Printer offline in Windows 11: how to get it back online

Applies to Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. Windows 10 uses the same queue and spooler steps, but its Settings pages look different.

Match your symptom

What you see	Likely cause	Where to start
Offline after the printer slept or was switched off	Lost contact, no wake-up	Quick checks, Fix 1
Offline but the printer prints a test page from its own panel	Offline mode ticked or stuck queue	Fix 2, Fix 3
Jobs sit in the queue forever	Stalled spooler	Fix 3, Fix 4
Wrong printer used, or the real one shows offline	Windows picked the default	Fix 5
Wi-Fi printer offline every few days	IP address changed or WSD port	Fix 6, Keeps going offline
Printer vanished after a change in Settings	Windows protected print mode	Fix 9

Quick checks first

• Turn the printer off, unplug it for 30 seconds, then power it on. This clears a frozen network card or USB link.
• Look at the printer’s own display or network report and confirm it’s on the same Wi-Fi network as the PC. A guest network keeps devices apart.
• For USB printers, reseat the cable and try a port directly on the PC rather than a hub.
• Clear any error on the printer itself: paper jam, open cover, empty tray or ink. Windows may report these as offline or error states.
• If you’re on a VPN, disconnect it and try again; some VPNs block local network traffic.

Fix 1: Run the offline printer troubleshooter

On Windows 11, Microsoft’s first recommendation is the printer troubleshooter in the Get Help app. Opening aka.ms/OfflinePrinter launches it. If it finds nothing, carry on below.

Fix 2: Turn off Use Printer Offline

Windows has a manual offline switch. When it’s on, jobs are held on the PC instead of being sent, and the status reads offline even though the printer is fine.

Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select your printer and choose Open print queue. In the queue window, open the menu (the three-dot button, or the Printer menu on some versions) and make sure Use Printer Offline is not ticked. Untick Pause Printing too if it’s there. Some printer makers’ software opens its own status window instead, so the route can vary.

Fix 3: Clear the print queue

One broken job can block everything behind it. In the same print queue window, select the three-dot button and choose Cancel all. A job that refuses to go needs the spooler fix next.

Fix 4: Restart the Print Spooler

The Print Spooler service hands jobs to the printer. If it hangs, every printer can look offline. Search for Services from the taskbar, find Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Restart.

If jobs still won’t clear, double-click Print Spooler, select Stop, then open %WINDIR%\System32\spool\PRINTERS and delete the files inside. Start the service again and check that Startup type is Automatic.

Warning: delete only the files inside the PRINTERS folder, never the folder itself or anything else under spool. Any job waiting to print is lost.

Fix 5: Check the default printer

With Let Windows manage my default printer on, Windows picks the printer you used last at your current location, which can leave an old or offline printer in charge. In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, turn that setting off, select your printer and choose Set as default. If setting a default fails with an error, see our guide to error 0x00000709 when setting a default printer.

Fix 6: Point the port at the right address

This is the most common cause on Wi-Fi printers. Most home routers hand out IP addresses that can change. If the printer gets a new one, Windows keeps sending jobs to the old address and shows offline.

• Print a network configuration page from the printer’s menu and note its current IP address.
• In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer, open Printer properties and go to the Ports tab.
• If the ticked port is a WSD port, or a TCP/IP port with an old address, select Add Port, choose Standard TCP/IP Port and enter the printer’s current IP address. Then tick the new port and apply.
• If the printer stays offline but prints, select Configure Port and untick SNMP Status Enabled. Windows then stops asking the printer for its status, which some models answer badly. You lose status reports, not printing.

WSD (Web Services for Devices) finds printers automatically, which is handy, but it relies on discovery that can fail after sleep or a network change. A fixed TCP/IP port is more predictable. Microsoft’s printer pages don’t cover this choice, so treat it as a widely used fix rather than official guidance.

Fix 7: Remove the printer and add it again

Re-adding builds a fresh printer entry and port. In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer, choose Remove and confirm. Restart the PC, make sure the printer is on, then select Add device next to Add a printer or scanner. If it isn’t found, use Add manually and enter its IP address.

Shared from another PC? The host must be on and sharing; see how to share a printer on your network in Windows 11 and 10. A connection error such as 0x0000011b when connecting to a shared printer has its own fix.

Fix 8: Update the driver and Windows

Install the newest driver from the printer maker’s support site for your exact model; avoid third-party driver updater tools. Then open Settings > Windows Update and select Check for updates. If nothing arrives, see how to force Windows Update to check and install updates. As of early November 2026, Microsoft’s Windows 11 release health pages list no open printing known issue.

Fix 9: Check Windows protected print mode

Windows protected print mode uses only Microsoft’s built-in print support and is designed for Mopria-certified printers. Turning it on uninstalls printers that rely on maker drivers, so an older printer can disappear or stop working. Check Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, under Printer preferences. If you didn’t mean to turn it on, select Turn off, confirm, then add the printer again. On a work PC, the setting may be set by policy, so ask IT.

Printer keeps going offline

If the printer comes back but drops again every few days, fix the cause, not the symptom:

• Give the printer a reserved IP address in your router’s DHCP settings (the menu name varies by router), then use that address in a TCP/IP port as in Fix 6.
• Check the printer’s sleep or auto-off setting. Deep sleep on some models can drop Wi-Fi, though the printer should wake when a job arrives.
• Move the printer closer to the router or use Ethernet if it has a port.
• Turn off the PC’s own power saving for the network adapter only if the problem follows sleep; this is a community tip, not a Microsoft step.

Still offline? Try printing from a phone or another PC. If that fails too, the printer or its network setup is at fault; contact the maker.

Related guides

• Printer sharing in Windows 11 and 10: how to share a printer on your network
• Error 0x00000709 when setting a default printer: how to fix it
• Error 0x0000011b: How to Fix “Windows Cannot Connect to the Printer”
• How to force Windows Update to check and install updates
• Printer driver is unavailable in Windows 11: how to fix it

Official sources

• Microsoft: Troubleshooting offline printer problems in Windows
• Microsoft: Fix printer connection and printing problems in Windows
• Microsoft Learn: Windows protected print mode