why printer shows offline

 

It turns out it is a problem with a very simple fix. When you turn on the printer, power it off and then back on, and this will fix the problem and reconnect your printer to your network. The majority of printers that show offline are printers that require software to be installed onto your computer in order for them to work.

If you have never installed the software before there are a few steps that you will need to follow:

1) Open up your web browser, type in www.hp.com/support/searchand then click on "printer setup" or "get ink".

 

Image source: https://www.flipkart.com/

2) Follow the instructions that are given to you, which usually will require you to call the number on the screen.

3) Have your computer connected to theprinter via cable or wirelessly.

4) After your computer has finished installing and installing any drivers, reinstall the software that you need.

The steps in this article are specific to windows computers, however I have also found success on a variety of other operating systems including MAC and Linux systems. Even if you reconnect the printer, it might still show as offline. To resolve this, restart the print spooler service by typing cmd into Windows Search (right-click on Start), then run "net stop spooler" and "net start spooler". If this does not work for you, try using another port for sharing the printer. To change ports, go to the Control Panel > Devices and Printers > right-click on your specific printer > Printer Properties > Sharing tab > Click 'Change sharing' button. If the following message is shown, click 'Browse and select a different port'.

"This printer isn't sharing properly.

 

Image source: https://www.vijaysales.com/

Specify the port for sharing, or choose one of the options to connect this printer to a remote computer."

Select 'Browse and select a different port' > Next > Choose the IP address of your computer and change the number to 310 (in my case) > OK - Apply > Close. So what is the reason for printer showing offline?

There are many reasons that your printer may not be printing anything. Some of them are listed as below:

- The power cord has been unplugged or there is an issue with the power cord.

- The ink cartridge, paper, or both are empty and need to be replaced.

- Your computer may have a virus affecting your printers. This can also be caused by sharing a network printer or backing up to your 'printer'. ~nix printers can get affected from sharing the same network drive as network shares with data on it," ~nix printers may get infected from shared print queues (NetMap).

- Computers and network settings (computer names, IP address, etc) are not configured properly or are not matching up.

- There is a sharing issue with Windows (firewall, NetBios, remote registry).

- Any number of third party printers installed (i.e. Norton Ghost printer drivers) may cause problems with the printer that you are trying to use.

 - Printer may be out of drivers in Windows and needs to be reinstalled or reupdated with newer drivers.

- Printer is damaged physically or inside the bowels of the machine and needs repair by professional level service technician.