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How to change Printer status from Offline to Online in Windows 10?

If you often use printers in your work, you may have noticed that that printers on Windows 10 can have both an online and an offline status. Note that when your printer goes offline, this doesn’t mean it’s no longer connected to your PC. The reason your printer goes offline may be because an error has occurred during printing or because there is a problem with your driver. In short, your OS can change your printer status to offline if it detects an issue.

Naturally, if you want to use your printer, you will want its status to be online. So, in this post, we will give you the steps for changing your printer status from offline to online.

How to Change a Printer Status to Online?

There are several ways to change a printer status from offline to online in Windows 10. These include:

  • Restarting your printer and checking its connectivity
  • Changing your printer status
  • Running the Printer Troubleshooter
  • Removing and adding the printer
  • Troubleshooting your printer network

Start from the beginning and work your way down this list of solutions. If the first one doesn’t work, move on to the next method — and so on.

Solution One: Restart Your Printer and Check its Connectivity

If you printer has been online and yet not in use for some time, it may have gone into an idle state. The simplest solution here would be to turn it off for about one minute and then switch it back on. See if the problem has been resolved.

Then, check if the printer is properly connected to its power source: it has to be on and connected to your computer. One of the main reasons your printer may show as offline are connection issues: so, it’s best to double check that everything is properly connected first. If it is, move on to the next solution.

Solution Two: Change Your Printer Status

  • Go to Windows Settings: on your keyboard, press the Win + I key combo.
  • Navigate to Devices > Printers and Scanners.
  • Select the printer that is coming up as offline.
  • Now, click Open Queue.
  • In the Print Queue window, choose Printer Offline.
  • You will see a message that says: “This action will change the printer from offline to online.”
  • Once you click Confirm, the status of your printer will be changed to online.
  • In order for this to happen, you may need to first clear the print queue. The reason your printer has gone offline may be related to a print job it could not complete.
  • Once you have changed your printer’s status to online, it should now be working properly.

If this solution has not worked, proceed to the next one.

Solution Three: Run the Printer Troubleshooter

The Printer Troubleshooter is part of Windows in-house troubleshoot package and it is designed to solve a variety of printer problems on your PC, including driver errors, connectivity issues, restarting printer related services, and so on. Here’s how to run the Printer Troubleshooter:

  • Navigate to Settings > Update and Security > Troubleshoot.
  • Click Printer Troubleshooter to launch the tool.
  • The program will scan your printer and related software for potential issues and fix them if any are discovered.

Solution Four: Remove and Add the Printer

If the above solution has not worked, try removing the printer from the system and adding it again. It is a rather simple process. However, you may also be required to download some drivers and OEMs applications. Here’s how to proceed:

  • Disconnect the printer from your PC.
  • Navigate to Devices > Printers and Scanners.
  • Click the printer you want to remove.
  • Select Remove device.
  • Now, plug the printer back in.
  • Windows should now add it automatically and install the needed drivers.
  • If your system does not see the newly connected printer, you will need to add it online: click Add a printer or scanner and select the link that says “The printer that I want isn’t listed.”
  • You will now need to install the printer manually, which includes downloading and installing the needed drivers.


If you don’t feel confident about manually installing drivers on your PC, consider using a program that does that automatically. A program like Auslogics Driver Updater will run an automatic scan of your system drivers for existing and potential issues, prepare a report on outdated or missing drivers it has detected, and then update them to the latest manufacturer-recommended versions in just one click.

Solution Five: Troubleshoot Your Printer Network

If you are using a network printer, its status may be changed to offline when your computer is unable to reach it. Try using the printer with a different computer. If it’s working fine then the problem may not lie in the printer but in your network. In order to fix it, you will need to troubleshoot your network issues. The problem may be related to an enabled firewall issue or could be caused by a variety of other network complications. If you have never addressed a problem of this kind before, it’s probably best you consult a professional to help you through it.

Finally, in order to give you system a bit of a general boost and make sure that all the programs are working properly, consider installing performance-enhancing software like Auslogics BoostSpeed. The software will run a comprehensive scan of your system and locate any unneeded files (such as user temporary files, web browser cache, unused error logs, leftover Windows Update files, temporary Sun Java files, unneeded Microsoft Office cache and so on). They will then be safely removed from your system without causing any complications. This way, you will be freeing gigabytes of space on your computer without overspending on expensive hardware upgrades.

We hope you have been able to change your printer status from online to offline and can now use it with no problems. Which of the above solutions has worked best for you? Share in the comments below.