Printers & Peripherals

Printer Won't Print? The Most Common Causes (and How to Fix Them Fast)

⊞ Windows Mac June 12, 2025🕐 5 min read
🖨️ printer 🖥️ hardware 🔌 peripherals ⭐ beginner

🖨️ Start here — applies to all printers on any OS

Power-cycle the printer. Turn it completely off with the power button. Unplug it from the wall. Wait 30 seconds. Plug back in and power on. Give it 60 seconds to fully initialize. This clears the printer's internal memory and solves a surprising number of issues before you even touch your computer.

⊞ Windows 10 & 11 printer troubleshooting.

Fix 1 — Clear the Stuck Print Queue

1

Open the print queue and cancel all jobs

Click Start, search Printers & scanners, click your printer, then Open print queue. Right-click each item and select Cancel. If nothing cancels, right-click and try Cancel All Documents.

2

Restart the Print Spooler service

Press Win + R, type services.msc and press Enter. Scroll to Print Spooler, right-click it, and choose Restart. This forces Windows to clear all queued jobs and start fresh.

Fix 2 — Set the Right Default Printer

3

Check which printer Windows is sending jobs to

Go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners. Turn off "Let Windows manage my default printer" — this setting silently changes your default after every use. Then click your printer and select Set as default.

Fix 3 — Bring the Printer Back Online

4

Take the printer out of "Offline" mode

In Printers & scanners, open the print queue. If you see "Offline" in the status bar, click Printer in the menu bar and uncheck "Use Printer Offline". Then try printing again.

💡 Windows tip: If the printer is wireless and keeps showing offline, make sure it's on the same Wi-Fi network as your PC — not a guest network. Also check the printer's IP hasn't changed by printing a configuration page directly from the printer's control panel.
macOS printer troubleshooting.

Fix 1 — Clear the Stuck Print Queue

1

Open the print queue and delete stuck jobs

Go to System Settings → Printers & Scanners, click your printer, then click Open Print Queue. Click the X next to each job to cancel it. If jobs won't cancel, hold Option while clicking the X to force-delete them.

2

Reset the printing system

In System Settings → Printers & Scanners, right-click (or Control-click) anywhere in the printer list and select "Reset printing system…" This removes all printers and clears all queued jobs. You'll need to re-add your printer afterward, but it's the most reliable fix for persistent queue issues.

Fix 2 — Delete and Re-add the Printer

3

Remove the printer and add it fresh

In Printers & Scanners, select your printer and click the minus (−) button to remove it. Then click the plus (+) button, wait for macOS to discover nearby printers, and select yours. macOS will automatically download the correct driver from Apple's servers.

Fix 3 — Check AirPrint vs. Standard Driver

4

Make sure you're using the right connection method

When re-adding the printer, macOS may offer two entries for the same device — one via AirPrint and one via the manufacturer's driver. For most modern printers, AirPrint works best. If AirPrint isn't available, visit the manufacturer's website (HP, Canon, Epson, etc.) to download the latest macOS driver.

💡 Mac tip: If you're printing to a shared office printer and it suddenly stops working after a macOS update, the driver may have been removed. Go to the printer manufacturer's website and download the driver specifically labeled for your macOS version.

Still Not Printing?

If the printer remains unresponsive after all of these steps, the issue may be a corrupted driver that needs a full reinstall, a network conflict, or a hardware problem with the printer itself. We can diagnose remotely and walk you through the solution.

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