HP printers are known to be durable, but they’re not immune to printing issues. If you need a helping hand with your common HP printer problems, this guide is for you. Knowing how to fix HP printer issues by yourself can save you time and money. CompAndSave aims to help you have a smoother and quicker printing process with our HP printer troubleshooting guide.
Common HP Printer Problems
How do I fix HP printer problems? Printers, in general, have the same troubleshooting steps. What are the common HP printer problems that you encounter? Most users complain about not being able to connect the printer to WiFi or laptop, machines not printing or offline, and a lot more.
Why is My HP Printer Offline?
There are several reasons why your HP printer is offline. The most important thing to check first is if it’s power is on. Check the cables as well if it is plugged correctly. A paper jam can also cause your printer to turn offline. CompAndSave’s why is my printer offline will help you more on troubleshooting HP printer that’s offline.
How to Connect HP Printer to Wifi?
- Open HP Customer Support – Software and Driver Downloads from your browser.
- Enter in the HP printer model name (example: HP DeskJet 3630).
- Download the driver according to your operating system (OS). Follow the installation instructions online.
- Turn on your HP printer and click Run.
- Choose Wireless and choose Yes, send my wireless settings to the printer (recommended).
- Wait until it is done connecting. Click Finish.
How to Clean HP Printhead?
- Cleaning through your printer driver:
- Search Devices and Printers on the search bar.
- Choose the icon of your printer model and right-click it.
- Select Printing preferences.
- Choose Maintenance, then click Head cleaning.
Manual cleaning:
- Uninstall the printhead from the printer.
- Remove the nozzle from the printer and place it in a shallow dish of 91% isopropyl alcohol.
- Soak it overnight, then dry it with a lint-free cloth. Once it is completely dry, set it back into place.
- Reinstall the printhead and try to rerun the printer.
How to Connect an HP Printer to a Laptop?
- Connect your laptop to your HP printer via USB cable.
- Click Start menu then Settings.
- Find the icon Devices, then click it.
- Choose Printers and Scanners in the left column.
- Click Add Printers and Scanners.
- Choose the correct HP printer.
- Wait for the installation process to finish.
Resolve the paper jam problem
Paper jams are very common. But you shouldn’t just try pulling out pieces of paper from the tray. Follow this HP printer troubleshooting guide for overcoming this problem.
Check and clear jam.
- Firstly, inspect the paper tray. If there’s any loose paper in it, remove it.
- Remove an access door at the bottom of the printer. Using the knob, release the door. Remove pieces stuck in the rollers.
- Now lift the front cover and pull out extra paper jam slowly.
- Check the printer carriage. It must move freely from one to the other side. Move the carriage gently by unplugging the power cord. Rotate the rollers three times if you find the carriage not moving freely. Everything within the printer should move easily.
- Now test the printer and check if it is working.
Fix the ghosting problem
Ghosting refers to a situation where the image prints like usual, but a significantly lighter copy of the photo also prints elsewhere. You can use these steps for troubleshooting HP printer that’s having the ghosting problem.
- Check the environment of your printer – Ensure that your printer is kept in a dry room. It’s because the humidity can lead the toner powder to clump, which impacts the print quality.
- Ensure to use appropriate paper. Some HP printer models are suited to work with a particular kind of paper. If the paper’s not suitable for the kind of printing you need, the toner powder will not adhere properly to the page.
- Change the paper setting – You also need to ensure that the setting of your paper aligns with the paper type. In many cases, paper setting adjustment resolves the ghosting issue.
Solve the poor print quality issue
- Many users of HP LaserJet Pro printers complain of the bad quality of the print output. You can use the following HP printer troubleshooting approaches to fix poor print quality. Before proceeding, check if you are using genuine HP ink or toner supplies. Always purchase authentic cartridges from the HP store.
Examine the paper
- Use paper suitable for HP LaserJet printers.
- Don’t employ a very rough paper. Instead use smoother ones.
- After loading the right paper, try printing.
Inspect the EconoMode settings
Inspect the EconoMode settings if you find the output too dark or light. But don’t use this mode full time.
- Choose ‘Print‘ in the program you are printing from.
- Right-tap your printer and tap ‘Properties‘ or ‘Printer setup.’
- Hit the ‘Paper/Quality’ tab and find the ‘Print Quality’ area.
- If the page is too dark, choose the ‘600 dpi’ option.
- Choose ‘EconoMode‘ and enable it.
- If the page is too light, choose the ‘FastRes 1200′ option.
- Now clear the checkbox of EconoMode.
- Lastly, tap ‘OK‘ to print the job.
Change an empty or low toner cartridge.
- Remove the old toner cartridge.
- Now substitute it with a new toner cartridge.
- Using both sides of the toner cartridge, rock it to dispense the toner within the cartridge.
- Bend the tab on the toner cartridge’s left side till it breaks loose. Now pull it till the tape gets removed from the cartridge.
- Place the cartridge in your product and close its door.
Resolve HP print jobs stuck in a queue.
There are numerous ways to clear the print queue. Follow the different methods below and see which one gives you the desired result.
- Start the print spooler service again.
- Open the Run box.
- In its window, type ‘services.msc’ and press Enter.
- Go down to Print Spooler. Right-tap it and choose ‘Stop.’
- Now, go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS, and delete every file in this folder.
- Right-tap print Spooler in the ‘Services’ window, and choose ‘Start.’
Clear stuck files by using the command prompt.
- In the search box, input ‘cmd,’ and Run it as administrator.
- Input the commands below in the Command Prompt window.
net stop spooler del %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers\* /Q /F /Snet start spooler - They will clear every print job that’s stuck in the queue.
HP Printer not Printing Anything here is the Troubleshooting Tips
HP Printer Not Printing Anything – A printer is a device basically which is used to bring the output or result on the paper. Either you use Computers, Laptops, Smartphones or any other device that has the feature to connect with the HP printer. The HP printer makes the life easy and smooth. But what happens if the printer stops working? What will happen if your print does not allow to print something? This will create a huge issue for anyone either from a professional or a student. As a result of HP Printer Not Printing Anything so let’s purchase a new one.
Common Issues for HP Printer not Print Anything
Just power up the printer and connecting the printer with the data cable with the computer. Not makes the printer proceed the print command. Sometimes there are few most common issues that not allow HP Printers to Print Anything. The most common reasons that totally exhaust the user are:
- Bad Connection
- Printer Status
- Que Clear
- Printer Selection
- Driver Software
How to resolve the HP Printer not Printing Anything Issue
Bad Connection: Sometimes, while pulling your computer desk drawer or your computer table. The connect to HP printer may be the same cable you meant to discard when it proved unable of accurate performance. The printer you plugged in to a USB hub on a system with too many peripherals to provide a direct connection may refuse to work that way. Even if your configuration seems to be set up properly, replacing a new cable or relinking your printer to a port on your computer may resolve the problem. Wireless systems are also actually tricky. Shut down the printer and restart to reset on the printer end. If that is not the issue, check the linking at your wireless router and reset the router as well.
Printer Status: When the ink or toner level is low or the printer is run out of paper. The printer enters into offline mode. You may be able to check ink levels with the onscreen print manager you use to monitor output task and other printer functions, but the last source of status information comes from the device’s front panel display. Look for a paper tray alert, blinking ink or low toner message, and substitute the supplies as essential. Even a full set of consumables can’t rule out a paper jam which will also take the device out of service until you do not sort out the problem.
Que Clear: One more likely cause of your HP printer not printing issue is the stuck print queue. The print queue containing failed print jobs can stop functioning normally and lead to printer not printing issue. You can clear all print jobs to get your HP printer back to regular.
Printer Selection and Driver Software: So your HP printer won’t do its job if you neither set it as default printer nor select it as the printer to print. If you are still facing the issue in the printer. Then might be your printer driver software is not compatible, old version or need to get an upgrade.
