How to get your printer working again

Printers that are not working is something we have all dealt with so we know how frustratring it is!

We've put together some tips on how to get your printer doing what it does best... printing!

1. Paper jam: If the printer says there is a paper jam, try opening the paper tray and if there are sheets of paper there that has been crumbled in just the slightest way remove them all. (don't throw them out, they can be used for making notes or the kids to draw on!) If the printer still says there is a paper jam try opening the printers lids (check printer manual for how to do that) and remove the paper from there. If there still is a paper jam then you may need support.

2. Printer driver problems: There can be printer driver problems, especially if you are on an older version of e.g. Windows and you have recently bought a printer. Try searching online for a printer driver for your version of Windows. It could also be that you have the wrong printer driver installed. That should be installed and then the correct can be installed. If it's still causing issues then you should consider upgrading your Windows. This you may need support to help you with.

3. Printer queue: Each time everyone on your home network sends something to print to the printer it is put into a queue. This is indeed the case when more people at home uses the same printer! It can be a case of the queue being being overloaded. Especially if someone is printing a huge document with lots of pages with colors on it. Are the kids playing around? ;)

In your Windows menu search for "printer" - click on that - then on the next window click on the icon that says "Open queue" which opens up a list of all the print jobs that are waiting to print. You can there cancel a print job from being printed. Of course you may want to print it out again later on.

4. Connection issues: Restart the printer. Power off and then power on your printer to restart it. Wait for a while for it to be fully ready. Check the connection issue. If your printer is connected by USB cable, ensure the cable is not damaged, and it connects firmly and correctly. Also check the USB port and clean the ports in case something inside the port is preventing your USB from connecting.

If your printer is connected via wireless network or Bluetooth, follow the manual delivered with your device to connect your printer to WiFi or Bluetooth properly.

As this varies from manufacturer and printer, for example the operations vary from HP printers to Brother printers, so we won’t cover it here and you should follow the product manual. As the network issues can also cause your printer not connected, you should also make sure your Internet connection works when you’re using your printer. The missing or outdated printer driver can lead to your printer not connected issue, so you should verify that your printer driver is up to date.

Updating your printer driver to the latest version can not only resolve any possible printer issues, like printer not printing, printer error, etc, but also bring you the best possible experience.