When trying to print a document to an already connected printer, if you receive an error— Windows Couldn’t Connect to the Printer—this post will help you resolve this and help you get the document printed. While uncommon, many have reported the problem, and a completely working printer goes missing, and all the work comes to a halt.
What Are the Reasons Behind the Error?
Some of the popular & known reasons for the problem include spooler issues, firewall blocks, corrupt printer drivers, and registry changes. If none of these, then it’s probably a hardware fault where the connection to the PC is not getting established.
Note: KB5006746 is also one of the known updates that have fixed the problem, but it was released in October 2021 and should be available on your PC via the Windows update.
Fix Windows couldn’t connect to the printer on Windows 10/11
If the faced issue isn’t associated with the KB5006746 update, let’s check out the following solutions that you can try to fix the problem.
- Run Printer Troubleshooter
- Update Printer Driver
- Reinstall the Printer
- Check Windows Firewall Blocks
- Restart Printer Spooler Service
- Update Windows
You will need an admin account or permission to execute some of these solutions.
1] Run Printer Troubleshooter
After running the Printer Troubleshooter utility, the instrument will begin checking your ongoing printing-related service for any irregularities. If a conspicuous issue is recognized, the instrument will propose the fitting fix that you can regularly uphold in only a single tick.
Adhere to the directions beneath for bit by bit guidelines on running the Printer Troubleshooter and applying the suggested fix:
- Open Start and type Troubleshoot Settings. Click when it appears on the search.
- Go to the Other troubleshooter section. It will reveal all the troubleshooters available on Windows for different devices.
- Next, find Printer and click and Run the troubleshooters. Let the wizard complete the job, and when prompted, follow the appropriate direction.
- Once done, restart the PC and check whether you are currently ready to use the printer.
2] Update Printer Driver
Since manually updating drivers method is obsoleted, so two ways to update them are as follows:
- Windows Update: As mentioned earlier, updating the driver via the Device manager is not available anymore. Windows can find an appropriate driver for you, but you must download and install it manually. Go to Windows Update > Advanced Options > Optional Update. Check if a driver update is available. If yes, then download, and install it.
- OEM Website: Another way is to install the drivers from the OEM website, which will update all the necessary drivers.
- Third-Party Software: You can also use any third-party software to find and download the Printer driver.
3] Reinstall the Printer
- Press the Windows logo key + R on the system console and type the command devmgmt.msc in the Run box and open the Device Manager.
- Now search for the Print queues option and right-click on it, in case you’re unable to find it go to the top menu where you can see the View option; click on it, and click on Show hidden devices. Once you find the printer, right-click and Uninstall it.
- You can also remove the printer by going to Windows Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Printer & Scanners. Locate the printer and click on it. Then click on the Remove button.
- Next, it’s time to uninstall any software related to the printer. Open Settings using Win + I, and go to Apps > Apps & Features. Find the related applications of the printer and uninstall them.
Restart the PC, and then reconnect the printer. Windows should detect the printer as if it is connecting to it for the first time. It will also download the driver. If not, you can always download and install it.
4] Check Windows Firewall Blocks
There are different explanations behind this issue, and almost certainly, you want to open specific ports before your printer can get to the web.
- Open the Start and type Windows Defender Firewall and select it.
- Now Click on Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off, which appears on the left pane.
- Select the Turn off Windows Defender Firewall radio buttons to switch off the Windows Defender Firewall and click on OK. Do this for both Public network settings and private network settings.
- After following the above process, if your printer starts working, you need to check if the Printer port is blocked or not. You can do that by following the steps:
- Click on Start and type Devices and Printers.
- Right-click on the printer icon, and then click on Printer Properties.
- To find out which print port is selected, select the Ports tab. You will need to go back to Firewall and remove the port block for that particular port number.
Print ports selected in the port column are available. You can check the port type from the Description.
Next, go back to Firewall Settings, and check if the printer port is blocked. If yes, you will need to remove that rule barring the printer.
5] Restart Printer Spooler Service
- Open the Start Menu and type services.msc into the Search Field to select as per requirement. Click to open once it appears in the results.
- Now look for Print Spooler Service. Right snap on the Print Spooler administration and select Stop.
- Sit tight for 30 seconds for the assistance to stop again after 30 Sec right-click and select Start now Close the Services applet.
- Check if you can connect to the printer.
6] Update Windows
- Go to Start to open Settings and Click Update & Security
- Select Windows Update, and check if you’re Windows is up-to-date or not by clicking on Check for updates.
In the event that it finds any updates, let it complete the interaction and restart your PC. Done that, and you are back in your account. Check if the connection to the printer is now possible.
If nothing else works, and the printer was working earlier, you can try System Restore and go back to a date where it was working.
Conclusion
In the above article, all the various issues faced by a user regarding the printer device are discussed. These solutions and fixes mentioned in the article have been successfully used to tackle the issue of Windows Couldn’t Connect to the Printer. I hope that the article helps you sort out the various printer issues your respective systems face.
