Why does my printer keep going offline?

Usually because it loses the wireless network when it sleeps or after a power cut. A printer standing far from the router drops off more often. A network cable, or moving the printer closer, normally makes it stable.

Do the printer and the computer need to be on the same Wi-Fi?

Yes. They have to be on the same network name to find each other. Many homes have two network names, one with 5G in it, and most printers can only use the one without 5G.

What does Use Printer Offline mean in Windows?

It is a setting that makes Windows hold your documents in the queue instead of sending them. It can switch itself on. Clear the tick under the Printer menu in the print queue and your documents start going through again.

Where do I get the right driver?

Only from the manufacturer's own support site: hp.com, canon.com or epson.com, and for your exact model. Do not download drivers from other sites, and never pay for software that promises to update drivers for you.

Printer says offline? How to get it printing again

A printer showing as offline almost always means the computer has lost contact with it over the wireless network, not that the printer has broken. Restarting in the right order, router first and printer second, gets it going in most cases and takes about ten minutes.

The router is the box with lights that gives you internet. The computer and the printer talk to each other through it, so both have to be joined to the same network name to find one another.

Try this first

Look at the printer itself. It should be switched on, have paper in the tray, have ink or toner left, and show no message on its display waiting for an answer.
Print the printer's own network report. On HP and Epson it sits under Settings or Network in the printer's menu, often called Print Network Configuration. If a page comes out, the printer is healthy, and the page also tells you which network name it is joined to.
Restart in the right order. Switch off the printer, the router and the computer. Turn on the router first and wait two minutes until its lights are steady. Then the printer, and the computer last.
Check that the computer is on the same network name the report showed. If you have two names at home and one ends in 5G, choose the one without 5G.
Clear the print queue in Windows. Settings > Bluetooth and devices > Printers and scanners. Open your printer, choose Open print queue and cancel everything still sitting there. Then check under the Printer menu that Use Printer Offline is not ticked.

If that did not help

Set the right printer as default. On the same page in Windows, open the printer and choose Set as default. If an old printer is still in the list, your documents may be going there instead.
On a Mac: System Settings > Printers and Scanners. If the printer shows as paused, press Resume.
Remove the printer and add it back. In Windows: press Remove on the printer's page, go back and choose Add device. On a Mac: select the printer, press the minus button, then add it again with the plus button.
Join the printer to Wi-Fi again from its own display. HP and Epson have a wizard under Network or Wireless where you pick the network name and type the password. The password is usually on a label under the router.
Reinstall the driver from the manufacturer's support site for your exact model. The driver is the small program that lets the computer speak to your particular printer.

If the printer asks for a Wi-Fi password you do not have, or refuses to rejoin the network, this is easiest to do with someone who can follow the display with you. Ask us and we will walk through it together.

Printers connected by cable

If the printer is plugged into the computer with a USB cable, the wireless steps do not apply. Try a different USB port instead, ideally one on the computer itself rather than on a dock or a hub. Swap the cable if you have a spare, and switch the printer off and on while the cable stays connected. Windows usually finds it again within half a minute.