How to unpause my HP printer in Windows 11

[Eva-Stina]

I have a HP printer in paused mode and I always get the same advice:

• Open the control panel and select Devices and Printers.
• Right-click the printer and select 'See what's printing'.
• Click the top Printer menu and click Pause Printing to remove the checkmark and resume printing

But in windows 11 you do not have possibility to right click the printer,  you can just open a selection of choisis and one of them is Open print queue but cancelling documents in the queue does not solve the issue and there is no Printer menu ! I tried the Services spool restart but it did not solve the issue and Device Manager / Printers does not show any printers for me, so that fix I cannot try.  Thanks for your help

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @Eva-Stina 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

Thank you for your detailed observations and for already trying several steps—your persistence is appreciated. Let’s guide your printer out of pause mode using a more direct route that works with Windows 11’s newer interface.

To unpause your HP printer in Windows 11, use the classic Control Panel to access the legacy print queue interface, where the “Pause Printing” option is still available. The modern Settings app does not expose this control.

 

Open the Classic Control Panel

• Press Windows + R, type control printers, and press Enter.
• This opens the Devices and Printers window in the classic Control Panel.

Access the Legacy Print Queue

• Locate your HP printer in the list.
• Right-click the printer icon (this works in the classic Control Panel even on Windows 11).
• Select See what's printing.

Unpause the Printer

• In the print queue window, click the Printer menu at the top.
• If Pause Printing is checked, click it once to remove the checkmark.
• This should immediately resume the print queue.

Clear Stuck Jobs (if needed)

• If documents are still stuck, right-click each one and select Cancel.
• Then try printing a new test page.

Restart the Print Spooler (if the queue is unresponsive)

• Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
• Scroll to Print Spooler, right-click it, and select Restart.

 

Additional Tips:

Set Printer as Default

• Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
• Select your HP printer > click Set as default.

Use the HP App

• Open the HP App on your PC.
• Select your printer > tap Printer Settings > check for any alerts or paused status.

 

Let me know if you'd like help verifying the printer’s status in the HP App or if the classic Control Panel method doesn’t respond. We’ll get your printer back to work smoothly.

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye

[Eva-Stina]

Hello,  Thank you fpr your rapid reply. The advice: "Open the Classic Control Panel Press Windows + R, type control printers, and press Enter. This opens the Devices and Printers window in the classic Control Panel."  did not open the classic control panel, but opened the windows 11 printers list where you cannot right click on the printer. I tried the other tricks too and none worked. I tried the HPSmart troubleshooter tool, and that worked, it unpaused my printer without any more intervention from my side. I recommend the use of HPSmart troubleshooter:  "Diagnostiquer et corriger" in French. Best regards, Eva-Stina

[Hawks_Eye]

Thank you for sharing the follow‑up, @Eva-Stina . 

It’s great to hear that the HP Smart troubleshooter (“Diagnostiquer et corriger”) resolved the issue for you without further intervention. I appreciate the detail you’ve provided about what worked—this will be very helpful for others facing the same situation in Windows 11 where the classic Control Panel route doesn’t behave as expected.

Your persistence really paid off, and your recommendation of the HP Smart troubleshooter is a practical solution when the pause option isn’t accessible through the usual menus. 

I’m glad your printer is back to working smoothly again.

Best regards,

Hawks_Eye