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Why Does My Printer Appear Offline?




Need to print a file for an important meeting, can't find the printer on the device list, or get a message that your printer is offline?

Well, you're not the only one having this problem, but don't worry, it's not a difficult problem to solve.

Here are five solutions to try. You may not need to try them all; follow the steps until you find the one that works for you.

Before you begin, make sure there are no problems with your printer. If the problem is with your printer, you can ask our printer repair service for help.

 

The Printer Is Not Turned On.

 

Your printer may appear offline if it is not turned on. Make sure your printer is plugged into a working power outlet.

 

The Printer Is Not Properly Connected To Your Computer.

 

The printer's offline state is the printer's way of notifying you that there is a problem with the communication between your computer and your printer over a USB cable or network connection (wired and wireless). One of the first things you should check is the connection of your printer to your PC.

Turn the printer off and then back on to reset it. Wait a bit until it is really ready to restart.

Check your printer's connection: Ensure the printer's USB cable is securely connected through a working USB port. If your equipment is linked via a cable internet network, ensure that your printer cable is properly connected to the Ethernet port and that your printer's network signal is flashing. If connected to a wireless Internet network, check that your printing device is associated with your Wifi network.

If the problem persists, continue to the next method.

 

The Printer Driver Is Not Up To Date.

 

You can update your printer driver manually by going to the manufacturer's website and searching for the latest correct driver. Be sure to choose only a driver compatible with your operating system. Otherwise, do it automatically on the site.

If the error message "The printer driver is not available" appears, try to correct the driver.

The error Printer driver is not available mainly occurs if the printer driver is not updated, if it is corrupted due to the incompatibility between the printer driver and the system Windows, or if any pending Windows updates have not yet been installed on Windows 10. Whatever the reason, you can apply a solution to fix the error "The printer driver is not is not available" and retrieve the working status of the printer.

Note: The solutions below apply to all printer manufacturers (HP, Canon, Brother, Epson, etc.). Devices to repair the printer driver are not available in Windows 10.

Fix Printer Driver Not Available in Windows 10

Before applying the troubleshooting steps, first perform the basic steps such as:

  • Restart the computer and the printer.
  • Check that the printer's USB cable is correctly connected on the PC side and on the printer side.
  • Check the printer's network connection status.
  • Disable the firewall and antivirus on the computer.
  • Run the printer and hardware and device troubleshooter.

After checking the basic steps, first, run the hardware and peripherals troubleshooter to check if there is a problem with the printing device causing the problem. And run the Windows 10 Printer Troubleshooter to fix issues that prevent the print job from completing.

  • Type troubleshoot in the Start menu search bar and select it.
  • In the Troubleshoot window, scroll down and find Hardware and Device.
  • Select and run the troubleshooter to allow Windows to check and fix issues with your device and hardware.
  • After completing the troubleshooting process, select the printer in the same window and run the troubleshooter.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions to allow the troubleshooter to verify and resolve printing-related issues.

When complete, the troubleshooting process restarts Windows and verifies that the printer driver issue is resolved.

If, however, the issue is still not resolved, proceed to the next step.

Check The Printing Status.

The automatically updated printer driver provided by your operating system may change your printer settings without notifying you. Therefore, you need to make sure that your printer status is problem-free:

  • Turn off the printer, then turn it back on.
  • On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and I at the same time. Click Devices.
  • Click Devices and Printers.
  • Right-click on the icon with a green checkmark and click on See what prints.
  • If you see a gray icon without the green checkmark, right-click the icon and click Set as Default Printer. Then right-click and click to see what prints.
  • Click Printer. If you can see a checkmark next to the Pause Printing and Use Printer Offline options, click it to remove the checkmarks.

Try To See If You Can Print Now.


A Print Spooler Problem: The Printer Queue Is Stuck


If a job is sent to the printer and the device shows Offline, the print queue will likely stop working. The print queue keeps track of jobs sent to the printer, and if this service is down, printing cannot continue. In some cases, you will receive an error message stating that the print queue is not working, but in other cases, you will have to find and fix the problem yourself.

  • Go to "Control Panel.
  • Choose "Administrative Tools" then "Services." Scroll down to the "Print Spooler" service, right-click, and choose the "Start" option to restart the print spooler.
  • Click "Print Spooler"> "Startup Type." Then set the startup to automatic.
  • Go to the printer manufacturer's website and download a new driver for the printer. A corrupt or outdated printer driver can cause the print queue to crash regularly.

 

Add A Second Printer.

 

If none of the above methods work, you can always set a manual IP address for your printer and add a corresponding port on your PC. This method only works when the printer is connected via a network instead of a USB cable.

You must have an IP address for your printer. You can usually find it in your printer's manual. If you don't have the manual, try looking for it on the manufacturer's website.

  • On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and I at the same time. Click Devices.
  • Click Devices and Printers.
  • Go to Printer Properties.
  • Click the Ports tab, then click Add Port.
  • Select Standard TCP/IP Port, then click New Port.
  • Click Next.
  • Type the printer's IP address. Click Next.

As mentioned, finding your printer's IP address differs from printer to printer. If you still have the instructions for your printer, go find it and see if you can figure it out. Otherwise, go to the manufacturer's support website and find detailed instructions.

 

To Finish

 

Your offline printer should work fine after trying its solutions. If your printer still shows offline, you should call your printer repair service.

Varitek is a leading printer repair service company specializing in all kinds of printer repair for all major brands. We also repair plotters, scanners, photocopiers, projectors, computers, and fax machines. Visit our website to find out more. 

 

 

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