A Mac can mark a printer offline because it has cached an old status or is using a stale printer entry. The printer may be powered on and reachable, but macOS has not rebuilt the connection correctly.
Does this affect you?
Use this when a wireless or network printer already added to macOS shows offline, grayed out, or unavailable in the print dialog.
Remove and re-add the printer
This clears the stale entry most often.
- Open Apple menu > System Settings.
- Open Printers & Scanners.
- Remove the offline printer with the minus button or Remove Printer option.
- Click the plus button and wait for the printer to appear.
- Choose AirPrint or the correct manufacturer driver from the Use dropdown, then add it.
- Print a test page.
Reset the printing system
Use this when the printer list or queues are badly broken.
- Open System Settings > Printers & Scanners.
- Control-click empty space in the printer list.
- Choose Reset printing system and confirm.
- Re-add every printer you still use.
- Print a test page.
More control
Check the same network
If the Mac is on guest Wi-Fi, a different band, or a different network name than the printer, they may not see each other.
Try AirPrint versus the manufacturer driver
AirPrint is often more stable for basic printing; manufacturer drivers can add ink-level and advanced features. Test the other option if one stays offline.
Wait after wake
After the Mac or printer wakes from sleep, give it 15 to 20 seconds or open Printers & Scanners to trigger a fresh status check.
Update printer software
macOS updates AirPrint support through Software Update, while manufacturers may post separate drivers after major macOS releases.
Sources
- Apple Support – If your printer does not print from your Mac (2025)
- Apple Support – Reset the printing system on Mac (2025)
- HP Support – HP Printer Is Offline on Mac (2025)