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Printer Offline

Windows says the printer is "Offline" or jobs are stuck in the queue.

Windows 10 / 11 with network or USB printersabout 3 min read

Symptoms

  • Printer status shows Offline in Windows.
  • Print jobs sit in the queue and never print, or show "Error - Printing".
  • The printer worked yesterday and no one changed anything.
  • Only one PC can't print, or nobody can.

Before you start

  • Is the problem one PC or everyone? If everyone is affected, the printer or its network connection is the likely cause.
  • What kind of printer is it: USB, network (wired or Wi-Fi), or shared from a print server?

Steps

  1. Look at the printer itself. Is it on, awake, out of paper or ink/toner, showing an error, or has a paper jam? Power-cycle it (off, wait 30 seconds, on).
  2. Check how it's connected. USB: try another cable and port. Network: check the cable and link lights, or the Wi-Fi indicator.
  3. Print a configuration/test page from the printer's own menu. This usually shows its IP address. Test from a PC: ping <printer IP>.
    • No reply: network problem (cable, Wi-Fi, switch) - see the Wi-Fi Not Connecting runbook.
    • Replies: the printer is reachable, so the problem is on the PC.
  4. Check the printer's IP address hasn't changed. If the printer gets an address automatically, a new address makes the PC's saved port point to the wrong place. Compare the printer's IP with the PC's port: Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > (printer) > Printer properties > Ports. If it differs, update the port. Ask the network owner about reserving a fixed address for the printer so it doesn't happen again.
  5. Turn off "Use Printer Offline" if ticked: open the print queue (Printers & scanners > printer > Open print queue), then Printer menu > untick Use Printer Offline.
  6. Clear the print queue if jobs are stuck. In an administrator Command Prompt: 
    net stop spooler
del /Q /F /S "%systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*"
net start spooler
  7. Set it as the default if the user prints to the wrong device: Printers & scanners > turn off "Let Windows manage my default printer" and choose the printer.
  8. Reinstall the printer: remove it from Printers & scanners, then add it again (Add device). If it isn't found, add it by IP address using the printer's IP. Install the manufacturer's current driver if the generic driver misbehaves.
  9. Test print a Windows test page (Printer properties > Print Test Page) and have the user print their document.

Escalate when

  • The printer shows a hardware error code (jam you can't clear, fuser/drum error, service message).
  • The printer won't respond to ping and the cable/Wi-Fi checks don't help (network team).
  • The printer is managed through a print server or group policy and drivers or queues look broken.
  • Many people lost printing at the same time.
  • Printing is needed for something urgent and a workaround (another printer) isn't available.

Ticket note template

Issue: Printer <name / location / model> shows offline / not printing
Scope: one PC / many users | Connection: USB / network / print server
Printer panel status: | Test page from printer: OK / fail | Printer IP: 
Ping printer IP: OK / fail | PC port IP matches printer IP: Y/N
Actions: restarted printer [Y/N] | cleared queue [Y/N] | untick Use Printer Offline [Y/N] | re-added printer / driver [Y/N]
Result: Test page printed Y/N | User confirmed printing Y/N
Next step / escalated to:

View as Markdown

How to use this

  1. Search first. Type what the user is describing, like printer offline or locked out. The search reads the whole text of every runbook, not only the titles.
  2. Narrow it down if you want to. The topic links under the search box (Windows, Network, Accounts and so on) trim the list. Click one again, or pick All, to go back.
  3. Open a runbook and read down the page. Symptoms tell you if you are in the right place. Before you start lists the quick questions. Then work through Steps in order, simplest first.
  4. Know when to stop. The shaded Escalate when box lists the signs that it is time to hand the ticket on. If any one of them matches, stop and escalate.
  5. Copy the ticket note. The last section has a note template. Press Copy, paste it into your ticketing system, and fill in the blanks.
Words you will see
Runbook
A written set of steps for one kind of problem, so you do not have to work it out from scratch each time.
First-line support
The first person a user talks to. Fixes the common problems and passes the rest on.
Escalate
Hand a ticket to someone with more access or experience, with notes so they do not have to start over.
Scope
How many people or devices are affected. One laptop and the whole office are very different problems.
Ticket note
A short written record of what was reported, what you tried and what happened.

Why I built this

I'm a computer science student in Toronto and I'm looking for junior IT support and help desk roles. When I started practising troubleshooting, I noticed I knew a lot of individual fixes but not a calm order to try them in, or when to stop and hand a problem on.

So I wrote these twelve runbooks to put that in order for myself, and I built this site so they are easy to search and read. They come from public vendor documentation and common help desk practice. They are not copied from a workplace and they are not real tickets.

They are still a work in progress. If a step looks wrong or something is missing, I would like to know.