Printers have always been an integral part of a business or an office for the reason we all know. Even when everything is going so advanced, still there is not a thing invented yet that can deny the importance of a printer although there have been technological advancements in printers as well. Seeing the significance of printers, no one would want to face an interruption in smooth printing. However, printers going offline is a common scenario, something that no brand can get away with. The simple reason is, they are technical devices, hence it would not be practical to expect them to run flawlessly forever. That’s why I have come up with this guide to help you resolve the glitches that make your printer go offline now and then. We will talk about the reasons and what can be done to get the printer back online.
Before that, if you are using any of the following brands and facing the offline error, you can directly go to the dedicated blog:
- HP Printer is Offline, Click Here
- Brother Printer is Offline on Windows, Click Here
- Brother Printer is Offline on Mac, Click Here
- Canon Printer is Offline, Click Here
- Epson Printer is Offline on Windows, Click Here
- Epson Printer is Offline on Mac, Click Here
Reasons Your Printer is Offline
Do you know why your printer starts showing offline whenever you try to print a document? There is not a single reason but several and we will have a look at each one of them here and will then proceed to the workarounds.
- First and foremost, if your printer is unable to communicate with your PC or mobile device, it will show offline.
- The absence of a network connection can also make your printer go offline.
- The USB cable joining the printer to the computer might be faulty
- If you are dealing with a stuck print job, this can also get your printer offline.
So those were some of the reasons why your printer says offline, now let’s proceed to what fixes are available for this error.
How to Bring a Printer Online that is Showing Offline?
If you are sure that the issue is not due to poor network or damaged cables, here is something you can try to fix printer offline error:
1. Restart your Printer
If the internet is connected and working and the printer is still showing offline, you can restart your printer; this will reboot the device and most probably will bring the printer online.
2. Set the Printer Online Manually
You can also try setting your printer online manually both on Windows and Mac as explained here.
For Windows
- From the ‘Start’ menu, go to the ‘Devices and Printers’ section and you will see a complete list of printers connected to your computer.
- Right-click on your printer icon and then click on the option ‘See what’s printing’.
- The print spooler window will appear, remove the checkmark from the option ‘Use Printer Offline’
- Hopefully, this will bring the printer online on Windows
For Mac
- From the dock of your Mac device, click on ‘System Preferences’ and then go to ‘Print & Scan’.
- Select your printer and if you see a yellow light next to its name, double click on it and then click on ‘Resume’.
- Now you can try printing a document and see if your printer shows online.
3.Reinstall the Printer
The next thing you can try is to remove and then reinstall your printing device.
To remove the printer:
- Go to the ‘Devices and Printers’ section
- Right-click on your printer and hit ‘Remove’
To reinstall the printer:
- Again go to the ‘Devices and Printers’ section
- Click on ‘Add a Printer’ and follow the prompts to install your printer
4. Run the Troubleshooter
The printer can also go offline due to a problem with the Windows printing subsystem, so you must try running the troubleshooter as follows:
- Go to the ‘Printers and Scanners’ section via Control Panel
- Select your printer and then click on the option ‘Manage’
- On the left, you will see some options, click on ‘Run the Troubleshooter’.
- Windows will start looking for issues with your printer
- You will get the solution to fix the underlying issues, click on ‘Apply this fix’ to resolve the error.
5. Re-install Printer Driver
The issue can also be related to the printer driver if it has gone outdated. You must ensure that the driver of your printer is up-to-date and you can get the latest version from the manufacturer’s website. You just need to know the name and number of your printer model and look for the same on the manufacturer’s website; download the one for your operating system and install it; then see if it turns your printer back online.
That was all about how you can get your printer online from offline and if your printer shows offline on Windows 10, you can visit Microsoft’s official support page.