Windows 11 Printer Problems: Offline, Stuck Jobs and Drivers

Most Windows 11 printer problems fall into a handful of patterns: the printer shows as offline, documents sit in the queue and never print, the printer cannot be found at all, or printing broke after a driver or Windows update. This guide takes each in turn, with the exact menus in Windows 11 version 24H2 and 25H2. The steps are the same on Home and Pro.

Everything printer-related in Windows 11 lives in one place: Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. Select a printer there to see its status, open its queue, print a test page or remove it.

Start here: troubleshooter and a power cycle

Two quick steps fix a surprising share of problems:

1. Run the printer troubleshooter. Microsoft’s first recommendation on Windows 11 is the automated printer troubleshooter in the Get Help app. It runs diagnostics and tries to fix common faults by itself.
2. Power-cycle the printer. Turn it off, unplug it from the wall, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in and turn it on.

While the printer restarts, check the obvious: paper loaded, no jam, covers closed and ink or toner not empty. A status of “Printer in error state” usually means something on the printer itself needs attention.

Printer shows as offline

An offline printer is almost always a connection problem rather than a broken printer.

1. Check the network. A wireless printer must be on the same network as the PC. If you use a Wi-Fi extender, mesh system or a router with separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network names, the PC and printer may have ended up on different ones. Most printers have a menu option or button to print a network or wireless test report.
2. Set it as the default. In Printers & scanners, select the printer and choose Set as default. If that button is missing, turn off Let Windows manage my default printer first.
3. Clear the queue. Select the printer, choose Open print queue, then use the ellipsis (…) menu and select Cancel all.
4. Restart the spooler (see the next section).
5. Remove and re-add the printer if it still shows offline.
6. Restart the PC to refresh the services Windows uses to talk to the printer.

If the PC itself has trouble staying online, fix that first with our Windows 11 no internet guide.

Jobs stuck in the queue and print spooler errors

The Print Spooler is the Windows service that holds and sends print jobs. When it crashes, documents freeze in the queue, the printer stops responding and apps can hang when you press Ctrl + P.

1. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer and choose Open print queue. Right-click each job and select Cancel.
2. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
3. Scroll to Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Restart.
4. Try printing again.

If the spooler keeps crashing, look for conflicting drivers. Open Device Manager, expand Print queues (or Printers), and uninstall old or duplicate entries for printers you no longer own. Then install the current driver for your model.

Windows 11 cannot find the printer

Connection	What to check
USB	Cable firmly seated at both ends; try another USB port on the PC, ideally directly rather than through a hub. If the cable connection is not recognized, see our USB device not recognized guide.
Wi-Fi	Printer’s wireless light on; printer and PC on the same network; printer’s wireless test passes.
Bluetooth	Printer in pairing mode and Bluetooth on in Windows. See Bluetooth not working.
Shared from another PC	The host PC is on, sharing is enabled, and both PCs are on the same private network.

To add the printer, open Printers & scanners and select Add device. Wait while Windows searches, then select Add device next to your printer. If it does not appear, select Add manually. For a USB printer, choose Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings, select Use an existing port, pick the USB port, and choose the driver from the list. Selecting Windows Update in that dialog refreshes the list of available drivers, which takes a few minutes.

Remove and reinstall the printer

Removing the printer clears out a corrupted queue or a bad configuration.

1. In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer.
2. Select Remove and confirm with Yes.
3. Restart the PC.
4. Make sure the printer is on and connected, then select Add device and add it again.
5. Select the printer and choose Print test page to confirm it works.

Driver problems after an update

If printing stopped after a Windows or driver update:

• Get the current driver. Check Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates for a printer driver, or download the latest driver from the printer maker’s support site for your exact model.
• Roll back. In Device Manager, open the printer’s Properties and use Roll Back Driver on the Driver tab if it is available.
• Uninstall a recent update. As a temporary measure, uninstall the latest update from Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates.
• ARM-based PCs. Microsoft notes that some ARM PCs, including Copilot+ PCs, cannot add a printer using the manufacturer’s installer. Add the printer through Settings instead. To check, look at System type under Settings > System > About.

Windows 11 24H2 also includes Windows protected print mode in Printers & scanners. When it is on, Windows uses only its own built-in print driver, so some older printers that need a maker’s driver stop working. If you turned it on and a printer vanished, turn it off again.

When nothing works

If the printer works from another computer or a phone but not this PC, the problem is in Windows. Run System File Checker to repair damaged system files, then check the wider Windows 11 troubleshooting guide. If the printer fails from every device, and its own self-test or copy function also fails, the printer needs service from its maker.

If jobs keep going to the wrong printer, see set the default printer in Windows 11.