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Facing HP Printer Offline Error? Here’s How to Get it Online

By admin July 13, 2020

HP has always been known to provide high-tech printers and other devices. But you can never expect a technical device to run smoothly throughout its life even if it is from such a renowned brand. There are a number of issues as reported by HP printer users over time. One such issue is when ‘HP Printer is showing offline’ and due to that you are not able to complete the printing tasks. This situation is worse when you have an urgent document to print.

If you have also received this error with your HP printer, don’t panic as this can be resolved within a few steps. But first, you need to know the answer to ‘Why is my HP printer offline?’ before directly jumping on to the solutions.

Reasons Why HP Printer is Offline

Dealing with an HP printer that is going offline can be quite frustrating but not when you know what is causing the error. It is important to know what all factors work towards making a printer, so that you can know how you can get your HP printer back online.

So if your HP printer is showing offline, there can be a connection error between your computer and the printer. Also, the cables attached to the printer have gone damaged or defective making the printer go offline. Another reason for getting the offline error is when you haven’t updated your driver for quite some time or the software required for the proper functioning of the printer is not of the latest version. You can also check the settings of your HP printer as that may also lead to an offline error.

How to Bring an HP printer online?

After knowing what all things can bring your HP printer offline, now have a look at the list of solutions that you can try to fix HP printer offline error:

Get Your HP Printer Online Manually

Follow the steps listed underneath to bring the printer’s offline status to online:

  1. Turn on the device connected to your printer.
  2. From the ‘Start’ menu, go to the ‘Devices and Printers’ section.
  3. Then right-click on your HP printer and click ‘See what’s printing’.
  4. From the menu you see, select ‘Printer’.
  5. Next, from the drop-down menu that appears, select ‘Use Printer Online’.

That’s how you can get an HP printer online by changing the HP printer’s status from offline to online. If this method doesn’t help, go on with the next method.

Inspect All the Cables

It is possible that the cables have got damaged or defective due to their overuse or are not inserted properly and you haven’t noticed that; this can also get your HP printer showing offline; here’s how you can try fixing it:

  1. Make sure all the cables are properly inserted into their respective positions.
  2. A printer connected to a network will only work if the Ethernet cable is correctly inserted.
  3. A wireless HP printer needs to be properly connected to the router as well as the internet to show online
  4. Replace all the damaged or faulty cables with the new ones

Clear the pending print jobs

When HP printer says offline, you must clear all the pending print jobs as follows:

  1. Click on the ‘Start’ menu, go to ‘Control Panel’ and then go to the ‘Devices and Printers’ section.
  2. Now right-click on your printer and select the option ‘ See What’s Printing’.
  3. Right-click on ‘See What’s Printing’ option and then cancel all the pending jobs you see.
  4. Once you have removed all the print jobs, choose the option ‘Use Printer Online’ again.
  5. Restart the system and the printer and check if it helps.

Get the Latest Printer Driver

Every printer needs the latest and appropriate driver to work smoothly. For HP printers as well, you will need the latest printer driver installed in order to make it online from offline.

  1. Turn on the printer and disconnect the USB cable from the printer, if required.
  2. Then go to the official link of HP Official Software and Driver Downloads to get the latest software and driver installed for your printer.
  3. On the first page that says ‘Let’s identify your product, click on Printer, then enter the printer model name or number, and press ‘Submit’.
  4. You can also change the operating system if required by clicking on ‘Change’, make your choice, and then click Change.
  5. Now, under the Driver heading, click Download to get the full software package or click Basic Drivers to see other options.

Manually set the default printer

You can also set your printer as default to try fixing the HP Printer offline issue on Windows 10.

  1. For Windows 10

To set the printer as the default in Windows 10:-

  • In the Start menu, type devices and click on ‘Printers and Scanners’ from the list you see.
  • Uncheck the box for ‘Let Windows manage my default printer’ if already checked.
  • From the list of the printers, select the one that matches with your printer and click on ‘Manage’. If there is more than one name, select the printer that is showing the status as idle or online.
  • Next, under ‘Manage your device’ title, click ‘Set as default’.
  • Now, try to print and see if the error gets resolved.
  1. For Windows 8, 7

To set the default printer in Windows 8, 7:-

  • In the Start menu, type devices and click on ‘Printers and Scanners’ from the list you see.
  • Next, right-click on the name of the HP printer that is active and select the option ‘Set as Default printer’
  • Check if it brings the printer online.

Troubleshoot The Printer Connection

You can even try troubleshooting the printer connection by following the given methods:

  1. Wi-Fi

If the HP printer is showing offline on a wirelessly connected printer, follow the given steps:

  • Restarting the Devices
  • Put the printer off and wait for 10 seconds.
  • Detach the power cord from the printer.
  • Exit the computer you are trying to print from.
  • Attach the power cord to the printer and turn the printer on.
  • Now, detach the power cord from your wireless router and then wait for 10 seconds.
  • Thereafter, reattach the power cord to the router, turn on the PC and proceed to the next step.
  • Connect the Printer to the Network

Next, you need to connect the printer to the network through the HP wireless setup wizard, WPS or the HP Smart Software.

  1. Connecting Printer with Touchscreen Control Panel
  • Touch the Wireless icon on the home screen of the printer’s control panel.
  • Then, press the ‘Setup’ icon.
  • Select ‘Restore Network Defaults’ and press ‘Yes’ to confirm.
  • Once the default network settings are restored, touch the back arrow, Wireless Settings, and then select Wireless Setup Wizard.
  • When the printer searches for networks, select the name of your wireless network.
  • If your network is not in the list of wireless networks, press ‘Enter New Network Name’ and type name of your network.
  • Type the password and press ‘Done’.
  • When the printer gets connected, the blue Wireless light stops blinking.
  • Check if the HP wireless printer offline gets resolved.
  1. Connecting Printer Without  Touchscreen Control Panel

For printers without touchscreen control panel, you can use Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), HP Smart, or temporarily connect a USB cable to set up a wireless connection between printer and the network.

2. USB

If the HP printer keeps going offline even when connected via USB cable, try restarting the computer, the printer, and verify the cable connection. Then follow the given directions:

  • Turn off the computer and printer and disconnect the USB cable from the PC.
  • Examine the cable, if the cable is damaged, change the cable.
  • Also, check the cable’s length. If it is more than 3 m, replace the cable with a shorter one.
  • Attach the cable to a different USB port and the port should be USB 2.0 or greater. If you have a USB hub or docking station, you can directly connect the cable to the computer.
  • The cable must be properly connected to both the ports.
  • Now, turn on the computer and let it complete the startup.
  • Bring the printer to active mode and then if you have Windows, wait for the computer to install the new device. For Mac devices, add the printer manually.

3. Wired Network

If your system is unable to bring the printer online on a wired network, here is what you need to do.

  • Disconnect the Ethernet cable
  • Firstly, disconnect and then reconnect the Ethernet cable.
  • Switch off the printer and disconnect the Ethernet cable from the router.
  • Look for any damage in the cable and if the cable is damaged, replace it. The cable must be properly secured to both ports and must be an Ethernet cable and not a phone one. 
  • Now, attach the cable to a different Ethernet or LAN port on the router but don’t connect it to the Internet port.
  • Turn on the printer now and validate the connection on your printer by checking the lights on the printer’s Ethernet port. 
  • Print a Network Configuration Page
  • Printers with Touchscreen Control panel: You can print the page from the Wireless, Network Settings, or Setup menu.
  • Printers with buttons only: You can print the report using button combinations such as for some, pressing the ‘Wireless’ and ‘Information’ button will work, and for some pressing the ‘Wireless’ and Start Copy button at the same time.
  • After this, check the ‘General Information’ section and make sure the ‘Network Status’ is showing as Ready.

Troubleshooting Offline Printer issues with Mac OS

Here are the troubleshooting methods you need to apply if the printer is showing offline on your Mac operating system.

  1. Get the Printer Ready
  • The printer says offline when it is off or not available for communication. To make the printer ready to receive a print job, follow the given steps:
  • Inspect the printer, if it is off or in sleep mode and press the Power button to turn it on.
  • Next, ensure that the printer has papers loaded into the input tray, the ink or toner cartridges have been correctly installed and there are no errors or no lights are blinking on the control panel of the printer.
  • Now, restart the printer and make it ready to print.
  • Check if it prints or if still, it shows offline, go to the next method.
  1. Try Resetting the printing system
  • You can even try resetting the print system as it will clear all the errors by removing all HP and non-HP printers, print jobs, as well as printer preferences.
  • Launch the Apple menu and click on ‘System Preferences’.
  • Then click on any one of the following: ‘Print & Fax, Print & Scan, or Printers & Scanners’.
  • Next, right-click on the Printers window and click ‘Reset printing system’.
  • Click ‘Reset’ in the confirmation window; enter the Administrator name plus password.
  • Click ‘Ok’ to complete the reset process of the printing system.
  • After this add your printer back to the list and check if it prints.

Troubleshooting Tools by HP

Those were all the methods you can use to bring your HP printer online and if that didn’t work for you, you can still have an option left.

HP Print and Scan Doctor

HP Print and Scan Doctor is the one tool that HP provides to help its users deal with printing and scanning errors; here’s how to use the tool:

  • First, you need to download the HP Print and Scan Doctor program on your device.
  • After downloading, run HPPSdr.exe from the location where you have saved the file on your computer.
  • Launch the HP Print and Scan Doctor program, click Start, and select your printer.
  • If you don’t see your printer listed, turn it on and click on ‘Retry’.
  • If your printer is facing a connection problem, follow the directions provided by the tool.
  • Thereafter, a screen will display asking to turn on printer updates, choose ‘Yes’ and continue.
  • On the screen that asks to set your printer as default, click ‘Yes’ and continue.

Conclusion

  • If your HP printer is offline, you can try all the troubleshooting methods given above. You can get your HP printer online by checking the connectivity issue and by ensuring that all the drivers and software are updated.
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