Completely unintuitive printing management

[KJ620]

My home printer was low on ink so I stopped by at a friend's house to use their printer. I was able to have my computer recognize it with a USB connection, but it took me forever to print anything because even when I selected that printer in the HP Smart app and tried to print through it, it just wouldn't do anything, same when I went to my document, when to print, and selected that printer. Eventually I unplugged it and plugged it back in and then was able to print from it. Now apparently some of those print orders had actually gone to my home printer, because I guess it defaulted to that despite not being connected to it and me currently trying to print from a different one, and when I got back home today and my laptop reconnected to my wifi, they all started printing. The worst thing of all is that there's nowhere in the HP Smart app where I can see print orders or cancel them, so I had to wait and cancel them one by one on my printer manually. I know no one who reads this is actually responsible, so my customer feedback is literally just completely irrelevant, but all your designers and managers should end up destitute and die in a cardboard box, and frankly I'm not saying what I really want to be saying. Please explain to me, politely and in detail, how to manage printing orders in the future using your system so I can cancel them.

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @KJ620 

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for posting your query! We're here to help you get back up and running.

That sounds like a truly frustrating experience!  Let me help you understand how to better manage and cancel print jobs to save you from such a headache next time.

Steps to Manage and Cancel Print Jobs

Use the Print Queue:

• When you send a document to print, it gets added to the print queue of the selected printer.
• To access the queue:
  • Press Windows + S and search for "Printers & Scanners."
  • Select the printer you’re using and click "Open queue."
• Here, you can see all pending print jobs and cancel them before they start printing.

Default Printer Settings:

• Windows sometimes defaults back to the last-used printer or your home printer when reconnecting to Wi-Fi.
• To prevent this, set the printer you're using as the default during the session:
  • Go to Printers & Scanners in Settings.
  • Click on the printer you're currently using and select "Set as default."
• Alternatively, disable the option "Let Windows manage my default printer" under the same settings menu.

HP Smart App Limitations:

• The HP Smart app doesn’t provide a direct way to manage or cancel print jobs, which can be inconvenient.
• However, you can use the print queue on your computer for better control, as described above.

Clear a Jammed Print Queue:

• If print jobs get stuck or are accidentally sent to the wrong printer, you can clear the queue:
  • Open the print queue for the affected printer.
  • Right-click each job and select "Cancel."
  • If the cancel option doesn’t work, restart the Print Spooler service:
    • Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
    • Locate "Print Spooler," right-click it, and select "Restart."

Manual Controls on the Printer:

• Most printers have a physical cancel or stop button. Press it to cancel ongoing jobs directly from the device.

Additional Tips

• If you frequently switch between printers, consider renaming them to something memorable (e.g., "Home Printer" and "Friend's Printer") to avoid confusion.
• Keep the HP Smart app updated, as HP might introduce more features for job management in future releases.

If this solution hits the spot, please come back and click "Accepted Solution" to help others find the answer. And if you'd like to say thanks, select "Yes" on the bottom left of the public post, as that would make our day! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye