Printer Showing Offline — Quick Fix Guide

The “offline” status in Windows almost never means the printer is broken. It usually means Windows lost track of it.

Fix 1 — Restart Everything First

Before anything else:

  1. Turn the printer fully off (not just sleep — press the power button)
  2. Unplug the USB or ethernet cable (or forget the WiFi connection)
  3. Restart your PC
  4. Plug everything back in and turn the printer on
  5. Wait 30 seconds and check the status

This resolves it about 40% of the time.

Fix 2 — Clear the Print Queue

A stuck print job can freeze the entire printer status.

  1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, press Enter
  2. Find Print Spooler → right-click → Stop
  3. Open File Explorer and go to: C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS
  4. Delete all files inside that folder (don’t delete the folder itself)
  5. Go back to services → right-click Print Spooler → Start
  6. Try printing again

Fix 3 — Set as Default and Uncheck “Use Printer Offline”

  1. Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners
  2. Click your printer → Printer properties
  3. In the Printer menu at the top, make sure Use Printer Offline is unchecked
  4. Also set it as the default printer

Fix 4 — Remove and Re-Add the Printer

If the above doesn’t work, Windows may have a corrupt printer entry.

  1. Go to Settings → Printers & scanners
  2. Click your printer → Remove device
  3. Click Add a printer or scanner
  4. Let Windows detect it and reinstall

If it doesn’t detect automatically, go to the printer manufacturer’s website and download the latest driver.

Network/WiFi Printers

If your printer connects over WiFi:

  • Make sure the printer and PC are on the same WiFi network (not one on 2.4GHz and one on 5GHz)
  • Restart your router as well
  • Print a network configuration page from the printer’s own menu to confirm it has an IP address

Fix 5 — Fix Error 0x0000000709 (Cannot Set Default Printer)

If you see the error 0x0000000709 when trying to set a default printer, Windows is unable to write the printer setting to the registry. This is a permissions or corruption issue, not a hardware problem.

  1. Press Win + R, type regedit, press Enter
  2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows
  3. On the right side, find the Device key
  4. Right-click Device → Permissions
  5. Make sure your user account has Full Control checked — if not, click Edit and grant it
  6. Click OK, then double-click Device and confirm your printer is set as the value
  7. Restart your PC and try setting the default printer again

Also try:

  • Go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners and turn off “Let Windows manage my default printer”
  • Restart the Print Spooler service (see Fix 2 above)

Still showing offline?

Hardware faults, damaged USB ports, or failed network cards in the printer can cause persistent offline status. Bring it in and we’ll diagnose it.

Submit a service request →