5. Turn off “Use Printer Offline” in Windows
- Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
- Select your printer > Printer queue.
- Click Printer in the menu bar and untick Use Printer Offline.
6. Clear stuck print jobs
A stuck job at the front of the queue can flag everything as offline. In the same print queue window, click Printer > Cancel All Documents.
7. Restart the Print Spooler (Windows)
Press Win+R, type services.msc, find Print Spooler, right-click and choose Restart.
8. Reset the printer’s network settings and reconnect
Look for Restore Network Defaults in the printer menu, then redo Wi-Fi setup.
9. Assign a static IP to the printer
On many home routers you can reserve an IP for the printer’s MAC address. This prevents the printer’s address from changing and breaking connection.
Still offline?
If the printer is offline only from one specific device, the issue is on that device. If it’s offline everywhere, focus on the printer’s Wi-Fi connection and firmware. For brand-specific quirks see our brands page.