Are you facing issues with your printer not connecting to computer? Or are you wondering why your printer is not connecting to your computer? Then you need not worry as you can easily have this problem resolved in no time. There are a number of potential reasons for the problems, including a broken USB cable or your computer not recognizing the printer.
Or maybe there could be something wrong with your printer driver. Well, whatever the issue might be here in this blog we have provided you with the most suitable and appropriate solutions that will help fix the printer issues effectively. All you need to do is follow the instructions accordingly to get accurate results.
NOTE: Keep in mind before you get started you must make sure that your printer’s hardware works properly. And if there is an issue with the printer then you can try and contact your printer manufacturer.
How do I fix a Printer not connected to the Computer?
Fix 1: Check the printer connection
1) Restart the printer
You will need to power off and then power on the printer to restart it and then you should wait for a few seconds for it to be completely ready.
2) Checking the connection problem
Now if your printer is connected by the USB cable then you got to make sure that the cable is not damaged and it has been connected firmly and accurately. You should also check the USB port and clean the ports in case something may have gone inside the port preventing the USB from connecting.
Furthermore, you need to know that this varies from manufacturer and printer. For instance, there are differences in how Brother and HP printers operate that are not discussed in this article; thus, you should refer to the product handbook.
3) Check the network connection
You know already that the network issues can also be a cause for your printer not connecting to computer therefore you will need to make sure that your Internet connection works properly when you use your printer.
Fix 2: Updating the printer driver
This is very important to pay attention to as the missing or any outdated printer driver can lead to your printer not connecting issue. Therefore you should first check that your printer driver is up to date.
By updating the printer driver to the latest version you can not only solve possible printer issues but it can also resolve issues such as printer not printing, printer error, etc and also bring you the best experience possible.
You have 2 ways to update your printer driver; ‘Manually and Automatically’.
1) Manually
you can choose to download the printer driver manually from the manufacturer and then install it on your computer. However, you have to make sure to download the latest correct version that is compatible with your Windows system. This is due to the fact that printer models and manufacturers vary, and these are not covered here.
2) Automatically
This is if you do not have time or patience then you can choose to do it automatically using Driver Easy.
Now Driver Easy automatically recognizes your system as well as finds the correct drivers for it. Hence you do not require knowing exactly what system your computer is running and you also do not need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver. And this way you will not worry about making any mistakes while installing the driver.
Do you know that you can also update your drivers automatically with either the ‘Free’ or the ‘Pro’ version of Driver Easy? Yes, but the ‘Pro’ version takes just a few clicks and you also get full support as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Follow the steps below to download and install Driver Easy:
- You will need to start by downloading and installing Driver Easy.
- And then run the Driver Easy and click on the ‘Scan Now’ button. After which Driver Easy will scan your computer and detect any driver problems.
- Next, you should click on the ‘Update’ button that is beside the flagged printer to download the correct version of their driver automatically (you can even do this using the ‘Free’ version). And then just install it on your computer.
You could also click on the ‘Update All’ button to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or outdated on your system. Clicking the “Update All” option will prompt you to upgrade as this requires the “Pro” version.
- After that, you should restart your computer to take effect. Next, give your printer another go to see whether the connection problem has been fixed. If not so then you should continue to follow the steps below;
Fix 3: Troubleshooting printer issues
You can go ahead and try the troubleshooting tool in order to diagnose and fix the printer-related issues by following the instructions below:
- First of all, on your keyboard, you have to hold down the Windows Logo key and the ‘R’ key, now type ‘Control Panel’ and then you need to hit the ‘Enter’ key to open up the ‘Control Panel’ on the computer.
- After doing so, you will need to click on the ‘Devices and Printers’ option.
- Now you must locate and click on your printer and then select the ‘Run the Troubleshooter’ option.
- You then need to let your computer troubleshoot the issue and follow the given on-screen instructions to fix the problem.
Fix 4: Restarting the Print Spooler Service
You should know that the ‘Print Spooler’ service spools print jobs and handles interactions with the printer. Therefore if the service is not working then you will not be able to see your printers and also the printers will not connect. In this situation, you can restart the ‘Print Spooler’ service to fix the issue.
Follow these mentioned steps carefully to restart the Print Spooler service:
- Starting on your keyboard, you need to press the ‘Windows Logo’ key and the ‘R’ key at the same time to invoke the ‘Run’ box.
- Next, you will need to type services.msc and then click on the OK button.
- You will now have to scroll down and find the Print Spooler service.
- If you find the service running then right-click on the service and select the ‘Stop’ button. After which you also need to right-click on the service and click on the ‘Start’ button to restart the service.
In case the service is not running properly then you should right-click on the service and click on ‘Start’ to run the service.
- Finally, you just need to restart your computer and then try your printer again to see if the printer is connecting now.
NOTE: The example images given above are captured from a Windows operating system. Therefore if you are using Windows 10 or older versions you should be aware that the visual appearance of your screen may vary slightly however, the steps to perform the task remain the same.
We hope that after completing the aforementioned steps, your printer’s connectivity problem has been fixed and you may resume using it. However, if you still need any further assistance then you can directly contact the experts provided at any time.
Related Article: How do I Fix a Printer Spooler Error?