Printer Showing Offline In Windows 11? Get It Printing Again.

1. Check the basics

• Is the printer switched on and awake, not in deep sleep or showing an error such as a paper jam or empty tray?
• For a WiFi or network printer, use the printer's own screen or print a network configuration page to check it's connected to the same network as your computer. A guest network or a different WiFi band can isolate it.
• For a USB printer, try a different port and cable.

2. Restart in the right order

Turn off the printer. Restart your modem/router if the network has been flaky, wait until it's back online, then turn the printer on, wait for it to connect, and restart the computer last.

3. Clear the print queue and turn off "Use printer offline"

A stuck job can make Windows show the printer as offline.

1. Go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners and select your printer.
2. Click Open print queue.
3. Cancel all documents (right-click each → Cancel).
4. In the queue window, open the Printer menu and make sure Use printer offline isn't ticked.

4. Run the printer troubleshooter

Go to Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters → Printer and click Run. It opens Windows' Get Help tool, which automatically checks the spooler and connection.

5. Restart the Print Spooler service

The Print Spooler manages print jobs, and it can get stuck.

1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
2. Find Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Restart.
3. Try printing again.

6. Check whether the printer's IP address changed

This is the number one cause of a network printer that "keeps going offline". Your router hands out addresses automatically, and after a power cut or router restart the printer may get a new one, while Windows keeps looking at the old one.

• Print a network configuration page from the printer to see its current IP address.
• The permanent fix is a DHCP reservation on your router, so the printer always gets the same address. Then add the printer in Windows using that address.

7. Remove and re-add the printer

1. Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → select the printer → Remove.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Back in Printers & scanners, click Add device. If it isn't found, choose "Add manually" and add it by its IP address.
4. For full features like scanning, install the latest driver or app from the printer manufacturer's support website, not a third-party download site.

8. Stop Windows switching your default printer

If documents keep going to the wrong printer, such as "Microsoft Print to PDF", turn off Let Windows manage my default printer in Printers & scanners and set your default manually.

For offices: making printing reliable

If several people share a printer, set a reserved IP address, keep its firmware updated, and deploy it to everyone's computers the same way. It's also worth checking how the printer's scan-to-email is set up. Many stopped working when Microsoft 365 tightened its email security, and they need to be reconfigured rather than "fixed" at each computer.

When to get help

• The printer keeps dropping offline for everyone in the office.
• Scan-to-email or scan-to-folder has stopped working.
• The printer works from some computers but not others.
• You're setting up a new printer across several computers.

Quick answers

Why does Windows 11 say my printer is offline?
Common causes are the printer being on a different network, a stuck print job, the Use printer offline setting, a frozen Print Spooler service, or the printer's IP address changing after a power cut or router restart.

How do I stop my network printer going offline?
Give it a fixed address by setting a DHCP reservation on your router, then add the printer in Windows using that IP address.

How do I restart the Print Spooler?
Press Windows + R, type services.msc, find Print Spooler in the list, right-click it and choose Restart.