When your printer appears offline despite being powered on, the cause is almost always one of five things: a lost network connection, a stalled print queue, an incorrect default printer setting, a paused printer status, or an outdated driver. This guide walks through each fix in order.
Understanding the cause makes the fix faster. Each of these can make your printer appear offline even when it is physically powered on and connected.
The printer disconnected from the network after a router restart, power outage, or network password change. The printer needs to reconnect before it can receive print jobs.
A previous print job is stuck in the queue and blocking all new jobs. The queue shows as busy or error, which causes the printer to appear offline to the operating system.
Windows or macOS has a different printer set as the default. Jobs are being sent to a printer that is not connected, not the one you intend to use.
Someone paused the printer from the print queue dialog. The printer accepts jobs but does not print them until the paused state is cleared.
The driver communicating between Windows or macOS and the printer has become corrupted or is outdated after a system update. A reinstall fixes this.
For network printers, the printer IP address may have changed after a router restart. The computer is still pointing to the old IP, so print jobs cannot reach the printer.
Most offline errors are resolved by step 3. Steps 4 and 5 handle more persistent issues.
Turn off the printer using the power button. Turn off or restart your Wi-Fi router. Wait 60 seconds. Power the router back on, wait for it to fully connect, then power on the printer. Wait for the printer to reach the idle or ready state. Try printing again.
On Windows: go to Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Printers and scanners, select your printer, and click Open print queue. Cancel all jobs. If jobs cannot be deleted, open Services, find Print Spooler, stop it, then start it again. On Mac: open System Settings, Printers and Scanners, select the printer, click Open Print Queue, and cancel all jobs.
On Windows: go to Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Printers and scanners. Turn off the option to let Windows manage the default printer. Then select your printer and click Set as default. On Mac: go to System Settings, Printers and Scanners, and change the Default Printer dropdown to your correct printer.
On Windows: open Control Panel, Devices and Printers, right-click your printer. If the menu shows Use Printer Online, click it. This disables the forced offline mode that Windows sometimes activates automatically when it cannot reach the printer.
Remove the printer from Windows Settings or Mac System Settings. Go to the manufacturer website and download the latest full driver package for your model. Run the installer and choose your connection type. Add the printer again after the driver installs.
Some manufacturers have known quirks that cause offline errors. Read the brand hub for model-specific guidance.
HP printers frequently go offline after router restarts. The HP Print and Scan Doctor tool diagnoses and fixes most HP offline issues automatically.
HP offline fix → CanonCanon printers sometimes need the Canon IJ Network Tool to reassign the IP address after a router change. Check the network settings from the printer panel.
Canon offline fix → EpsonEpson printers can go offline when the firewall blocks the Epson communication port. The Epson printer connection checker helps diagnose firewall-related offline issues.
Epson offline fix → BrotherBrother printers often revert offline after deep sleep. Disable deep sleep mode from the printer menu or increase the sleep timer to prevent automatic disconnection.
Brother offline fix →Provide your printer brand, model number, operating system, and what happens after each step you tried. We will identify the most likely remaining cause and send the next fix.
Get printer guides, setup tips, and saved support preferences.
Already have an account?
