Printer offline error on Windows 11 after update KB5041586

You open your document, hit print, and nothing happens. You check the printer. It's on. It's connected via USB or network. But Windows says it's 'offline'. This happens a lot after a specific Windows 11 update: KB5041586 (released September 2024). I've seen it on HP DeskJet 3755, Canon PIXMA TS3320, and Brother HL-L2350DW. The update messes up the print spooler service.

What's causing this?

The print spooler is the middleman between your computer and the printer. It holds print jobs in a queue. After update KB5041586, the spooler sometimes stops responding or gets stuck on a corrupted print job. When the spooler hangs, it tells Windows the printer is offline, even if the printer is fine. The fix is to clear the spooler folder and restart the service.

Fix: Clear and restart the print spooler

These steps work for Windows 11 and Windows 10. Do them in order.

1. Stop the print spooler service
   Press Win + R. Type services.msc and press Enter. A window opens with a list of services.
   Scroll down to Print Spooler. Right-click it, choose Stop. Wait for the status to change to 'Stopped'.
2. Close the Services window
   You can close it now. We'll come back later.
3. Delete the spooler files
   Press Win + R again. Type C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and press Enter.
   A folder opens. You'll see files like 00001.spl and 00001.shd. These are stuck print jobs.
   Select all files (Ctrl + A) and press Delete. If it says 'file in use', you didn't stop the spooler properly. Go back to step 1 and make sure it's stopped.
4. Restart the print spooler service
   Open services.msc again (Win + R, type it in). Find Print Spooler. Right-click it, choose Start. The status should change to 'Running'.
5. Test the printer
   Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. Select your printer. Click 'Print test page'. It should print.

After you do this, you don't need to reboot. The printer should come back online immediately.

What if it's still offline?

If the printer still shows offline after clearing the spooler, try these things:

• Check the USB or network cable. Unplug it, plug it back in. Try a different USB port on the computer. For network printers, make sure the printer has a valid IP address. Print a network config page from the printer's menu.
• Run the printer troubleshooter. Go to Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters. Find 'Printer' and run it. It sometimes fixes the issue, but not always. I find the manual spooler fix works faster.
• Reinstall the printer driver. In Devices & Printers, right-click your printer, choose 'Remove device'. Then add it again: Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > Add device. Windows will reinstall the driver. This clears any corrupted driver files.
• Disable the Windows update that caused it. If you're sure it's KB5041586, you can uninstall it. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates. Find KB5041586, click Uninstall. Reboot. But be careful – this removes other security fixes too. Only do this if the printer is critical and you need it now.

If nothing works, your printer might have a hardware fault. Try connecting it to another computer. If it works there, the problem is on your original computer. If it doesn't work on any computer, the printer's logic board or USB port might be dead. That's rare, but it happens.

I've fixed hundreds of offline printers. 9 times out of 10, it's the spooler. Don't waste time reinstalling drivers first. Clear the spooler. It's quick, it's free, and it works.