Why Does My Printer Keep Going Offline in Windows 11

2. In the Settings⚙️ window, click System in the menu on the left.
3. Click Troubleshoot on the right side of the screen.
4. Click Other troubleshooters. A list of troubleshooters appears.
5. Find Printer in the list and click the Run button next to it. The full path on Windows 11 version 23H2 is Settings › System › Troubleshoot › Other troubleshooters. On newer builds the wording or layout may differ slightly, and some troubleshooters open in the Get Help app instead.
6. Follow any instructions that appear on your screen. The tool checks your printer and tries to fix any errors it finds. If it asks you to pick a printer, choose the one that shows as offline.

If the troubleshooter reports a fix, send a test page to confirm it worked. If it finds nothing, move on to the manual fixes.

General Troubleshooting Steps

If the automatic tool does not solve the problem, try the manual fixes below. Work through them in order and test a print after each one, so you know which fix worked. None of them needs a restart unless the step says so.

Step 1. Unplug and Restart Your Printer

Power cycling the printer clears temporary hardware glitches and forces it to reconnect to your network. Pressing the power button and plugging it back in right away is not enough, because the printer’s memory needs time to drain.

1. Turn your printer off using its power button.
2. Unplug the power cord from the back of the printer or from the wall outlet.
3. Wait about 30 seconds so the power drains completely.
4. Plug the power cord back in and turn the printer on.
5. Wait a minute for it to start up and join your network. Most wireless printers show a Wi-Fi📶 light or a network icon on the display when they are connected.

Plug the printer straight into a wall outlet if it was on a power strip. Some printers do not start up reliably on a strip.

Step 2. Make Sure Printer Is Connected to the Same Wi-Fi Network

1. Click the network icon near the bottom right corner of your screen to see which Wi-Fi📶 name your computer is connected to.
2. Check your printer’s screen and open its wireless or network settings menu to see which network name it shows.
3. Make sure both devices use the exact same Wi-Fi📶 name. If your router has a main network and a separate network for smart devices or guests, put both the computer and the printer on the main network.

Step 3. Set Your Printer as the Default Printer

When Windows manages your default printer itself, it can switch to a different printer and send jobs to the wrong device. Setting the default yourself stops this.

1. Open the Settings app from your Start menu⊞.
2. Click Bluetooth🔷 & devices in the menu on the left.
3. Click Printers & scanners. A list of your printers appears.
4. Look for Let Windows manage my default printer and turn it off if it is on. In current Windows 11 builds this switch usually sits on the main Printers & scanners page, under the printer list. If you don’t see it there, open your printer’s page and look again.
5. Click your printer’s name in the list.
6. Click Set as default if the button is available. The button stays greyed out or missing while Windows is managing the default itself, or if this printer is already the default.

Step 4. Check the Printer Queue

A single stuck document can block everything behind it. When one file fails to transmit, every later job waits until you clear it from the queue, and the printer can then look offline.

1. Open Settings and go to Bluetooth🔷 & devices, then click Printers & scanners.
2. Click your printer in the list.
3. Click Open print queue. A window opens with the documents waiting to print.
4. Look at the list. If you see old or stuck documents, right-click each one and select Cancel. You can also use the menu icon on the document.
5. Repeat until the queue is completely empty.

A document may stay on the list with a status of “Deleting” and never go away. If that happens, the Print Spooler fix in the next section clears it.

Step 5. Reset the Service That Manages the Printing Queue

The Print Spooler is a background service that manages all print jobs in Windows. When it crashes or hangs, the queue freezes. Stopping it, deleting the leftover job files, and starting it again fixes most stubborn queues. You need an administrator account for this. The steps are the same on Windows 11 Home and Pro.

1. Click the Start button⊞, type Services in the search🔍 box, and click the Services app that appears with a gear icon.
2. Scroll down the alphabetical list until you find Print Spooler.
3. Right-click Print Spooler and select Stop. The status column should now be blank instead of “Running”.
4. Open File Explorer📁 and go to this exact folder path: 📁C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERScopy

Windows may ask you to confirm with a Continue button before it shows the folder. Click it.

5. Delete all the files inside this folder. These are leftover print files causing the jam. This step requires administrator privileges. Delete only the files inside the folder, and leave the PRINTERS folder itself in place.
6. Go back to the Services window, right-click Print Spooler, and select Start. The status should show “Running” again.
7. Right-click Print Spooler again, select Properties, find Startup type, and make sure it is set to Automatic. Click OK.

Send a test page when you finish. If the queue now moves, the spooler was the problem.

Step 6. Remove and Reinstall Your Printer

Reinstalling the printer removes corrupted driver links and stale settings that can cause persistent offline errors. You take the printer out of Windows, restart, and add it back so Windows builds a fresh connection. Before you start, have your printer powered on and connected to the network, so Windows can find it afterwards.

1. Open Settings and go to Bluetooth🔷 & devices, then click Printers & scanners.
2. Click your printer name.
3. Click the Remove button to delete the printer from your computer completely. Confirm if Windows asks.
4. Restart your🔄 computer.
5. After your computer turns back on, go back to Printers & scanners in Settings.
6. Click the Add device button and let Windows search for your printer. When it appears in the list, click Add device next to it and wait for the install to finish.

If Windows can’t find the printer, download the driver from the printer maker’s website and install it. Then add the printer again.

Step 7. Restart Your PC

A plain computer restart clears temporary memory glitches, and it also restarts the Print Spooler and the network connection. It costs little to try, especially if you haven’t restarted in days.

1. Click the Start button⊞ on your taskbar🖥️.
2. Click the Power icon.
3. Click Restart and wait for your computer to turn off and back on.

Choose Restart rather than Shut down. With Fast Startup enabled, a shutdown does not fully reset Windows, but a restart does.

Advanced Fixes: Fixing SNMP Status Settings

SNMP status monitoring is a protocol Windows uses to ask the printer whether it is awake. If the printer or router doesn’t answer those requests properly, Windows marks a working printer as offline. Turning the check off stops these false offline messages. This option exists only for printers that use a Standard TCP/IP port, which is typical for network printers. USB printers don’t have it.

1. Open Settings and go to Bluetooth🔷 & devices, then click Printers & scanners.
2. Click your printer in the list.
3. Click Printer properties. This is different from the plain device properties. A new window opens.
4. Click the Ports tab near the top of that window.
5. Look at the list of ports and click the one your printer uses. It usually has a checkmark next to it and says Standard TCP/IP Port.
6. Click the Configure Port button below the list. If the button is greyed out, the printer is not using a Standard TCP/IP port and this fix does not apply.
7. Look near the bottom of the new window for the SNMP Status Enabled box.
8. Uncheck SNMP Status Enabled.
9. Click OK to save your changes, then click Close on the printer properties window.

To undo this, go back to the same window and tick the box again.

Advanced Fixes: Setting a Static IP Address

Most routers hand out temporary addresses that can change over time. If the printer’s address changes, Windows keeps looking at the old one and reports the printer as offline. A permanent static IP address keeps your Windows 11 computer pointed at the right place.

1. Print a network configuration page from your printer’s screen or menu to find its current IP address. It looks like four numbers separated by dots, such as 192.0.2.10.
2. Open your web browser on your computer, type that IP address into the address bar, and press Enter. This opens the printer’s web management page.
3. Log in with your printer administrator details if required. If you never set a password, check the printer’s manual for the default one.
4. Find the network settings or TCP/IP settings section.

5. Change the IP address setting from Dynamic (DHCP) to Static.
6. Save your settings. The printer now keeps this exact address, so Windows can’t lose track of it.

Menu names vary between printer brands, so yours may be worded a little differently. When you enter a static address, use one that is outside your router’s automatic address range, so no other device gets the same one. If you’d rather not change the printer, many routers let you reserve an address for the printer instead. That setting is usually called DHCP reservation. If the printer was added by its old IP address, you may also need to remove it and add it again so Windows uses the new address.

Summary

Most offline printer problems in Windows 11 come down to a few basics: restart the hardware, confirm both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, and clear stuck print jobs. If those don’t work, resetting the Print Spooler, turning off SNMP status monitoring, and assigning a static IP address are the reliable backups. Try them in order and test a print after each one. If the printer keeps going offline after all of them, check the printer maker’s website for a firmware or driver update.