Printer won't print

[DOCDU]

My wireless printer gives me a "printer not available" message when I go to print a doc or picture off my phone. A word doc, for example. If I just open the hp smart app (it displays a printer ready message) and close it without doing anything else, I can then print docs and pictures without any problems. STRANGE. But obviously I don't want to have to do this every time I go to print.

[DOCDU]

Just to clarify. Printer not available message will remain for hours until I go to HP app and open it, see message "printer ready" then close app and go back to print (my doc) where the doc to be printed then displays, is there, ready to be printed.

[Garp_senchau]

@DOCDU, Welcome to HP Support Community,

Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue

First, unplug the printer completely, turn off your laptop and router, wait one minute, then power everything back on. 

Next, let’s remove any old settings that could be causing problems. On your laptop, go to Control Panel > Devices and Printers, right-click your printer, and select Remove device. Then, go to Device Manager, under Print queues, and uninstall any drivers related to your printer. Now, reinstall it using HP Smart, this is the easiest way to ensure your printer is properly set up.

If the printer still doesn’t show up or keeps going offline, check your Wi-Fi network and make sure it’s connected to the same network as your laptop and phone. If possible, assign the printer a static IP address in your router settings so it doesn’t keep "disappearing."

If all else fails, try a factory reset on the printer (found in the settings menu) and start fresh. 

Also, refer to these helpful guides (these are for your reference):

Restore Wi-Fi setup mode on your HP printer | HP® Support

HP printer is offline or unavailable | HP® Support

HP Printers - Printer isn't available error (Android) | HP® Support

HP printer not found by the HP Smart app or operating system | HP® Support

I hope these steps help resolve the issue

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Problem solved? 🎉 Awesome! Mark this as the Accepted Solution to help the next person find their way faster. 🧭 And if it was helpful, click 'yes'—you’ll make someone’s search journey that much easier (and give this reply some well-deserved street cred 🏅)

Regards,

[DOCDU]

The problem is printing from the phone, not the computer. The computer prints fine wirelessly. So far, anyway. Can I uninstall and reinstall hp smart app on my phone without losing my printer registration on  the app? Though I'm not sure this would help. I already did a full forced stop of the app and cleared cache. THX.

[Garp_senchau]

Hey @DOCDU,

Thank you for your response

Yes, you can uninstall and reinstall the HP Smart app without losing your printer registration on the app. The app will re-discover the printer on the same network once you reinstall and log back in. It doesn’t “unbind” your printer from your HP account unless you specifically remove the printer from your account.

Make sure your phone and printer are on the same Wi-Fi network.
Sometimes your phone switches to mobile data or a different network.

Assign your printer a static IP.
This helps keep the connection stable. You do this in your Wi-Fi router settings.

Update or reinstall the HP Print Service Plugin (Android only).
Go to the Play Store and search for “HP Print Service Plugin” and update or reinstall it.

Take care and have a good day. 

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! 😊

Regards,

[DOCDU]

Thx. I will work on it.