Posted by HP Printers are high-performing devices that hardly disappoint users. However, sometimes, they encounter technical errors that make it difficult to print. One of the common problems is the HP Printer paused error. This error makes your printer go offline. It means that the printer cannot respond to your commands, preventing you from doing your work.
Don’t worry. The problem is fixable. You just have to use a few fixes and make this HP device print properly again.
1. Find if printing has been paused
You can check in the printer settings if the printing has been paused.
Windows 10
- Tap ‘Start‘ on your computer.
- Choose ‘Settings‘ followed by ‘Devices.’
- Next, choose ‘Printers & Scanners.’
- Tap on your printer.
- Click the ‘Open Queue’ option.
- Tap’ Printer‘ on the navigation bar.
- Check if the ‘Pause printing‘ option has a blue checkmark.
- If it doesn’t have a checkmark, you will find the HP printer paused Windows 10 issue.
Windows 11
- Tap ‘Start‘ on your system.
- Select ‘Settings‘ followed by ‘Bluetooth & Devices.’
- Now choose ‘Printers & Scanners.’
- Tap on your printer.
- Now, hit ‘Open Queue.’
- Click on ‘Printer.’
- If you can click on the ‘Pause Printing’ option, it means your printer is not paused.
- But if it is greyed out, you need to make it active again.
2. Enable the resume mode
Making the resume mode active will allow you to overcome the HP Printer paused error easily.
- Head to the ‘Settings‘ of your HP printer.
- Right-tap on your printing device.
- Find if its status is on or off.
- Position your printer in a manner that the control panel appears in the front.
- Now, press and release the button that pauses the device.
- Next, launch the Task Bar.
- Hover your cursor over the printer image.
- Double-click the printer icon.
- Now you will see the print pool of the documents yet to be printed.
- After that, right-tap on the documents showing the paused status.
- When you do that, these documents will return to resume mode.
- You won’t have any issues printing them using your HP printer.
3. Use the Windows troubleshooter.
You can also use the Windows troubleshooter when you find your printer is paused HP. To use this utility in Windows 10 and 11, follow these points.
Windows 10
- Tap ‘Start‘ and choose ‘Settings.’
- Now pick the ‘Updates and Security’ option followed by ‘Troubleshoot.’
- Tap’ Additional Troubleshooters.’
- Click the ‘Printer‘ option.
- In the end, tap ‘Run the troubleshooter.’
Windows 11
- Tap ‘Start‘ and select ‘Settings.’
- Now, click ‘System,’ followed by ‘Troubleshoot.’
- Click ‘Other troubleshooters.’
- Tap the ‘Run‘ option beside the printer.
The troubleshooter will detect this problem and will quickly fix it.
4. Reinstall HP Printer drivers to overcome Paused Error
Corrupt drivers can lead to various issues. One of them is the HP Printer paused Windows 10 error. Follow these pointers to reinstall the printer driver.
- Access Windows’ Start‘ button and choose the ‘Settings’ option.
- Tap ‘Devices‘ followed by ‘Printers and Scanners.’
- Locate your printer below ‘Printers and Scanners.’
- After you find it, select it and tap ‘Remove device.’
- Go to the official HP website to find the drivers.
- Once there, head to the ‘Download‘ section.
- Here, input the model number and name of your printer.
- After that, press the enter key.
- You will see many printer drivers.
- Select the latest ones that your printer supports.
- Now tap ‘Download.’
- Adhere to the guidelines on your screen to download the drivers.
- If your printer has been installed on a USB port, uninstall the printer driver.
- Remove the HP and AIO folders from the hard drive.
- After that, reinstall the printer driver.
5. Reset and clear the print spooler
An issue with the print spooler, an executable file managing the printing process, leads to a lot of issues. So, if they’re stuck on tasks in the queue causing the HP Printer paused Windows 10 issue, clear and reset it.
- To reset and clear the print spooler, launch an elevated command prompt in Windows 10.
- To do so, open the task manager, and tap on ‘File.’
- Now, press and simultaneously hold the Ctrl key.
- Tap ‘Run new task.’
- The elevated command prompt will open.
- Now, input the following commands into this command prompt and hit the Enter key after every command:
“net stop spooler
DEL /F /S /Q %systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*
net start spooler”
- After that, close this command prompt.
6. Clear paper jam
If you are still complaining, ‘Why is my HP printer paused?’ Inspect your printer for paper jams.
- Begin by taking all the papers from your printer.
- Examine the input tray present on the printer’s back portion.
- It might be possible that it contains bits of paper.
- If you find them, remove them.
- Find out if the input tray contains any foreign articles or objects.
- Next, check the output tray present at the front of the HP printer for bits of paper.
- Now shut down your printer.
- Hold down the button power.
- Choose ‘Shut Down.’
- Unplug the power cable of the printer from its outlet.
- Take away the cable from the printer’s rear part.
- Next, pull back on the front parts of the printer. It will remove the front panel.
- Remove the ink cartridge panel by pulling the handle inside.
- Slide the cartridge to the side.
7. Check the printer ink levels
If there are low ink or toner levels, you must refill them.
- Install the HP Smart app on your Windows 10 system.
- You will be able to see the ink levels on your display screen.
- Another way to check ink levels is by running the HP Print and Scan Doctor.
- After downloading it from the official HP website, select your printer and tap ‘Printer’ in the menu bar.
- Now, click ‘Supply Levels’ to know how much ink is there.
- You can also search Windows for your HP printer model name and number.
- Tap on your printer’s name. The HP Printer Assistant will open.
- Click ‘Estimated Ink Levels.’
Summing up
Uses these fixes whenever your HP printer appears to be in a paused state. The measures will rectify issues with printer settings, so you can use them effectively. But if you feel confused or need more help, contact HP Printer Support experts. They will guide you in troubleshooting this and various other printer-related errors.
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