Why Does My Printer Keep Rebooting? - Troubleshooting Guide 5 Fixes

Is your printer stuck in a reboot loop or showing as offline? Our 2026 troubleshooting guide covers the top fixes for power cycles, firmware corruption, and communication errors. A printer typically reboots when you trigger it to do so. However, printers can also reboot when experiencing problems that they’re attempting to resolve automatically. Still, it’s not normal for a printer to keep rebooting endlessly.

When a printer keeps rebooting non-stop, it’s likely because the device’s firmware is corrupted, the current print job is corrupted, or it’s experiencing a problematic software update via WiFi. The same problem can also occur if a hardware issue triggers the printer to reset itself continuously.

Quick Fix: How to Restore Printer Power and Status

Table of Contents

Clear the Loop: Unplug the printer for 60 seconds to stop a reboot cycle and clear corrupted internal memory.
Check the Queue: A “stuck” print job often causes both rebooting loops and “offline” status errors.
Refresh the Connection: Toggle your computer’s Wi-Fi or reseat the USB cable to move the status from “Offline” to “Ready.”
Update Firmware: If your printer reboots during updates, download the latest version manually from the manufacturer’s site.

Why Does My Printer Keep Restarting?

Corrupted Firmware

What it is: Firmware is a type of software that sits permanently in an electronic device, like your printer. Despite being permanent, it requires an occasional software update to ensure the machine can function correctly.

Printer firmware helps control the device’s functions and maintain communications with your computer or any device you use to print documents. Just like any other kind of software, your printer firmware can also become corrupted or experience major errors. One resulting behavior is constantly rebooting even though there’s no need for the printer to do so.

What to do: Corrupted firmware can be quite confusing but, what you’re dealing with is essentially just a software problem.

You can download and reinstall your printer firmware to replace the corrupted version. Visit the manufacturer’s website and look for the download page. You can search for the correct firmware based on your printer model number.

Corrupted Print Job

What it is: When you choose to print a document on your computer, that starts a new print job. Your document then gets converted to data your printer can understand and replicate on paper.

How it happens: Print jobs can sometimes become corrupted. For example, the data sent to the printer is incorrect or provides the printer with instructions it can’t understand.

Corrupted print data can lead a printer to demonstrate strange behaviors like repeatedly rebooting. That likely happens as the printer constantly tries to clear the corrupted data from its memory.

What to do: You need to do two things to resolve this issue. Firstly, reset the printer by cycling its power. You can do that by disconnecting it from the wall socket for 1 minute and reconnecting it after.

How to Clear the Print Queue- Spooler Errors

After restarting your printer and computer, check the print queue. That queue keeps track of the documents you want to print before your computer sends the information to the printer. In some cases, the print queue could be experiencing an error that causes the printer to stay ‘offline’ mistakenly.

Clearing the print queue can also update the printer’s status to ‘online’, allowing you to print new documents. The below directions are for Windows 10/11.

Stop the Spooler Service: Press the Windows Key + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter. Scroll down to find Print Spooler, right-click it, and select Stop.
Delete the Corrupted Files: Open File Explorer and navigate to this folder:

C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS

(You may need to click “Continue” for administrator access). Delete every file inside this folder. These are the “stuck” documents causing the error.

Restart the Spooler: Go back to the Services window, right-click Print Spooler again, and select Start.
Power Cycle: Turn your printer off and back on. It should now show as “Online” and stay powered up without rebooting.

Once your printer is on and functioning normally again, try to print the document again. That will create a new print job that’s not corrupted.

Problematic Software Update Via WiFi

What it is: Many printer models these days come with wireless connectivity features. That means some printers can connect directly to your devices wirelessly. On top of that, some of them can also connect to your home or office WiFi network to be shared with computers on the same network.

Some WiFi printers can also connect directly to the internet via your WiFi network. In doing so, these printer models can automatically download software and firmware updates without input from you.

WiFi printers that connect directly to the internet via your WiFi network can experience problems while downloading or installing software updates. When that happens, your printer can start functioning erratically. A common example is that the printer will try to reboot itself but do it continuously for no apparent reason.

You can confirm this by disconnecting your printer from the WiFi network and using a cabled connection with your computer. If the printer functions normally in that case, it confirms that the problem is with the wireless connection.

What to do: Firstly, disconnect your printer from your home or office WiFi network. You’ll have to delete the connection to ensure that the printer doesn’t try to reconnect with the network automatically.

Next, check the printer management software on your computer. Manufacturers include this software so you can monitor and control your printer. The software might tell you if there’s a problem and offer you a solution.

If you find that the printer fails to download software updates automatically, you can download and install them manually through your computer instead.

Hardware Issue

Printers are electronic devices with plenty of mechanical components. For example, there are rollers, gears, and carriages that move around all the time. When the printer’s electronic or mechanical components face a problem, the printer might reboot itself as a way of fixing it automatically.

Once you rule out all the other reasons mentioned above, you can also consider that the printer has an internal hardware issue that’s causing it to reboot continuously.

How to Fix: If you haven’t already, follow the instructions built into your printer’s software to do a Troubleshooting program or Self-test. Some modern printers can tell you where the printer jam (or other difficulty) is located. At some point, you might be better off investing in a new printer or hiring a skilled technician.

Why Your Printer Shows as Offline (The Connection Issues)

When a printer appears as ‘offline’, that means your computer can’t sense the device or communicate with it. As a result, the computer can’t send documents to the device to be printed.

Why does my HP printer say “Offline” when it is clearly turned on?

This is usually caused by a “status mismatch” between the printer and the Windows print queue. Go to Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, select your printer, and click Open Queue. Ensure that “Use Printer Offline” is unchecked in the Printer menu.

Physical Connections: USB and Power cord checks.

Firstly, check that the printer’s power cable is plugged into a working wall socket. Then, the other end of that cable should be pushed completely into the printer’s power socket.

Resolve VPN & Firewall Conflict

This is a very common modern issue where users can’t “see” their printer because their security software is blocking the local network handshake.

Disable VPN and Third-Party Firewalls. If you use a VPN for work or privacy, it may create a ‘tunnel’ that hides your computer from your local network. Your HP printer won’t communicate if the computer is on a different virtual subnet. Disconnect your VPN and temporarily disable third-party firewalls (like Norton or McAfee) to see if the communication is restored.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do Printers Have A Reset Button?

No, most printers do not have a dedicated reset button. However, you can reset the device through power cycling, i.e. turning it off and on again. Start by disconnecting the printer’s plug from the wall socket for one minute. After that time passes, the printer is reset, and you can use it again.

What Happens When You Reset Your Printer?

When you reset your printer, its internal memory will be cleared. Glitches and other minor errors will also be cleared during a reset, saving you plenty of time and effort in troubleshooting the device.

How Do I Know If My Printer Needs Reset?

You’ll know your printer needs a reset when it demonstrates erratic behavior or behaviors that aren’t normal. For example, a printer carriage that moves side to side for no reason could be caused by an error that a reset can clear.

Why Does My Printer Take So Long To Start Printing?

A printer takes time before printing because it collects print data from your computer. That’s especially true if you’re printing a large document with many pages or plenty of images. Therefore, the printer must collect enough information before it can begin the print job.

Why Do Printers Warm Up?

Some printers warm up because they rely on heat to function correctly. Thermal inkjet printers are a perfect example of that. They need heat to vaporize ink and create expanding bubbles that deposit ink onto paper.