Easy Tech Fixes

Printer Not Printing? 8 Fixes to Try First

If your printer suddenly won't print, says it's offline, or keeps sending your job into some mysterious digital void, start here before uninstalling everything or threatening to throw the printer out the nearest window.

Updated October 2026

Quick Answer

How do you fix a printer that is not printing?

First make sure the printer is powered on and online, confirm you selected the correct printer, check for paper or ink warnings, and clear any stuck jobs from the print queue. Then restart the printer and your computer or phone. For a wireless printer, also make sure both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Printer not printing? Start with these checks.

Printer problems can look complicated when the actual cause is something small: the wrong printer was selected, one old job is stuck in the queue, the printer dropped off Wi-Fi, or Windows decided the printer is offline. Work through these fixes in order and stop when printing starts working again.

Make sure the printer is actually online

Start with the simple stuff. Check that the printer is powered on, awake, and not showing an Offline, Error, Attention, or disconnected message. Some printers go into a deep sleep and don't wake correctly when a job arrives.

Quick Fix: Turn the printer off, wait about 30 seconds, turn it back on, and wait until it is fully ready before printing again.

Check the paper, ink, toner, and warning messages

An empty tray, low cartridge, paper jam, open cover, or paper tray that isn't seated correctly can stop printing even when your computer doesn't clearly explain what is wrong.

Quick Fix: Check the printer screen or warning lights, reload the paper, reseat the tray, and look carefully for any jammed paper.

Make sure you selected the correct printer

If you've ever used another printer, saved a PDF printer, or had an old printer installed, your computer may be sending the job somewhere other than the printer sitting in front of you.

Quick Fix: Open the Print window and check the printer name before clicking Print. Make sure it matches the exact printer you want to use.

Clear the stuck print queue

One failed print job can hold every job behind it hostage. You may keep clicking Print and see nothing happen because the queue is still trying to process an older failed job.

Quick Fix: Open your printer's print queue, cancel the stuck or old jobs, then send one simple test page.

Restart the printer and your computer

Printing depends on communication between the printer, your operating system, the print service, and sometimes your network. Restarting both sides can clear a temporary connection problem.

Quick Fix: Turn the printer completely off for about 30 seconds. Turn it back on, restart your computer or phone, and then try printing again.

Check the printer's Wi-Fi connection

A wireless printer can still appear in your saved printer list even after it has disconnected from Wi-Fi. Your computer may think the printer exists while having no way to actually reach it.

Quick Fix: Check the printer's network or Wi-Fi status. Make sure the printer and the device you're printing from are connected to the same network.

Remove and re-add the printer

If the saved printer connection has become corrupted or outdated, removing the printer and adding it again can create a fresh connection without immediately jumping into driver removal or deeper system changes.

Quick Fix: Remove the printer from your device's printer settings, restart your device, and then add the printer again.

Try printing from a different file or app

Sometimes the printer isn't the problem at all. A damaged PDF, frozen browser tab, unusual document, or glitching application can cause one print job to fail while everything else works normally.

Quick Fix: Try printing a simple webpage, text document, or printer test page. If that prints successfully, focus on the original file or app instead.

Common Printer Problem

Printer says offline but it's turned on?

If your printer is powered on but your computer says it is offline, the issue is usually the connection between the two devices rather than the printer physically being off.

Restart the printer and wait until it is fully ready.
Make sure your computer and printer are connected to the same Wi-Fi.
Check whether you accidentally selected an old copy of the printer.
Clear any stuck jobs from the print queue.
Remove the printer and add it again if it continues showing offline.
If you're using USB, unplug and reconnect the cable or try another port.

Step-by-Step

How to fix a printer that's not printing

If you just want the shortest troubleshooting order, work through these steps from top to bottom:

Check the printer screen for an error, paper, ink, or toner warning.

Confirm the correct printer is selected in the Print window.

Cancel any old or stuck jobs in the print queue.

Restart both the printer and the computer, phone, or tablet.

For wireless printing, confirm both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.

Print a test page or simple document to rule out a problem with the original file.

If it still will not print, remove and re-add the printer.

Printer still not printing?

The next clue is whether the problem happens from every device or only one. If nobody can print, focus on the printer itself, its network connection, or its hardware. If another computer or phone can print successfully, focus on the settings, connection, or software on the device that cannot print.

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