HP Printer Troubleshooting to Get Rid of Common Issues Quickly
HP printers are reliable machines that perform excellent printing and scanning. However, it does not negate the fact that they do run into errors from time to time. Users frequently report common problems like paper jams to 50.4 errors. So, the owners of this printing machine must know about HP printer troubleshooting.
In this article, you’ll find 7 most common HP printer problems that you can run into frequently. Follow the detailed troubleshooting measures to fix these problems.
HP Printer Troubleshooting for Common Printer Problems
From printer offline to ghosting and faded prints, there’s HP printers troubleshooting available for every problem. Find the printer issue you are facing and the appropriate solutions below it.
1.Fix an offline HP printer
HP printer offline is a common problem. You can use the HP Print and Scan doctor to fix the printing and scanning problem you are facing. If it doesn’t work, set your printer as default. Both these methods are explained below.
Use HP Print and Scan doctor.
- Ensure that you’ve loaded paper in the tray. Then, switch on the printer.
- Download HP Print and Scan Doctor and adhere to the prompts for its installation.
- Tap ‘Start‘ on the welcome screen to choose your printer and run the tool.
Set your printer as the default
- In Windows PC, open ‘Printers & Scanners.’
- Ensure the box beside ‘Let Windows manage my default printer‘ isn’t checked.
- Tap your printer name from the printer list, then click ‘Manage.’
- Now, choose ‘Set as Default.’
2.Resolve the paper jam problem
Paper jams are very common. But you shouldn’t just try pulling out pieces of paper from the tray. Follow this HP printer troubleshooting guide for overcoming this problem.
Check and clear jam.
- Firstly, inspect the paper tray. If there’s any loose paper in it, remove it.
- Remove an access door at the bottom of the printer. Using the knob, release the door. Remove pieces stuck in the rollers.
- Now lift the front cover and pull out extra paper jam slowly.
- Check the printer carriage. It must move freely from one to the other side. Move the carriage gently by unplugging the power cord. Rotate the rollers three times if you find the carriage not moving freely. Everything within the printer should move easily.
- Now test the printer and check if it is working.
Know the printer models that aren’t designed for heavy use
Specific models of HP printers are prone to paper jams. A printer that holds the paper in a vertical position and pulls it down usually has paper jam issues. It’s because these models aren’t built for heavy use. You must be aware of it beforehand.
3.Fix the ghosting problem
Ghosting refers to a situation where the image prints like usual, but a significantly lighter copy of the photo also prints elsewhere. You can use these steps for troubleshooting HP printer that’s having the ghosting problem.
- Check the environment of your printer – Ensure that your printer is kept in a dry room. It’s because the humidity can lead the toner powder to clump, which impacts the print quality.
- Ensure to use appropriate paper. Some HP printer models are suited to work with a particular kind of paper. If the paper’s not suitable for the kind of printing you need, the toner powder will not adhere properly to the page.
- Change the paper setting – You also need to ensure that the setting of your paper aligns with the paper type. In many cases, paper setting adjustment resolves the ghosting issue.
4.Solve the poor print quality issue
Many users of HP LaserJet Pro printers complain of the bad quality of the print output. You can use the following HP printer troubleshooting approaches to fix poor print quality. Before proceeding, check if you are using genuine HP ink or toner supplies. Always purchase authentic cartridges from the HP store.
Examine the paper
- Use paper suitable for HP LaserJet printers.
- Don’t employ a very rough paper. Instead use smoother ones.
- After loading the right paper, try printing.
Inspect the EconoMode settings
Inspect the EconoMode settings if you find the output too dark or light. But don’t use this mode full time.
- Choose ‘Print‘ in the program you are printing from.
- Right-tap your printer and tap ‘Properties‘ or ‘Printer setup.’
- Hit the ‘Paper/Quality’ tab and find the ‘Print Quality’ area.
- If the page is too dark, choose the ‘600 dpi’ option.
- Choose ‘EconoMode‘ and enable it.
- If the page is too light, choose the ‘FastRes 1200′ option.
- Now clear the checkbox of EconoMode.
- Lastly, tap ‘OK‘ to print the job.
Change an empty or low toner cartridge.
- Remove the old toner cartridge.
- Now substitute it with a new toner cartridge.
- Using both sides of the toner cartridge, rock it to dispense the toner within the cartridge.
- Bend the tab on the toner cartridge’s left side till it breaks loose. Now pull it till the tape gets removed from the cartridge.
- Place the cartridge in your product and close its door.
5. Fix the 50.4 error message
A 50.4 error message appears on some newer HP Laserjet models. The error signals an issue with the power supply. Follow these HP troubleshooting printer steps to get your printer out of this error.
- Restart your printer and clean it – Turn off the power and then turn it on again. It will normalize the printer temperature level and fix the issue. Also, remove any paper jam inside the paper. Clean the clogged ink to ensure good printer functioning.
- Inspect the power source – The power source can also cause heat up. Ensure that the printer’s plug isn’t loose or broken. Otherwise, it will cause a problem with the power cable.
- Check the HP printer’s environment – Don’t put your printer in a very cool location. If you are shifting the device from outdoors to indoors, give a few hours to the device to warm up to the current atmosphere.
6. Fixes for when HP printer shows 79 service error
A 79 error occurs due to an issue with the network print server that services your printing device. Some good HP printer troubleshooting techniques for this problem are reinstalling the DIMM and the drivers.
Reinstall the DIMM
- Firstly, switch off your HP printer.
- Now remove the DIMM.
- Reinstall DIMM and confirm it’s properly in your printer.
- Turn on the printer and remove the installed DIMMS.
- Retest the printer.
- If it functions well, install a DIMM that your HP printer supports.
Reinstall the drivers
- Open the ‘Control Panel.’
- Remove HP printer-related software by choosing ‘Uninstall a program.’
- Go to ‘Device Manager.’
- Remove the HP device below the print queues.
- Lastly, restart your system and let the driver install automatically.
7. Resolve HP print jobs stuck in a queue.
There are numerous ways to clear the print queue. Follow the different methods below and see which one gives you the desired result.
Start the print spooler service again.
- Open the Run box.
- In its window, type ‘services.msc’ and press Enter.
- Go down to Print Spooler. Right-tap it and choose ‘Stop.’
- Now, go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS, and delete every file in this folder.
- Right-tap print Spooler in the ‘Services’ window, and choose ‘Start.’
Clear stuck files by using the command prompt.
- In the search box, input ‘cmd,’ and Run it as administrator.
- Input the commands below in the Command Prompt window.
net stop spooler
del %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers\* /Q /F /S
net start spooler
- They will clear every print job that’s stuck in the queue.
Final Words
This exhaustive HP printer troubleshooting guide will help you overcome most issues. You can implement these techniques on any HP printer model. Thus, you won’t need to stop your workflow because of any printer error. Contact expert HP printer support services to get more assistance with any problem. The printer technicians are only a call away. They’ll efficiently diagnose and troubleshoot all major and minor glitches.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I diagnose my HP printer problems?
You may be in the middle of important work and your HP Printer may give you problems. Most times, the HP printer may show an offline error. You need to troubleshoot to diagnose the printer problem. Given below are the troubleshooting methods to diagnose the printer problem:
1. Check whether the power cord connected to the printer is loose. If it is loose, then tighten it up.
2. Check whether the USB cable between the printer and the PC is proper. If it has got tangled or loosened up, make it tight.
How do you diagnose a printer problem?
There are still several ways to diagnose and understand the problem with the printer. If you are getting a network error, then you need to fix the network problem. This can be performed by establishing the printer’s connection with the router. You need to go to the settings option on the printer and select the desirable safe network. If the problem is regarding the offline error, you need to check various cables. This includes cable between the printer and the PC and the power cord cable. If any of the cables are loose, then tighten them up.
How do you fix a printer problem?
There may be many reasons why the printer may display an offline error. You need to check out the various conditions for which the printer may go offline. If you feel the printer has gone offline, check the screen of the printer. If the printer screen is blank then probably it may be in sleep mode or switched off. You can restart the computer, it will start running again. Similarly, you can check out various cable connections. Check every connection whether it is loosely connected. If any connection is loose, tighten it up.
Why is my printer connected but not printing?
You would try to take out the printout. But you may notice that although your printer is connected, it is not printing. There can be two reasons for it. One of the most possible reasons for it to be not working is low ink in the cartridge. If the ink is running low in the cartridge, the printer may not be able to print. Hence in such a case, it is better to replace the old cartridge with the new one. The other possible reason is, the cartridge may not be inserted in the slot properly. Install it properly.
How do I reset my HP printer?
Your printer has got stuck in the middle of taking a printout and you’re able to do nothing about it. You have reached a point where the printer doesn’t work at all and it has got hung. You need to reset your printer. You would be performing a factory reset. You need to be in front of the printer screen. Go to the settings option on the printer screen. Tap on the settings icon. You may see an option ‘Restore Network Settings’. Tap on it. It will prompt whether you want to restore your printer to factory condition. Tap ‘yes’.
How do I troubleshoot my HP wireless printer?
If your printer fails to connect to a wireless network, you need to troubleshoot it to understand the problem. Given are some of the troubleshooting steps which would help you. Restart your printer and run the ‘printing troubleshooter’. Check the settings of the router. Check whether your printer has established a connection with the router. You can check this on the printer’s screen. Disable VPN connections. If required, uninstall and reinstall the drivers of the printer. Update the router firmware through PC. If nothing works, then reset your printer to factory settings. This can be done by going to the setting option on the printer screen
How do I troubleshoot my HP printer?
Your printer has got hung or is not taking out printouts properly. In such a case, you need to troubleshoot your printer for various conditions. The probable troubleshooting measures are:
1. Checking whether the printer is connected to the router wirelessly. The printer must have established a firm connection with the router.
2. See whether the wire between the printer and the cable is connected properly if you’re using a wired connection. If the connection is loose, tighten it up.
3. Check whether the cartridges have ink in them.
4. Check whether the cartridges are inserted in the slots properly. If not remove and re-insert them.
How do I reset my HP wireless printer?
Resetting your HP printer would mean that you will be putting it back into the factory settings mode. If you have saved certain settings, they will be lost. Resetting the HP wireless printer is easy. In the wireless printer with a screen, you need to be in front of the screen. You need to navigate and go to the Network Settings menu. Under the network setting, you may find an option by the label ‘Restore Network Settings’. You need to move down and select it. Press the enter button after selecting the option of ‘Restore Network Settings’.
Is there a reset button on HP printers?
Something wrong must have gone up and your printer is not allowing you to take out the printout. You feel it’s time for you to reset your printer to its factory default setting. Though it is the last resort, it will get the job done. Only high-end printers or brand-new printers have the option of reset button on the printers. Otherwise, you have to follow the old technique. That is, going to the network setting menu. Then, you have to move down to the option of ‘Restore Network Settings’. Pressing it would reset the HP printer.
How do I troubleshoot my wireless printer?
It is not difficult to troubleshoot your wireless printer. Troubleshoot your wireless printer in the following ways. Suppose you are having a problem connecting your printer to the wireless network. Ensure that your printer has established a connection with the router. If not, then go to the settings option and check on the wireless network. Choose your wireless network through it. This would establish your wireless connection. If your printer is offline then check whether the cable between the printer and the PC is connected tightly. Another condition can be that the power cord is loose. Tighten it up.
Why isn't my HP wireless printer working?
There can be various reasons why your HP wireless printer is not working. It is highly possible that since your printer’s screen is blank, you may think that it is not working. A blank screen means either your HP printer is switched off or it is in sleep mode. In such a case, remove the power cord of the printer. Wait for one minute. Reconnect the power cord to the printer. Allow the printer to restart and warm up completely. The printer will start working. There is a high chance that your problem will be resolved.