Getting problems due to the HP printer offline issue in Windows 10? This fairly common problem causes problems for many users. Learn how you can fix it after reading this comprehensive blog.
There is no doubt that printers are an important part of our professional world today. We rely on them from time to time even though they can become a hindrance at any moment. Users often complain when their HP printer says offline. Frequent disconnections of HP printers make their performance worse and the problem becomes frustrating.
Read: How To Fix HP Printer Printing Half-Page?
Why is My HP Printer Offline?
A printer offline indicates that the printer is unable to receive print commands, indicating poor or no communication between the devices. This situation requires immediate troubleshooting, otherwise you can complicate the problem by taking a number of actions. Some of the common reasons for the printer showing offline status could be –
- Using outdated drivers
- Poor connection between device and power source
- Incorrect printer settings and more
However, before moving on to the troubleshooting part it is important to identify the root cause of the problem. Since each problem can be solved with a different style of approach.
Wondering how to switch your hp printer from offline to online? Here’s how it’s done.
How Do I Move the HP printer Offline to Online?
There are many ways to solve the problem. It totally depends on the root cause of your problem and which solution works for you.
Try all the possible solutions given below one by one to remedy the situation when the HP printer says offline.
Solution 1: Fix HP Printer Offline Problems with HP Print and Scan Doctor
Apps like HP Print and Scan Doctor help in analyzing what is causing the printer to go offline. Follow the steps below to understand how to use these apps to resolve the scenario when the HP printer is offline.
- Firstly, open the application and run the HPPSdr.exe file from the downloaded file location.
- Click the “Yes” button to confirm the default file location when prompted on your screen.
- Then click on the “Start” button and select your printer showing offline status.
- If the desired printer does not appear on the screen, restart it and try again.
- Now the app will diagnose all the problems due to which your printer is going offline.
- Now follow the process displayed on your screen and click on Yes to confirm all the changes you want.
I hope this procedure will help you to solve the problem. Otherwise, go to the next possible solution.
Solution 2: By Modifying the Printer Properties
Most of the time, a printer offline issue can be easily fixed by making a few changes to your existing printer properties. Below is the step-by-step process to reconfigure your printer properties:
printer properties
- Open “Control Panel” and navigate to the “Devices and Printers” option
- Navigate to the “Printer Properties” option from the drop-down menu
- Now open the “Ports” tab to start the configuration
- Choose an IP Address for Your Printer
- Click on “Configure Port”
- If the “SNMP Status Enabled” option is checked, disable it
- Click on ‘OK’ to save all the changes made
This will help you troubleshoot network issues. If that doesn’t solve your problem, it may be a configuration issue.
Solution 3: Reconfigure your HP Printer Settings
HP printer offline problems can also be fixed by changing your printer settings. To do this, you must restart your computer and your printer. If the printer is a network printer, you can try restarting your router. See the procedure below to resolve the issue:
- Open the “Control Panel” window and navigate to the “Devices and Printers” option.
- Check that your printer is set as the default
- Right-click on the selected default printer and click on the option “See what prints”
- If unfinished tasks exist in the list, remove them
- Select the printer again and uncheck the “Use offline printer” option
- Make sure the “Use offline printer” option is unchecked
- Make sure the printer is properly connected to your computer
- Restart your printer and computer
Solution 4: Update Drivers and System Software for Windows 10
HP printer offline Windows 10 is often caused by outdated or incompatible software. Although most of the time the required software update is automatically taken care of by Windows 10, in case the HP printer offline issue persists, you can always try to update the software manually by following the steps below.
- Open Settings using “Windows + I”
- Open the “Update & Security” section and click “Check for Updates”
- If updates are available, Windows will download these updates
- Install updates and check for problems
Solution 5: Restarting the Print Spooler Service
Restarting the “Print Spooler” service can also sometimes resolve offline issues with HP printers. The print spooler service is used at the time of print. You can restart this service using the following procedure
- Open the “Run” tab by pressing “Windows + R”
- Type ‘services.msc’ then click ‘Ok’
- Once the “Services” window opens, right-click on “Print Spooler”, then click on “Restart”.
- Check if the printer is still showing as offline
Solution 6: Check your VPN connection
The HP printer offline issue often appears when the printer is connected to a VPN. Below mentioned are the steps to fix the problem regarding the VPN connection
- Try accessing your printer one more time after disconnecting from the VPN
- If you want to use both the VPN and your printer, you can connect your printer and computer with a USB cable.
- You can try to reconfigure your VPN setup and get LAN access to fix your HP printer disconnecting problem.
Solution 7: Reinstalling the Printer Drivers
This method is one of the most commonly used methods to fix error on Windows 10. You can use this workaround by following the below procedure.
- Open “Control Panel” and navigate to the “Devices and Printers” option
- Once you find your printer, right-click on it and click “Eject device”.
- Click “Yes” on the tab if prompted
- Once the device is removed, download the latest drivers for your printer from the printer manufacturer’s site.
- Before downloading a driver, check whether the particular version of the driver is compatible with your printer
- After the printer driver is downloaded successfully, you can install the driver and start printing.
Solution 8: Adding a Second Printer
If one of the above solutions didn’t work for you and the HP printer offline error still persists on your Windows 10 computer, you can try adding another printer. This can be done using the following steps
- Open “Control Panel” and click on “Devices and Printers”
- Once you find your printer, right-click on it and click “Eject device”.
- Now click on the “Ports” tab and select the “Add port” option
- Select the “Standard TCP/IP Port” option, then click the “New Port” option.
- After opening the “Printer Port Wizard” tab, click “Next”.
- Enter all the details requested in the tabs referring to your printer’s manual
- After mentioning all the details, click on “Next”. This will add a second printer which will be connected
At this point, your HP printer’s offline problem should be resolved. If none of the solutions work for you, it’s best to get in touch with HP printer support.
Conclusion
The foolproof solutions presented in the above blog are used by HP Printer Support Group all over the world to easily fix HP printer offline issues. They will surely help you to solve the problem yourself.