When you try to print from your computer and the HP printer isn’t printing, it can be frustrating! There are several reasons why an HP printer showing offline, but in most cases, the issue can be resolved quickly and easily. Here are some simple steps to troubleshoot the problem and get your hp printer back online.
Why Does My HP Printer Say It’s Offline?
There are several reasons why your HP Printer showing offline status. If you’re seeing a red light on your printer, it could mean that you have low ink or paper. If you’re having trouble connecting to a wireless printer, there could be an issue with your router or connection to your home network. To figure out why your printer is offline, check out our troubleshooting guide below!
Fix Hp Printer Offline Status In Windows
You can fix the issue of the HP Printer showing offline in Windows using the various solutions that have been discussed below:
Method 1: Check Printer Connection
Before doing anything, first, you should check if the communication between the printer & PC is properly set up. There can be something wrong with the USB cable or USB port, or network connection if connected wirelessly.
- Shut down your PC and power off your printer. Remove all the cables connected to the printer (even the power cable) and then press & hold the power button of the printer for 30 seconds.
- Again connect all the cables and then make sure the USB cable from the printer is properly connected to the USB port of the PC. You could also switch the USB port to see if this resolves the problem.
- If your PC is connected via an Ethernet port then make sure the Ethernet port is working and the connection to your printer & PC is proper.
- If the printer is connected to a PC via a wireless network then make sure the printer is connected to your PC network.
Method 2: Change the Printer Status
- Press Windows Key + R then type control printers and hit Enter to open Devices and Printers.
- Right-click on your printer and select “Set as default printer” from the context menu.
- Then again right-click on your printer and select “See what’s printing“.
- You will see the printer queue, see if there are any unfinished tasks, and make sure to remove them from the list.
- Now from the printer queue window, select your Printer and uncheck the “Use Printer Offline” option.
- Similarly, uncheck the “Pause Printing” option, just to make sure everything works fine.
Method 3: Remove and Reinstall your printer
There might be the installed printer driver is not compatible with the current windows version or the printer driver is outdated or corrupted. Let’s try to uninstall the current printer driver and download and install the latest printer driver from its manufacturer’s site.
- First, turn off the printer and Disconnect your printer’s USB cable from your PC.
- Press Windows Key + R then type “devmgmt.msc” and hit enter.
- Expand printers and scanners, then right-click on the installed printer driver and select uninstall the device.
- Click uninstall again when it prompts for confirmation, and make sure Checkmark deletes the driver software for this device.
- Once the printer drivers are uninstalled, restart your system.
Method 4: Restart the Print Spooler service
The print spooler service handles the print jobs on Windows computers If the service is stuck or not started you might experience printing problems.
- Press Windows Key + R type services.msc. Press Enter or click OK
- This will open the windows services console, locate the Print Spooler service, right-click it and choose Restart from the menu.
- If the print spooler service is not started right-click and select properties, here change the startup type automatic, and start the service next to service status.
- Click apply and ok to make save changes, restart your PC and check if the problem is solved.
Method 5: Clear Print Spooler Files
It’s another working solution to fix most printer problems including the HP printers in an error state. Here we reset the print spooler service and clear the print spooler field that might be corrupted and cause the print job stuck or the HP printer in an error state.
To clear print spooler files first we have to stop the print spooler service to do this:
- Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, and click ok to open the windows service console,
- locate the print spooler service, right-click on it select stop from the context menu.
- Now press Windows key + E to open file explorer and Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers
- Delete all files inside the printer folder, to do this press Ctrl + A to select all then hit the delete button.
- Next, open the following path C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Drivers\w32x86 and delete all data inside the folder.
- Again go to the windows service console, right-click on print spooler service select start from the context menu.
Let us see some causes of HP Printer not Printing Anything error:
Is your HP Printer not printing? This is one of the major and most common issues that occur when using the same printer for a longer time. There could be many reasons behind this issue and can result in a printing problem. Even the low ink or paper-jam issue can cause this problem. If your printer stops printing in the middle of the work this can make you frustrated and hamper your work. But don’t worry you got our back always when it comes to HP printer errors.
The errors could be-
- Missing Driver
- If the drivers are outdated
- Paper- jam
- Low or no ink
- Faulty connection issue
- Bad Configuration
- Drivers not installed properly
- After windows update
- Low network
What are the solutions for the HP printing issue?
Below we have mentioned few solutions for the issue to solve.
Solution 1: Check HP Printer Status
Check your HP printer first, that its ink cartridges are filled with inks, the paper tray has enough printing papers. If there is no paper and you start the printing job, then your printer might get stuck or jam.
This may result in the printing error, so try to undo the paper-jam. And for this, you can take the help of the printer manual.
Is the ink or toner empty? You can take the help of an expert if you are completely unaware- how to refill the ink. You can also follow the steps of the printer manual for how to check the ink levels or toner level in the printer. And to resolve this issue, use the same manual.
Solution 2: Cancel all the previous printing jobs
Multiple printing jobs may also cause this issue, so clear out all those.
- Go to your Windows Control Panel and select- “Devices and Printers”.
- You can also reach to Control Panel by- press Windows Key and R simultaneously to open the Run window. Now enter Control Panel and press enter.
- In the Control Panel window double click on Devices and Printer.
- Now find your HP printer in the list of the printer, select it and right-click.
- In the drop-down menu select “See what’s printing”.
- When the new page opens click on the Printer menu on the top and selects “Cancel All Documents”.
- Click Yes to confirm your steps.
- To check if the issue has gone or not, try running your print again and see if everything is ok. If not then proceed to the next step.
Solution 4: Run Troubleshooter
If you have done everything, your printer is set as the default printer, it is on and looks in good condition. But again, you face the same error, then try running the troubleshooter. It will help you in catching the issue easily. Check all the cables, connection with Wi-Fi, if you are using USB cable then reconnect it. Or if you are using wireless connection then try reconnecting your printer with the wireless router.
Running the troubleshooter will surely tell you why your printer is not working properly. However, if nothing works, then reinstall your printer driver.
Solution 5: Uninstall and Reinstall Driver
To solve the HP printer not printing properly issue you can also attempt this step. First, uninstall the printer drivers and then reinstall the drivers. Or you can also check for the printer driver updates, and if there is any new update then complete it.
You need to perform the step manually to fix HP Printer not Printing Anything Problem.
