A printer that used to work and suddenly disappears has often dropped off Wi-Fi, gone into deep sleep, received a new IP address, or left the computer pointing at a stale connection. Reconnecting usually takes only a few minutes.
Does this affect you?
Use this if the printer was working before but now is missing, offline, or no longer found by your computer. If you changed Wi-Fi name or password, reconnect it to the new network instead.
Restart the printer and refresh the connection
Start with a clean wake-up before removing anything.
- Turn the printer off with its power button, wait 30 seconds, and turn it back on.
- Wait a minute for Wi-Fi to reconnect.
- Check the printer display for a solid Wi-Fi icon.
- On Windows, open Printers & scanners and turn off Use Printer Offline if enabled.
- On Mac, open Printers & Scanners and reconnect or resume the printer if prompted.
- Print a test page.
Remove and re-add the printer
Use this when restart does not bring the printer back.
- On Windows, remove the printer from Printers & scanners, then add it again.
- On Mac, remove it with the minus button and add it again with the plus button.
- Confirm the computer and printer are on the same non-guest Wi-Fi network.
- Print a test page after adding it back.
More control
Router behavior can cause drops
Band steering, Smart Connect, or idle-device power saving can make printers bounce between networks or appear to vanish. Check router settings if drops repeat.
Reserve a fixed IP
If the router changes the printer address, set a DHCP reservation or static IP for the printer MAC address.
Deep sleep can look like offline
Some printers take several seconds to wake. If jobs eventually print after a delay, sleep mode may be the cause rather than a true disconnection.
Sources
- Microsoft Support – Fix printer connection and printing problems in Windows (2025)
- Apple Support – Add and manage printers on Mac (2025)
- HP Support – Printer intermittently goes offline (2025)