Printer Says Offline? Here's How to Fix It

You need to print something. The printer is on, the paper is loaded, the ink is fine—but when you try to print, nothing happens. Your computer says the printer is “Offline” or “Not available.” Maddening.

The offline error is one of the most common printer problems, and despite how final it sounds, it’s almost always fixable.

Why does the printer show as offline?

Windows keeps a list of printers and remembers how to communicate with each one. When that communication breaks down—even temporarily—Windows marks the printer as offline rather than trying again automatically.

Common causes:

• The printer was turned off and back on, and Windows lost track of it
• The WiFi connection between printer and computer dropped
• There’s a stuck print job in the queue blocking everything else
• The USB cable has been disconnected or is faulty
• A Windows update changed something in the print system

Step 1: Restart everything

This sounds too simple, but it works more often than anything else: turn the printer off at the button (not just standby), wait 30 seconds, turn it back on. Then restart your computer.

Once both have restarted, try printing again before doing anything else.

Step 2: Clear the print queue

Sometimes an old, stuck print job keeps the printer in an offline or error state and blocks all new jobs.

1. Open the Start menu and search for Printers & scanners
2. Click your printer
3. Click Open print queue
4. If there are any jobs listed, right-click each one and select Cancel
5. Close the queue and try printing again

Step 3: Turn off “Use Printer Offline”

Windows has a setting that manually marks a printer as offline. It’s easy to turn on accidentally—and easy to turn off.

1. Open Printers & scanners (search in Start menu)
2. Click your printer, then Open print queue
3. In the menu at the top of the queue window, click Printer
4. If you see a tick next to Use Printer Offline, click it to remove the tick
5. Try printing again

Step 4: Set the printer as default

If you have multiple printers installed, Windows might be sending jobs to the wrong one.

1. Open Printers & scanners
2. Click your printer
3. Select Set as default
4. Try printing

Step 5: Remove and re-add the printer

If none of the above works, removing the printer from Windows and adding it again fresh will often resolve the problem—it forces Windows to re-establish the connection properly.

1. Open Printers & scanners
2. Click your printer → Remove device (or Remove)
3. Make sure the printer is on and connected (either by USB or to the same WiFi network as your computer)
4. Click Add a device—Windows should find the printer and add it back
5. Try printing

If your printer is wireless

Wireless printers have an extra layer of potential problems. The printer needs to be connected to your WiFi network, and it needs to be on the same network as your computer.

Most wireless printers have a built-in screen or button combination that lets you reconnect to WiFi. Look in the printer’s manual or settings menu for a “Wireless setup wizard” or “WiFi setup” option. Once the printer reconnects to the network, go back to step 5 above and re-add it.

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Printers are notoriously temperamental, and the steps above cover the most common causes—but some problems go deeper. If you’ve tried everything here and the printer still won’t cooperate, I can usually sort it in a single visit.

Find out more about printer setup help in Falkirk, or call 07944 156 453. No fix, no fee, 7 days a week.