If you often use a printer at your work, you may have noticed that printers on Windows 11/10 can have online and offline status. Naturally, if you want to use your printer, you will want its status to be online. This post will show how you can change a Printer status to online or Restore the Printer to online status from offline status.
What Causes a Printer To Be Offline?
Note that when your printer goes offline, this doesn’t mean it’s no longer connected to your computer. The reason why your printer goes offline may be because of an error that has occurred during printing, or there might be is a problem with the printer driver, or it is simply offline. Sometimes it may be as simple as your cable not being correctly attached or a simple error coming from a paper jam. In short, your Operating System can change your printer status to offline if it detects an issue.
How To Restore the Printer to Online Status in Windows 11/10
Your printer might appear offline if it can’t communicate with your computer. Here are some things to try to get your printer back online. In this guide, we present five options to get a printer online if it is offline.
- Restart your Printer & Check for connectivity
- Change the Printer Status
- Run the Printer Troubleshooter
- Remove and Add the Printer
- Troubleshoot your Printer network
Follow each step to ensure you aren’t missing any items to fix your printer from offline to online.
1] Restart Your Printer & Check for Connectivity
If your printer has been online and has not been in use for some time, it might have gone into an idle state. In this case, you need to turn the printer off for about one minute and then switch it on again. Now have a check if your problem is resolved.
- Check that your printer is connected to power and is turned on.
- If you connect to the printer using a USB cable, check that the cable is properly connected. Resit the cable at the printer and on your computer.
- However, if you connect to the printer using Wifi, check that you are connected as well.
If your printer still shows an offline status, move on to the next solution.
2] Change the Printer Status
Verify that your printer is not in Use Printer Offline mode.
- Select Start > Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
- Then select your printer > Open queue > Choose Use Printer Offline
- It will display a message saying, This action will change the printer from offline to online.
- Confirm, and the status of the printer will be set to online.
- From the See what’s printing menu mentioned previously, right-click and Cancel any print jobs present.
- Once the print jobs are removed, select Use Printer Online again.
If these steps don’t put your printer back online, then read troubleshooting offline printer problems.
3] Run the Printer Troubleshooter
The Printer Troubleshooter is part of the Windows in-house troubleshoot package. It solves the printer problems on your computer, including driver errors, connectivity issues, restarting printer-related services, and so on. Here’s how to run the Printer Troubleshooter:
- Go to Settings > Update and Security > Troubleshoot
- Select Printer Troubleshooter, and run it
It should help you fix the offline status of the printer.
4] Remove and Add the Printer
If the above-mentioned methods do not work, the best way will be to remove the printer from the system and add it again. It is a simple process that may also include downloading the printer driver and OEMs application. Follow the steps for the further process.
- Disconnect the printer from your computer
- Go to Devices > Printers and Scanners.
- Select the printer you want to remove > Click on Remove device
- Plug the printer back, and Windows should add it back again and install the needed drivers again.
- The reinstallation will restore the Printer to online status.
If this doesn’t work, add the printer again by selecting the Add a Printer option from Printers and Scanners.
5] Troubleshoot Your Printer Network
If you have a network printer, it will show offline if the computer cannot reach it. Try using the printer with a different computer. If it’s working fine, then the problem may not lie in the printer but in your network. For fixing it, you will need to troubleshoot your network issues.
It could be a firewall issue as well, but then that would mean somebody has blocked it intentionally, or a variety of other network complications could also cause it. If you do not know more than what you need to work on the computer, I would suggest getting someone who can help you troubleshoot.
One of the fixes discussed in this guide should resolve your printer offline situation. I hope this helped you change the Printer status to online or Restore the Printer to online status.
I cannot get my printer to go back online – it is currently offline. Please help
Did you follow all the suggestions in the post? Do you see any error? Please share.