How to get your printer back online from offline?

 You are about to print, and suddenly you get the message on your screen that “Printer is offline.” Such a scenario can be frustrating, especially when you need printouts urgently. It left you perplexed and wondering why my printer is offline. But don’t worry, we are here for your help. With this blog, you will be able to understand the reasons for your printer being offline and how easily you can fix it. So, let’s start the argy-bargy.

       

Reasons for the printer being in offline mode

 

“Why does my printer say offline” is one of the most common queries from printer users. Many users even face the issue frequently. Here we have listed the possible reasons that will answer your question about why my printer is offline:

• The printer is set for offline use.
• The connection between printer and computer is lost.
• Printer driver error.
• The print queue is full.

 

Effective solution to get back your printer online 

 

Now, you have an answer for why my printer is offline. Knowing the root of the problem helps in determining the correct solution. Following are the fixes you can use to correct your printer's offline status:

 

Run a power cycle

• First, switch on the printer and computer.
• Verify the connection between the printer and the PC, and reestablish the linkage, if needed.
• Now, turn off your printer and computer, and wait for 30 seconds.
• After that, turn on the devices again and try printing to check if rebooting solved the error or not. 
• If the error continues, try other fixes.

Disable the “Use printer offline” option

• Go to PC Control Panel > View devices and printers. 
• Right-tap your printer to see the options.
• Click “see what’s printing,” and a new window will pop up.
• In the window, tap “Printer” and uncheck “Use Printer Offline.”

Restart the spooler services

• Open the Run utility (right-tap Start icon > select Run).
• To open the service list, type “services,msc” in the box and click “Ok.”
• Now, find “Print Spooler” and tap it for options.
• From the options, click “Restart.”

Note: Ensure that the spooler startup type is set as automatic. Check the setting from print spooler properties.

 

Clear all printing job

• On the PC, open "Devices and Printers" (Control Panel > Hardware and sound >  Devices and Printers).
• Find your printer and right-click it.
• From the menu, select "See what's printed."
• Select "Printer" in the newly opened box.
• By clicking "Cancel All Documents," you can reject every page in the printing queue.
• Now close all open windows and reboot your computer.
• Try printing something to see if your "my printer is offline" problem is resolved or not.

Update your printer’s driver

• To update the driver, open the device manager by inputting “devmgmt.msc” in the “Run” utility (open Run from the Start search or by right-clicking the Start icon).
• Locate “Print queue” and double-tap it to expand the list.
• Right-tap on your printer name for the menu.
• Select “Update driver” to start the update process.
• You will get the option to update either by browsing the driver or letting the PC search automatically. 
• Select the automatic option and let the PC find the driver.
• Then, follow the screen instructions for installing the printer driver correctly.

Note: Before updating the driver with these steps, you need to download the latest driver from the printer’s official support website.

 

Conclusion

 

So, these were the quick fixes for resolving your “my printer is offline” error. In addition to these fixes, you can also try running a printer troubleshooting utility on your PC or readd your printer to your computer. If none of the above solutions work for you, then there might be a hardware error. Consult an expert to fix the issue.