Printer Not Working on Windows 11? 9 Fixes (2026)

If your printer not working on Windows 11 has you stuck, you’re not alone. You hit print. Nothing happens. The printer just sits there.

Or a document gets stuck in the queue and no matter how many times you cancel it, it won’t go away. Or the printer was working fine yesterday and now Windows says it’s offline. Or it stopped working right after a Windows update.

I’ve run into most of these myself. The frustrating thing is that printer not working problems on Windows 11 are almost never the printer’s fault – it’s almost always a driver, a stuck print job, or a Windows setting that got changed. All fixable.

This guide covers every common scenario. Find yours in the quick diagnosis box below and jump straight to the right fix.

Find your situation:

Printer was working, now shows “Offline” – Fix 2
Document stuck in print queue, won’t cancel – Fix 3
Stopped working after Windows update – Fix 5 or Fix 8
Printer not detected at all – Fix 4
HP printer broken since January 2026 update – Fix 8
Wireless printer keeps disconnecting – Fix 6

Fix 1: Restart Everything First

Before anything else – restart your printer, your computer, and your router if it’s a wireless printer.

It sounds too simple. But a full power cycle clears temporary errors that no amount of settings-tweaking can fix. Turn off the printer completely and unplug it from the wall. Wait 30 seconds. Plug it back in and turn it on. Then restart your PC.

Try printing again. If it works, you’re done.

If not, read on.

Fix 2: Set Your Printer as Default and Take It Out of Offline Mode

Windows 11 sometimes sets the wrong printer as default, or marks a working printer as offline for no obvious reason.

Set as default:

Press Windows + I to open Settings
Go to Bluetooth & devices – Printers & scanners
Click your printer
Click Set as default

Take it offline:

In the same Printers & scanners screen, click your printer
Click Open print queue
Click Printer in the menu bar
If Use Printer Offline has a checkmark next to it – click it to uncheck it

That checkmark is easy to turn on by accident, and it makes the printer look broken when it’s actually fine.

Fix 3: Clear a Stuck Print Queue

A document stuck in the print queue blocks everything that comes after it. Even if you hit Cancel, it sometimes refuses to go.

This is the command-line fix that actually works:

Press Windows + X and open Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin)
Run these commands one at a time:

net stop spooler
del /Q /F /S "%systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*"
net start spooler

Try printing again

What this does: stops the print spooler service, deletes all stuck print jobs from the spool folder, then restarts the service. Takes about 10 seconds.

This fixes stuck print queues about 95% of the time. If the queue keeps getting stuck repeatedly, a driver problem is usually the root cause – continue to Fix 4.

Fix 4: Update or Reinstall the Printer Driver

Outdated or broken drivers are the most common reason a printer not working issue happens on Windows 11 – especially after Windows updates, which sometimes replace working drivers with newer ones that don’t work correctly.

Update via Device Manager:

Press Windows + X then Device Manager
Expand Print queues
Right-click your printer then Update driver then Search automatically
Restart and test

Download the driver directly from the manufacturer:

This is more reliable than letting Windows find it automatically.

HP Printer Drivers Canon Printer Drivers Epson Printer Drivers Brother Printer Drivers

Reinstall the printer completely:

Settings then Bluetooth & devices then Printers & scanners
Click your printer then Remove
Restart your PC
Go back to Printers & scanners then click Add device
Windows detects your printer and installs a fresh driver

Fix 5: Printer Not Working on Windows 11 – Run the Troubleshooter

Windows 11 has a built-in printer troubleshooter that catches things like misconfigured settings, driver mismatches, and spooler errors automatically.

Method 1 – Settings:

Settings then System then Troubleshoot then Other troubleshooters
Find Printer and click Run
Follow the steps in the Get Help app

Method 2 – Direct shortcut (faster):

Press Windows + R
Type msdt.exe /id PrinterDiagnostic and press Enter
Click Next and let it run

Microsoft Official Printer Fix Guide

Fix 6: Fix a Wireless Printer That Won’t Connect

Wireless printer problems are usually one of three things: wrong network, IP address changed, or the printer got knocked offline after a router restart.

Check it’s on the right network:

Make sure the printer is connected to the same WiFi network as your PC. It sounds obvious but routers sometimes have both a 2.4GHz and 5GHz network with similar names.
Print a network configuration page from your printer (usually Settings then Network on the printer’s display) to confirm which network it’s on.

Remove and re-add the printer:

Settings then Bluetooth & devices then Printers & scanners
Remove your printer
Restart your router, then your printer
Back in Printers & scanners, click Add device
Windows scans the network and finds the printer again

If it keeps losing connection:

Assign your printer a static IP address so it always gets the same address on your network. The steps vary by printer brand – check your printer’s manual or the manufacturer’s support site.

Fix 7: Restart the Print Spooler Service

The Print Spooler is the Windows service that manages print jobs. If it crashes or gets stuck, nothing prints – and you might not see any obvious error.

Press Windows + R, type services.msc, press Enter
Scroll down to Print Spooler
Right-click it and choose Restart
If it shows as Stopped – right-click and choose Start
Try printing again

While you’re here – check that Startup type is set to Automatic. If it’s Disabled or Manual, change it to Automatic so it starts with Windows every time.

Fix 8: Printer Not Working Since the January 2026 Windows Update

This one is worth calling out specifically. In January 2026, a Windows 11 security update changed how Windows handles printer permissions and driver delivery. A lot of HP, Canon, and other brand printers stopped working immediately after that update.

The symptom: the printer shows as connected and online, but nothing prints. Error code 1726 (“The remote procedure call failed”) sometimes appears in the event log.

Fix – check printer permissions:

Settings then Bluetooth & devices then Printers & scanners
Click your printer then Printer properties
Go to the Security tab
Make sure your user account has Print permission checked
Click Apply and OK

If that doesn’t fix it – reinstall with the latest driver:

Download the latest driver from your printer manufacturer’s website (links in Fix 4) – Windows Update stopped delivering legacy printer drivers directly as of this update, so the manufacturer’s own installer matters more now
Remove the printer in Settings
Run the downloaded driver installer
Add the printer again

ARM PC users (Surface Pro X, Copilot+ PCs): There’s a known issue where manufacturer printer installers don’t work on ARM-based Windows 11 devices. Use the Add device method in Printers & scanners instead of running the manufacturer’s installer.

Fix 9: Check for Low Ink, Paper Jams, and Error Lights

It sounds obvious. But I’ve spent 20 minutes troubleshooting drivers before noticing the printer just had no paper.

Before going deeper into software fixes – check the printer itself:

Is there paper in the tray?
Is there a paper jam anywhere?
Is ink or toner low?
Are any error lights on the printer’s display?

Most printers will show an error code on their display when something is physically wrong. Look up that code on the manufacturer’s support site – it’s usually a quick fix.

Printer Not Working – Quick Reference by Problem

Problem	Fix to try first
Printer shows “Offline”	Fix 2 – Set as default, disable offline mode
Document stuck, won’t cancel	Fix 3 – Clear print queue via command line
Printer not detected at all	Fix 4 – Reinstall driver
Broke after Windows update	Fix 8, then Fix 4
HP printer broke in Jan 2026	Fix 8 – Permissions + driver reinstall
Wireless printer keeps disconnecting	Fix 6 – Network reconnect
Nothing prints, no error shown	Fix 7 – Restart print spooler
USB printer not detected	Fix 1 – Restart, then Fix 4
Prints from phone but not PC	Fix 4 – Driver, then Fix 8 – Permissions
Error code 0x00000709	Fix 2 – Set as default printer

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my printer stop working after a Windows 11 update?

Windows updates sometimes change driver compatibility or security settings that affect printer communication. The January 2026 update specifically caused widespread printer failures due to a security and driver-delivery change. Fix 8 covers the specific steps for this issue. For other updates, Fix 4 (reinstalling the driver) and Fix 5 (running the troubleshooter) are the most effective starting points.

My printer works from my phone but not my PC – why?

This means the printer itself is working fine. The problem is how your PC communicates with it – usually a driver issue (Fix 4) or the January 2026 permissions change (Fix 8).

How do I clear a print queue that won’t clear?

Use the command-line method in Fix 3. It stops the spooler service, deletes the stuck files directly from the spool folder, then restarts the service. It works when the normal Cancel button in the print queue doesn’t.

My printer keeps going offline. How do I stop it?

First, make sure “Use Printer Offline” isn’t checked in the print queue menu (Fix 2). For wireless printers that keep losing connection, assigning a static IP address to the printer (Fix 6) usually resolves it permanently.

What is error code 0x00000709 on Windows 11?

This error means Windows can’t set your printer as the default. It usually happens when the default printer setting conflicts with another printer entry, often tied to how Windows 11 connects to shared printers. Fix 2 covers how to set the default printer correctly. If it persists, removing and re-adding the printer (Fix 4) typically clears it.

Final Thoughts

Most cases of a printer not working on Windows 11 come down to three things: stuck print jobs, broken drivers, or the January 2026 security update changing permissions.

Start with Fix 1 (restart everything). Then check if the printer is set to offline by accident (Fix 2). If there’s a stuck print job, use the command-line clear in Fix 3 – that solves it almost every time.

Driver problems take a bit more work but Fix 4 walks through it step by step, with direct download links for HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother. If a different piece of hardware is giving you trouble, our guide on fixing USB devices not recognized on Windows covers similar driver and connection issues.

Tested on: Windows 11 25H2 · HP LaserJet, Canon PIXMA, Epson EcoTank · Updated August 2026