Symptom Finder

Symptoms and the guides that cover them

• Printer shows offline

  • Printer shows offline: what to check, in order Walks through the usual causes in order: power, connection, queue and the computer's printer settings.
  • Connect your printer to Wi-Fi with WPS or manual setup If the printer dropped off your network, reconnecting it to Wi-Fi often clears the offline status.

• Nothing prints / jobs stuck in the queue

  • Nothing prints: clearing a stuck print queue Clearing a stuck queue step by step.
  • Printer shows offline: what to check, in order Includes clearing stuck jobs and restarting the print queue, which frees most frozen documents.

• Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting

  • Printer keeps dropping off Wi-Fi Fixes for a printer that keeps dropping off the network.
  • Connect your printer to Wi-Fi with WPS or manual setup A clean reconnection with the right network band and password is the most reliable fix for drop-outs.
  • Printer shows offline: what to check, in order Covers what to check when the printer vanishes from your computer between jobs.

• Paper jams

  • Paper jams: clearing them without tearing How to remove jammed paper safely, find torn scraps and stop jams coming back.

• Curled or wavy paper

  • Paper jams: clearing them without tearing Its section on loading and storing paper explains how damp or curled stock causes feed problems.

• Streaks or lines on the page

  • Fixing streaks and lines on printed pages Pattern-by-pattern guide to streaks and lines.
  • How to clean a printhead safely Gaps and lines usually come from partly blocked nozzles; a nozzle check and cleaning cycle target exactly that.

• Faded or missing colors

  • Faded or missing colors in your prints Checks for low ink, settings and paper type.
  • How to clean a printhead safely A missing color in the nozzle check pattern points to a clogged channel that cleaning can clear.

• Blank pages come out

  • Printer prints blank pages Every common reason a page comes out empty.
  • How to clean a printhead safely Badly dried nozzles can stop ink reaching the paper at all; the guide shows how to test and clean them.

• Wrong colors

  • How to clean a printhead safely When one ink channel is blocked, the others mix into the wrong shade; cleaning restores the balance.

• Smudged prints or ghost images

  • Smudged or ghosted prints from a laser printer Fuser, toner and paper causes of smearing and ghosting.

• Printing is very slow

  • Why printing is slow, and what speeds it up Quality settings, connection and file size checks.

• Cartridge not recognized

  • Cartridge not recognized: general checks Seating, contacts and protective tape checks.