A printer that shows Offline while it is powered on and full of paper has usually lost contact with the PC. It is not broken. Windows cannot reach it, so it marks it offline. The cause is almost always one of five things, and the order below runs from two-minute checks to the settings behind repeat problems in offices.
1. Check the basics
- Look at the printer’s display for a jam, an open door or an error.
- Turn it off, unplug it for 30 seconds, then plug it back in (Microsoft’s own first step).
- Confirm the PC and printer are on the same network.
- Print the printer’s network configuration page from its control panel. It shows the IP address, which you will need later.
- On the PC, open Command Prompt and run
ping 192.168.1.50, using your printer’s address. No reply points to a network problem. A reply means the printer is reachable and the fault is in Windows.
2. Turn off “Use Printer Offline”
- Open Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, then Printers & scanners.
- Select the printer and open its print queue (some versions call it Open queue).
- In the Printer menu, clear Use Printer Offline and Pause Printing if either is ticked.
3. Clear the queue and restart the Print Spooler
The Print Spooler is the Windows service that manages the queue. Press the Windows key, type services, open Services, find Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Restart.
If jobs are stuck, clear them by hand. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run:
net stop spooler
del /Q /F /S "%systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*"
net start spoolerThis deletes every job waiting in the queue, so tell people to print again.
4. Check the printer’s IP address and port
This is the usual cause on office networks. Many printers get their address from the router by DHCP. After a restart or a lease change the printer can end up with a new address while Windows still points at the old one, so it shows Offline.
- Go to Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Printers & scanners, select the printer and open Printer properties.
- Open the Ports tab and find the port in use.
- Compare its IP address with the one on the printer’s configuration page.
- If they differ, choose Configure Port and enter the new address, or add a new Standard TCP/IP port using the current address.
To stop it recurring, give the printer a DHCP reservation on the router or firewall, or set a static address outside the DHCP range. Many administrators also prefer a Standard TCP/IP port to a WSD port, because it points at a fixed address instead of relying on network discovery.
If the address is right and the printer still shows offline, open Configure Port and look at SNMP Status Enabled. With it on, Windows asks the printer for its status over SNMP and can mark a working printer offline when the printer does not answer. Turning it off is a common administrator fix. It is not an official Microsoft step, so treat it as something to try.
5. Remove and add the printer again
In Printers & scanners, select the printer and choose Remove. Restart the PC, then add the printer again and install the manufacturer’s driver instead of a generic one where you can. Microsoft lists this as its last general step.
Why it keeps happening in an office
- The printer’s address keeps changing because there is no DHCP reservation.
- The printer is on Wi-Fi and drops off or sleeps. Connect printers to Ethernet.
- The printer sits on a guest or separate VLAN that blocks staff PCs (see network segmentation).
- Firmware and drivers are out of date.
- Many PCs print straight to the device. A print server helps once you have more than a handful of PCs and printers.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my printer keep going offline?
The most common cause in an office is a printer whose IP address changed while Windows still uses the old one. A DHCP reservation or static address fixes it for good.
Why does my printer say offline when it is on?
Windows cannot reach it. The cause is the network connection, a wrong port address, a stuck Print Spooler or the Use Printer Offline setting.
How do I turn off Use Printer Offline?
Open the printer’s queue from Printers & scanners, open the Printer menu and clear Use Printer Offline.
Does restarting the Print Spooler delete my print jobs?
Restarting it can clear the queue. If you delete the files in the spool folder, every waiting job is removed.
Printers that keep dropping off the network? It is usually a network fix, not a printer fix. See our list of common IT problems we fix, or call +1 (587) 400-9991 for IT support in Edmonton.