Printer keeps going to sleep or won't wake up
Your printer falls asleep too quickly, drops off Wi-Fi while asleep or ignores print jobs. Adjust sleep and wake settings from the panel or its web page.
Quick fix
Lengthen the printer's sleep timer instead of trying to switch sleep off. Look in its settings under Setup, Preferences, Eco or Power for an option such as Sleep, Sleep Timer or Energy Saving and choose a longer delay. If jobs still don't wake it, reserve the printer's IP address in your router so your computer can always find it.
Didn’t work? Go to the full stepsYou might see
- The printer is asleep every time you want to print
- Jobs wait in the queue until you press a button on the printer
- The printer shows as offline while it's asleep
- It doesn't wake when you touch the screen or press buttons
- It drops off Wi-Fi after sleeping and needs a restart
Usually caused by
- A short sleep timer set by default
- Deep sleep reducing or switching off Wi-Fi
- The printer getting a new IP address after waking
- An unreliable WSD port on Windows
- A power-management bug in older firmware
Step-by-step fix
Work through the steps in order and check each one off. Most people are printing again before the last step.
On the printer and router
0 of 5 steps tried
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Lengthen the sleep timer
On the control panel, open the settings and look under Setup, Preferences, Eco, Energy or Power for the sleep option. Choose a longer delay. Many printers won't let you turn sleep off completely, which is fine, because a sleeping printer should still wake for jobs.
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Use the printer's built-in web page
Find the printer's IP address on its screen or a printed network configuration page and type it into a browser on the same network. Your browser may warn that the connection isn't private because the printer uses its own certificate; if the address is your printer's, it's fine to continue. Look under Settings, System, Power or Energy, using the admin password from the printer's label or manual if asked.
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Look for wake and standby options
Some printers have settings that decide whether the wireless connection stays active during sleep or whether a print job wakes the printer. The names vary widely, so look for anything mentioning waking, network standby or deep sleep, and choose the option that keeps the network connection on.
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Reserve the printer's IP address
Sign in to your router's app or admin page and find DHCP reservation, address reservation or a similar option. Assign the printer's current address to it permanently, so it comes back with the same address every time it wakes.
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Update the printer firmware
Sleep and wake problems are a common target of firmware fixes. Update from the printer's menu, its web page or the maker's app, and keep it switched on and plugged in until the update finishes.
Windows 11 / 10
0 of 3 steps tried
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Send a job and watch the queue
A sleeping printer should wake when a job arrives. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners (Windows 10: Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners), select the printer and open the print queue. If the job sits with a status such as Offline, your PC can't reach the printer while it's asleep.
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Replace a WSD port with a TCP/IP port
On the printer's page, open Printer properties > Ports. If the ticked port starts with WSD, click Add Port > Standard TCP/IP Port > New Port, enter the printer's IP address and tick the new port. WSD ports often lose track of a printer that has been asleep.
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Turn off SNMP status if needed
If the printer now prints but still shows as offline, select the TCP/IP port, click Configure Port and untick SNMP Status Enabled. Some printers don't answer status checks while asleep, which makes Windows report them as offline.
macOS
0 of 3 steps tried
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Resume the queue
Open System Settings > Printers & Scanners, select the printer and click Printer Queue. If printing has been paused after a failed attempt, click Resume.
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Re-add the printer by IP address
If the printer often disappears after sleeping, reserve its IP address in the router first. Then remove the printer, click Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax, open the IP tab, enter the address and choose AirPrint as the protocol if offered.
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Test after a sleep
Let the printer go to sleep, then print a short document. If it wakes and prints, the fixed address has solved it; if not, check the printer's wake and standby settings.
Did this fix it?
Good. To confirm everything is healthy, print a test page. It takes a minute and shows any quality problems early.
Try these next
Still stuck? Our printer assistant can walk you through it by live chat, free. . Or the The troubleshooter asks a few questions and narrows it down. If your printer is under warranty, the manufacturer can repair or replace it at no cost. Find their official support site on our brand pages.
Common questions
Should I turn sleep mode off completely?
Usually you can't, and you don't need to. Sleep saves energy and a healthy printer wakes for jobs. Lengthen the timer and fix the connection instead.
Why does my printer go offline when it sleeps?
Some printers reduce or switch off Wi-Fi in deep sleep, or come back with a new IP address. Reserving the address in your router and using a TCP/IP port on Windows usually fixes it.
What is the difference between sleep and auto power-off?
Sleep keeps the printer ready to wake for a job. Auto power-off turns it fully off, and it won't print again until you press the power button.