Locally connected Printer shows as offline on Windows 7 network after initially working

Anonymous

Ok, have checked similar threads wihich got no successful answers.

I have a PC with Epson printer connect directly via USB. Print driver installed correctly. Works fine.

Windows 7 Ultimate (32 bit) no security other than windows firewall and microsoft security essentials.

Laptop connected wirelessly to PC. On same network and homegroup, file and media sharing all working fine.

Laptop running Windows 7 Ultimate (32 bit) same security as PC.

When I add a network printer it finds printer on PC and correctly installs driver etc. Printer appears in devices and will print the first couple of times.

However, by the next day the network printer shows up as "offline" in the print spooler on the laptop. Documents simply stack up.

The PC does not go to sleep and is left on all of the time except for the monitor which is switched off. Printer works fine on PC, indeed with docs stuck on the laptop I can still print directly from the PC - even this does not show the printer as online on the laptop.

Have checked that the printer spooler on laptop is running and set to automatic.

Epson unable/unwilling to help - have found a similar thread with no answer - anybody any guesses as to what to try?

Many thanks

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Anonymous

I had a similar problem and for me the Problem is with the EPSON driver.

My printer was connected wirelessly to my network, I had IP address and could ping it but WIN 7 showed it as OFFLINE.

I then went and had a look at the printer driver, (start, Devices and printer, selected the epson printer then under printer management, customise printer, ports then configure port)

And noticed that for Standard TCP/IP Port it was pointing to a different IP than that what my printer currently had. I edited it to match what the printer was and it came ONLINE.

When you turn your printer off, its IP address goes back in your routers pool to be reassigned.

The Epson windows driver still has the old IP. You turn your printer on and your router happens to give it a different IP from last time. It now doesn't match with what the Epson driver stored before and tells you it is OFFLINE.

For me, rather than changing the IP in the driver each time this happend I assigned a static IP (fixed host ) address in my router to match my printers MAC address. This way it always gives my printer the same address everytime and no more fake OFFLINE messages appear in Windows.

This is an Epson driver problem, not a windows problem.

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

Set the IP address of the printer to a static address as stated earlier in this thread. If you add the printer again by browsing the network, the Standard TCP/IP port will only work as long ast the printer retains the same IP. If the print device support DNS or WNS name registration you can add a Standard TCP/IP Port using the hostname rather than a transient IP address for DHCP enabled print devices.

Alan Morris Windows Printing Team; Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here: http://support.microsoft.com/search/Default.aspx?adv=1

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88 additional answers

Anonymous

2016-03-04T18:12:32+00:00

I had a similar problem and for me the Problem is with the EPSON driver.

My printer was connected wirelessly to my network, I had IP address and could ping it but WIN 7 showed it as OFFLINE.

I then went and had a look at the printer driver, (start, Devices and printer, selected the epson printer then under printer management, customise printer, ports then configure port)

And noticed that for Standard TCP/IP Port it was pointing to a different IP than that what my printer currently had. I edited it to match what the printer was and it came ONLINE.

When you turn your printer off, its IP address goes back in your routers pool to be reassigned.

The Epson windows driver still has the old IP. You turn your printer on and your router happens to give it a different IP from last time. It now doesn't match with what the Epson driver stored before and tells you it is OFFLINE.

For me, rather than changing the IP in the driver each time this happend I assigned a static IP (fixed host ) address in my router to match my printers MAC address. This way it always gives my printer the same address everytime and no more fake OFFLINE messages appear in Windows.

This is an Epson driver problem, not a windows problem.

SimilarI have a Win 10 machine and a Win 7. The latter has all my printers on a home network.

Printspooler is switched off every time I restart the machines.

The printspooler is switched off my Win 10 machine even when it is on.

How to fix this annoying problem?
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Anonymous

2016-06-28T20:01:14+00:00

there is a problem with Epson printer. I am all set in static ip on router and connected device and the Epson show offline on the router. the worst is that it work like it is online. and seams to make some conflict with another printer that I have. rebooting the router solve the problem that it cause to the other printer. not sure why Epson work when it show off line and my other printer show online and does not work. it cause a bug in the router rebooting the router solve the issue.

the only issue that remain is that the Epson always show offline.

static address is a fix address.

dhcp address is address pick automatic from a pool of address and the address can change.

problem with dhcp is that if stuff go wrong you have no way to know what is what. since the address is not fix to the device.

when the Epson printer is not working and is reboot it remake is connection and work. even if it show offline.

so something is off in the printer. since you reboot the Epson printer and it connect with out being show that it connect. still stating offline. it as is own static address. weird behavior from Epson printer. will continue to look in to it if I find something will update this post.

UPDATE: what I found is that the driver was set to show status offline in the fax part switching it to online solved the issue. it now appear online in the router connected device.

how to do this you need to go to device and printer right clic the printer icon, click what is printing, click printer, if it is set to show offline clic it so that it say show online. same process for the fax icon.

then another issue as happen. the fax was used in the driver at the place of the printer. this cause speed latency issue on the connection of other computer add to reset the router to solve this. switch it back to the printer now will see if it solve the problem or if some other issue happens.
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Anonymous

2016-06-28T20:20:06+00:00

actually the manufacturer driver. are submitted to Microsoft. so the problem was the manufacturer driver in the first place.
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