Unfortunately, most of the time, it can’t tell if the printer is really offline or if it has connectivity problems or printing errors. They might occur when:

1. The connection between the computer and the printer is slow/unresponsive.
2. The printer has encountered an internal error.
3. There are multiple unfinished print jobs in the queue.

How to Fix the Printer Offline Troubleshoot?

Method 1: Reinstall your printer drivers

• Go to the Devices and Printers section in Control Panel.
• Locate your printer, right-click it, and choose Remove device.

• Click on Yes when the confirmation dialogue appears.

• Download the latest driver from your printer manufacturer and install it.

Method 2: Change the printer settings

• Open Control Panel and navigate to your Printers window.

• Check if the correct printer is set to Default.
• Right-click on your default printer and select the print queue (See what’s printing).

• If there are any unfinished tasks, remove them from the list.
• From the queue window, select Printer and uncheck the Use Printer Offline option.

• Check if the printer is correctly connected to your computer (unplug the USB cable and plug it in again).
• If you own a network printer, try doing a connection test (also, try restarting your router/switch).
• Turn your printer and computer off and on again.
• If by now the problem isn’t solved, reinstall the printer‘s drivers.

Method 3: Restart the Print Spooler service

• Press Windows Key + R, type services.msc, and press Enter or click OK

• Locate the Print Spooler service, right-click it and choose Restart from the menu.

Note: Keep in mind that this might not be a permanent solution, so you’ll have to repeat it if the issue reappears.

Method 4: Change the printer properties

• Go to Control Panel > Devices and Printers.
• Right-click your printer and choose Printer properties from the menu.

• Go to the Ports tab, select your printer’s IP address from the list and click on the Configure Port button.

• Uncheck SNMP Status Enabled and click on OK to save the changes.

Method 5: Install the latest updates

• Press the Windows Key + I to open the Settings app.
• Navigate to the Update & security section.

• Click on Check for updates button.

Method 6: Add a second printer device

• Go to Control Panel > Devices and Printers.
• Right-click your printer and choose Printer properties from the menu.
• Select the Ports tab and click on Add Port button.

• Select the Standard TCP/IP Port and click on the New Port button.

• Click on Next after the Printer Port Wizard starts.
• Enter the required information. You can get them from your printer’s instruction manual. Click on Next.

We hope this guide helped you solve your printer offline troubleshoot. If you’ve tried all of them and your problem still persists, then you might have a hardware-related problem.