Introduction
The printer is a vital part of any workplace. What will happen if your deadline for submitting your assignment is on the verge but the printer not responding? What if you urgently need a print in the office, but your printer doesn’t work? These are some annoying and frustrating situations; you might have come through. Instead of calling pros, you can fix these problems yourself by checking the system.
Why is my printer not responding?
While printing, if your printer suddenly stops working, the first question that will arise in your mind is why my printer is not responding. There could be many reasons some of them are:
• Have you inserted the paper properly?
• The ink can be expired, or cartridges can be empty
• Your Printer is on, but still, the PC is thinking it’s offline.
• Cables are not connected properly
• System jam of printer
• System not connected to the printer.
Other than that, the problem can occur with any printer. There are many in the market of different companies.
How to fix my printer not responding?
Don’t panic if you urgently need a print and the printer is not responding. Here are some 12 quick fixes you can apply.
1: Check the cables:
The printer is not responding if you don’t insert the wire in the plug or loosely attached it. Insert it properly in the socket. Also, check all the cables connecting the PC and Printer.
2: Update printer driver:
The printer driver is a communicational bridge between the PC and the Printer. Sometimes windows show a message that it can’t find the driver of the printer. It can be due to an outdated system. In this case,
• update or install a new version of the printer driver so that it can work properly.
To have a better idea if the printer is not responding, go through the following simple clicks. This process will update all drivers to make communication better between the PC and Printer.
This PC>device manager>select all printers>update all drivers.
3: Reinstall printer driver:
The printer not responding in time of need can result from the driver not being found in the system. How will PC forward its command if there is no delivery boy (driver)? To check, why is my printer not responding? Go to drives, and your printer will not be there. Most probably, the reason is a corrupted printer driver. In this case, you can check by:
Start>Settings>no printer
It means the computer has detected no printer.
Control panel>view devices>printers>Do a scan>search for devices>programs>actual drivers>reinstall.
Install the proper driver for your printer. You must check the series of your printer can install a new driver accordingly from that specific website. After this process, you will find a driver for your printer. Bingo, you can go for the print now.
4: Check out for Wi-Fi connection:
It is not necessary that if your printer not responding is due to a faulty printer. No WI-FI connection at all or a slow connection can be the key reason for the non-functioning of the printer. In this case,
• restart your system and your router.
• Try not to use the internet over other devices if there is a slow connection.
5: Check for the blocked network settings:
It is nearly impossible that you haven’t installed Firewall or some other software security programs on your PC. Many times, your printer is attached to your PC, but anti-virus programs block it from connecting.
• Go to the anti-virus program setting and look out for blocked devices.
• Change the settings related to the printer from there.
6: Check proper paper alignment:
Before using the printer, you must check whether you have inserted paper properly or not. Sometimes everything is ok, but paper alignment is not. It is also a reason that printer refuses to move paper and print anything. Clean and put the paper tray correctly. Check if there is any page stuck ahead or not. Align papers properly so that the printer can pick them up quickly.
7: Cancel queued print jobs:
Check for the printer settings. If you have some undone jobs in the queue, cancel them all and start again. Here is the way to do it:
Control panel>Hardware and sound>Devices and printer>Click on the printer>Queued docs>Cancel all docs>Start again.
8: Check for ink:
There is a fact that may surprise you the only thing that refrains printers from printing is an empty cartridge. Check the toner and refill it to get back to your work. You can also replace the cartridges if you think the printer is not responding due to old cartridges.
9: Printer troubleshooter:
If all of the above fixes are not working, you can run a printer troubleshooter. Click on the following icons line-wise to select troubleshooter:
control panel>devices>printer>trouble-shooter.
It will allow Windows to find the problem related to the printer and fix it.
10: Run services from printer spooler:
The other way to get the answer to why is my printer not responding is simple. You have to rerun the services from the printer spooler.
Press control alt>go running>click on services>find printer spooler from the list>right click>stop all services>right click>start service.
11: Restart your PC:
Sometimes the printer is not responding due to some fault in the PC. It happens commonly in normal PC functioning due to any virus or any other problem. Refresh and restart your PC. It will help the PC to send the command to the printer and do its job.
12: Clean your Printer:
Last but not least, the printer is not responding, can be ink stuck in the head and nozzle of the printer. Clean the nozzles of the printer thoroughly. It can stick to the system of the printer.
Tips to avoid printer not responding to the issue
You can also save yourself from this problem again by following our set of tips as we mention below.
Tips to avoid printer not responding issues:
• Keep your paper tray correctly.
• Try to keep printer nozzles clean.
• Always keep extra cartridges to prevent sudden hustle.
• Try to use a strong Wi-Fi connection.
• Check all the cables beforehand.
• Keep your devices updated.
Conclusion
Here is a summary to fix if your printer is not responding. Ensure the cable connection between the PC and the Printer—tight plugs in the sockets. Check whether the USB cable is in its place or not. Another crucial role is that of the driver. Without a driver, you can’t give a command to your printer. Follow the methods mentioned above to update or install new drivers.
Other than that, you can restart your Printer and PC. If you have a wireless printer, you must have a good internet connection to work things out. For saving yourself from sudden frustration, you have to check papers, ink, and cables beforehand. If nothing works from top solutions, you can get help from professionals.