Printer is paused and won't resume

Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners (Windows 10: Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners), select the printer and choose Open print queue. A paused printer holds every job; a paused job holds only that document.

If the queue window has a Printer menu, open it and untick both Pause Printing and Use Printer Offline. The second is easy to miss and holds jobs on your PC just like a pause. In the newer Windows 11 queue window, look for a resume option near the top.

Right-click the document that shows Paused and choose Resume. If it doesn't start within a minute, cancel it and print the document again.

If you can't find the pause options, press Win + R, type the command below with your printer's exact name between the quotes, and press Enter. This opens the older queue window, which always has the Printer menu.

Check the printer's screen or lights for a jam, an open cover, an empty tray or a cartridge notice waiting for you to press OK. Some printers hold jobs until you acknowledge a low-ink or non-original cartridge message.

If the status won't change, select Start, type cmd, choose Run as administrator and run the command below. It restarts the printing service without removing your printers.

If the printer keeps going back to Paused or Offline, your PC is losing contact with it. Reserve a fixed IP address for the printer in your router, then in Printer properties > Ports use a Standard TCP/IP Port with that address instead of a WSD port.

Open System Settings > Printers & Scanners, select the printer and click Printer Queue. On macOS 12 Monterey and earlier, go to System Preferences > Printers & Scanners and click Open Print Queue.

Clear any jam, empty tray or cartridge prompt on the printer, then click Resume in the queue window's toolbar. macOS pauses a queue by itself when a job can't be completed, such as when the printer was asleep or unreachable, and pauses it again if the error is still showing.

A job that shows as on hold won't print even when the printer is running. Select it and click Resume. If it still doesn't move, delete it and print again.

If Resume does nothing, select the printer in Printers & Scanners, click Remove Printer, then click Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax and add it with AirPrint in the Use menu if it's offered.