Fault diagnosis
Windows says offline. The printer says otherwise.
Offline is Windows reporting that it cannot reach the printer — not the printer reporting a fault. Nearly always fixable in a few minutes.
"Offline" means Windows cannot reach the printer, not that the printer has failed. Check "Use Printer Offline" is not ticked in the printer's menu, restart the Print Spooler service, and confirm the printer still has the IP address Windows expects. On a network printer, a changed IP after a router restart is the single most common cause.
In order
1. "Use Printer Offline"
Windows has a setting that manually marks a printer offline, and it gets switched on by accident — often when a print fails and Windows offers it. Open the printer in Settings, find the printer menu, and make sure it is unticked.
2. Restart the Print Spooler
The spooler is the Windows service that queues jobs, and it gets stuck. Restarting it clears a large share of offline problems. It is in Services, called Print Spooler. Clearing any stuck jobs from the queue at the same time is worth doing.
3. Check the IP address
This is the big one for network printers. If the printer picks up its address automatically and the router restarts, it can be given a different one. Windows keeps looking at the old one and reports offline.
Print the printer's network configuration page from its own panel and compare the IP with the port Windows is using. If they differ, that is your answer.
The permanent fix is a static IP for the printer, or a DHCP reservation on the router. Without it this will keep happening every time the router restarts. Worth doing once rather than fixing repeatedly.
4. Power cycle both
Printer off and on. If it is on Wi-Fi, check it actually rejoined — see Wi-Fi problems.
5. Remove and re-add
If none of that works, remove the printer from Windows and add it again. That rebuilds the port and driver association, which sometimes gets corrupted after an update.
If it also fails from other devices
Test from a phone or another computer. If nothing can reach it, the problem is the printer's network connection rather than one PC — and that is a different search. If only one PC is affected, it is that PC's driver, port or spooler.
After a Windows update
Feature updates sometimes replace a working driver with a generic one. If it broke the day Windows updated, reinstalling the manufacturer's driver is usually the fix.
Common questions
Why does my printer show offline when it is switched on?
Windows cannot reach it. Either "Use Printer Offline" is ticked, the spooler is stuck, or the printer's IP address has changed and Windows is still looking at the old one.
It goes offline every few days.
Classic sign of a changing IP address. The printer gets a new address from the router and Windows keeps using the old one. Set a static IP or a DHCP reservation and it stops.
It stopped working right after a Windows update.
The update likely replaced the driver. Reinstalling the manufacturer's driver usually fixes it.
How do I restart the Print Spooler?
Open Services, find Print Spooler, and restart it. Clearing stuck jobs from the queue at the same time is worth doing.
Tell us what it is doing.
Call and describe the make and the symptom — most jobs are done in a single visit, and we will tell you straight if it is not worth repairing.