HP Printer Is Not Responding [Proven Solutions]

In this article, we will share with you proven solutions that you can apply whenever your HP printer is not responding to print commands. Before we provide these solutions, we will look at the reasons why your HP printer does not respond to print command.

Why HP Printer Is Not Responding [Answered]

When the device connected to your HP printer cannot communicate with your printer, you will likely get an HP printer not responding message on the screen of the device. The question most users who have encountered this ask is “why does it say my HP printer is not responding?”

Well, below are some reasons responsible for the HP printer not responding to print command issue:

i. Incompatible printer driver

ii. Corrupted or outdated printer driver

iii. Issues with the print spooler service

iv. Paused printer

v. Insufficient paper

vi. Paper jam

vi. The printer carriage is stuck

What to Do If Your HP Printer Is Not Responding [Solutions]

If your HP printer does not respond, here are a few things you can do to resolve this issue:

1. Check Printer Connections

Check if your HP printer is properly connected to your computer.

If you use a USB printer, ensure that the USB cable and the port are in good condition and not damaged. Check the cable for damage. If you can’t find any damage, connect the USB cable to another port on your computer.

If the problem persists, use a different cable. If the new cable fails to work, try another port. If none of these actions reveal which item is faulty, then you should do the next solution.

For wireless HP printers, confirm that your printer and computer are on the same wireless network and that the signal of the network is strong. You might have to move your devices closer to your wireless router to strengthen the network signal.

If you are certain that the connections are okay, move on to the next solution.

2. Check Antivirus & Firewall

Sometimes, a third-party antivirus program might be the reason your HP printer is not responding. Therefore, you need to confirm if the antivirus is the problem. To do this, disable the antivirus temporarily and then check if the problem is resolved. If it is not, then you need to uninstall it.

To temporarily disable installed antivirus on your Windows 10 computer, click this link: HP Printer Network Security Key – How to Temporarily Disable Installed Antivirus on your Computer, and then follow the steps we shared.

To uninstall antivirus, click this: HP Printer Network Security Key – How to Uninstall Installed Antivirus on your Computer, and then do the instructions we shared.

If your HP printer is not responding after uninstalling the antivirus, reinstall the antivirus and then do the next solution.

3. Restart Print Spooler

One reason your HP printer is not responding could be that your computer’s print spooler service has stopped working. In such a case, what you need to do is to restart your computer’s print spooler service.

How to Restart Print Spooler

To restart the print spooler, do the following steps

Step 1: Go to your Windows search box and type in “services.msc”.

Step 2: Locate and right-click “Print Spooler”.

Step 3: Click “Restart”.

If the “Restart” option is unavailable, click “Stop”, and then wait a bit before you click on “Start”.

Step 4: Exit the services window.

After restarting the print spooler, try to print a document to confirm if your HP printer is now responding.

If your HP printer will not respond, do the next solution.

4. Confirm that your HP Printer is Configured Correctly

How to confirm that HP Printer is Configured Correctly in Windows 10

To confirm that your HP printer is correctly configured in Windows 10, do the following:

Step 1: Open your computer’s “Control Panel”.

Step 2: Click “Devices and Printers”.

Step 3: Right-click on your HP printer.

Step 4: Click on “Printer Properties”.

Step 5: Click the tab labeled “Ports”.

Step 6: Confirm that the port selected is the correct one, if it is not, select the correct one.

Step 7: Click “Apply”.

Step 8: Click “OK”.

If your HP printer is not responding after doing the above steps, try the solution below.

5. Reinstall your HP Printer Driver

As we said earlier, a corrupted or outdated printer driver can be a reason why your HP printer is not responding. Therefore, what to do when the HP printer is not responding, in this case, is to reinstall your HP printer driver.

How to Reinstall HP Printer Driver

To reinstall your HP printer driver, do the steps below:

Step 1: Press these keys on your keyboard: Windows” and “R”. This action will open the Run app.

Step 2: Type “devmgmt.msc” without the quotation marks in the search field.

Step 3: Click on the “OK” button or press the “Enter” key on your keyboard. The Device Manager will open when you do this.

Step 4: Click on the arrow next to “Printers” to expand the category.

Step 5: Locate and then right-click on your HP printer.

Step 6: Click on “Uninstall device”.

Step 7: Click the “Delete the driver software for this device” option.

Step 8: Confirm your choice by clicking “Uninstall”.

Step 9: Go to your computer’s “Settings”.

Step 10: Click “Devices”.

Step 11: Click on “Printers & Scanners” located on the screen’s left pane.

Step 12: Select your HP printer.

Step 13: Click on “Remove device”.

Step 14: Confirm your choice by clicking on the “Yes” button.

Step 15: Once the uninstallation is complete, click on “Add a printer or scanner”.

Step 16: Select your HP printer.

Alternatively, you can reinstall the printer driver by going to the HP Software & Drivers Download page to get the printer driver.  

After reinstalling your HP printer driver, restart your computer before you check if your HP printer is now responding.

If your HP LaserJet or HP Deskjet printer is not responding after the reinstallation of the printer driver, do the next solution.

6. Install a Generic Printer Driver

If your HP Inkjet or HP LaserJet printer is not responding after installing an updated printer driver, then you should install a generic printer driver instead as there might be an issue with your HP printer driver.

How to Install a Generic Printer Driver

To reinstall your HP printer driver, do the steps below:

Step 1: Press these keys on your keyboard: Windows” and “R”. This action will open the Run app.

Step 2: Type “devmgmt.msc” without the quotation marks in the search field.

Step 3: Click on the “OK” button or press the “Enter” key on your keyboard. The Device Manager will open when you do this.

Step 4: Click on the arrow next to “Printers” to expand the category.

Step 5: Locate and then right-click on your HP printer.

Step 6: Click on “Update driver”.

Step 7: When the new window opens click on the “Browse my computer for drivers” option.

Step 8: Click on “Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer”.

Step 9: Click “Generic printer device”.

Step 10: Click on “Next”.

The generic printer driver will be installed and updated. You should check if your HP printer is not responding after the driver update.

If the problem persists, do the next solution.

7. Run Windows Troubleshooter

In the event that none of the solutions solved the issue, running Windows Troubleshooter might enable you to detect the problem and also fix it. 

How to Run Windows Troubleshooter

To run Windows Troubleshooter, we recommend that you click this link: HP Printer has Full Black Ink but Prints Blank Pages – Run Windows Troubleshooter, and then follow the instructions depending on your Windows version.

If your HP printer is not responding even after running the Windows Troubleshooter, go on to the next solution.

8.  Contact HP

If you can’t fix the problem with the solutions we have shared so far, then you need to contact HP Customer Support. If the problem cannot be resolved remotely, a technician will be sent to repair your printer if this service is available in your region.   

HP Printer Won’t Turn On Or Respond [Quick Fix]

If your HP printer won’t turn on or respond, the problem could be a result of an issue with the power supply. Therefore, we recommend that you read this article: HP Printer Won’t Turn On/Off [Solutions]to learn how to resolve the issue.

HP Printer is Not Responding [Other Issues]

If your HP printer is not responding in other ways that we didn’t cover in this article. We recommend that you check out the linked articles below that we have written on this site that deal with HP printer not responding issues we did not discuss in this article:

HP Printer Is Offline or Not Responding on PC [Fixed]

HP Printer Not Responding in Windows 10 [Fixed]           

My HP Printer is Not Responding on Mac [Solved]

HP Printer Not Responding To iPad [Quick Fix]

HP Printer Not Responding to iPhone [Solved]

HP Printer Not Responding To Ping [Fixed]

HP Printer SMTP Gateway Not Responding [Solved]

The discussion in the article above applies to (but is not exclusive to) the following HP printers:

HP envy 6000, HP envy 4520, HP envy 5000, HP envy 7640, HP Officejet 3830, HP Deskjet 3630, HP Deskjet 3755, HP Officejet 5200, and HP Officejet pro 8610.