How to Clear the Windows 11 Print Queue When Jobs Get Stuck

Using the Settings App

The Settings ⚙️ app is the main place to see what is stuck or waiting. It shows jobs for both local printers and network printers, and you do not need any extra software. You will go through Bluetooth 🔷 & devices, then Printers & scanners, then your specific printer.

1. Press Win+I to open Settings ⚙️.
2. Select Bluetooth 🔷 & devices from the left sidebar.
3. Click Printers & scanners on the right side of the window. You should see a list of every installed printer.
4. Select your printer from the list. Its settings page opens.
5. Click the Open print queue button. A separate window opens listing every document waiting to print, with its status.

If the queue window is empty but your printer still will not print, the problem is probably the printer connection or driver, not a stuck job. The last section covers that. If this window will not open at all, try the Control Panel 🎛️ method below, or go straight to the Print Spooler restart.

Using the Control Panel

The classic Control Panel 🎛️ opens the same queue in a dedicated window. It lists the document name, owner, page count, file size and submission time. This is a good fallback when the Settings ⚙️ app does not load properly.

1. Press the Windows key, type Control Panel 🎛️, and press Enter.
2. Under the Hardware and Sound category, click View devices and printers.
3. Find your printer in the list of devices. Look in the Printers section, not the general devices section.
4. Right-click your printer icon and select See what’s printing from the context menu 🖱️. The queue window opens.

If Control Panel 🎛️ is set to Category view, View devices and printers is the link under Hardware and Sound. If you use the icon views, look for Devices and Printers instead.

Using the Taskbar Notification Area

The taskbar is the fastest route, but it only works while a job is actually waiting. Windows shows a small printer icon near the clock while documents are being sent. It disappears once the queue is empty, so if you see no icon, use one of the other methods.

1. Look at the bottom-right corner of your screen, near the clock.
2. If you do not see a printer icon, click the upward-facing arrow to show hidden icons.
3. Double-click the temporary printer icon. This only appears while print jobs are active.
4. Read the documents listed in the window that opens.

Managing and Canceling Print Jobs

Often a single bad document is the cause, so cancelling just that one is the least disruptive fix. Cancelled jobs are not recoverable. You will have to print them again from the original app.

1. Click the document that is stuck to select it. It is usually the first one in the list, often with a status such as Error or Printing that never changes.
2. Right-click the selected document and choose Cancel.
3. Click Yes when the confirmation prompt appears. The document should disappear from the list within a few seconds.
4. If you only want to hold a document for later, right-click it and choose Pause instead. Right-click it again and choose Resume when you are ready.
5. To clear the whole queue at once, click the Printer menu at the top-left of the queue window and select Cancel All Documents. Confirm the prompt if one appears.

If a job stays in the list with a status of Deleting after you cancel it, Windows cannot remove it on its own. That is when you need to restart the Print Spooler, as described next.

Restarting the Print Spooler Service

Restarting the Print Spooler (a service that manages print jobs and network communications) is the fix when the queue freezes, will not clear cancelled documents, or will not open at all. You need administrator rights for this. If you are on a standard account, Windows will ask for an administrator password. The steps below also clear out the temporary files that hold your pending jobs.

Do this when nobody is in the middle of a print run.

1. Press the Windows key, type Services, and press Enter. The Services window opens. Approve the User Account Control prompt if it appears.
2. Scroll down the alphabetical list to find Print Spooler. Its description reads "This service spools print jobs and handles interaction with the printer."
3. Right-click Print Spooler and select Stop. If Stop is greyed out, you are probably not running with administrator rights, or the service is already stopped. Its status column should now be blank.
4. Press the Windows key and the R key together to open the Run dialog box.
5. Type C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and press Enter. This opens the folder where Windows stores temporary print files. If Windows says you need permission to access the folder, click Continue.
6. Press Ctrl + A to select everything in the folder, then delete the files. This clears out corrupted print data. This action is permanent and deletes all pending print jobs. Delete only the files inside the folder, not the PRINTERS folder itself.
7. Return to the Services window, right-click Print Spooler, and select Start. The status should now read Running.

You do not need to restart the PC. Open the print queue again and confirm it is empty. If you cannot undo the deletion, that is expected. Just re-send any documents you still need.

What to do next

Once the queue is clear, print a test page or a short new document to confirm everything works. Try a one-page document first so a failure is easy to spot. If you want a proper test page, open Settings, go to Bluetooth & devices, then Printers & scanners, select your printer, and click Printer properties. On the General tab, click Print Test Page.

If the printer keeps dropping jobs or shows as offline, the cause is usually underneath the queue. Work through these checks in order:

1. Check the basics: the printer is powered on, has paper, and is connected by USB or to the same network as your PC.
2. On your printer's settings page in Printers & scanners, run the troubleshooter if the page offers one. Windows will check the spooler, the connection and the default printer.
3. Reinstall the manufacturer's driver. Download the current Windows 11 driver from the printer maker's support site and run its installer. If that does not help, remove the printer from Printers & scanners first, then install it again.

After any driver change, send a test page again so you know the fix worked.