How to Resume Printer When: “Printer Status Suspended”, “Unable to Resume”

Error message: “Printer Status Suspended”; “Unable to resume”is a common printer problem. Here are a few steps you can take to try and resolve the issue.

Before we begin, Hewlett Packard printer owners often notice this problem, which is most likely due to the fact that they are the best selling printers. Since this problem is not unique to HP, the solutions are the same whether you are using a Canon, Brother, Epson, Lexmark, Samsung, or Kyocera printer. Also, most of these instructions should work on other versions of Windows.

What causes the printer to pause?

There are several reasons why your printer might be paused. Print spooler, paper jam, and printer software are some of the reasons for this serious issue.

Fixed: Printer state is paused; Unable to resume

On Windows computers, you can use the following solutions to resolve the “Printer status has been suspended, cannot be resumed”error message:

Reinstall the printer
Start or restart the print pool service
Use the printer troubleshooter
Reinstall printer drivers.

Let’s consider them in more detail.

1] Reinstall the printer

To resolve the error: Printer status is paused; Unable to resume – you can reinstall the printer driver. To obtain the latest driver for your printer, visit the printer manufacturer’s support site. Driver updates are usually available from the Drivers section of the printer manufacturer’s website.

Some support sites allow you to directly search for your printer’s model number. Find the latest printer driver for your printer by your model number and download and then follow the installation instructions on the official website.

Usually, most drivers are installed automatically, so after downloading the latest version, double-click on the file to start the installation. Follow the instructions below to uninstall and reinstall the printer.

Select Windows Key, then select Settings > Bluetooth & Device > Printers & Scanners.
Find the printer, select it, then choose Uninstall.
Once the printer is removed, add it back by selecting Add Device. Please wait a while; it will detect your printer, then select Add device.

2] Start or Restart the Print Spooler Service

You can also try starting or restarting the print spooler service to resolve this issue. To fix this, you need to follow these steps:

Open Run Prompt with Win+R
Type services.msc in the Run box and press the Enter key.
Locate the print spooler services in the list of services.
Right-click it and select “Start”if it’s not running.
Reboot and check if printing has started.

I hope after this the problem will be solved.

3] Use Printer Troubleshooter

If all else fails, try running the printer troubleshooter. A tool is a feature of Windows that can usually solve most problems on its own. You can access the printer troubleshooter using the instructions below.

Press Win + I to open Settings.
Go to System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
Click the Run button next to the printer troubleshooter.

Select Submit a claim and wait for the procedure to complete before checking if there is a problem.

4] Clear printer queue

To decide that the printer status is Suspended, Unable to Resume, you can try to clear the printer queue and start printing again. As for clearing the print queue, you can do it in three different ways:

Command line
Task Manager
GUI Method

Now follow the exact steps to clear the printer queue. If the print spooler service is not running, follow the guide provided at the link.

1] Clear print queue using command line

Open Command Prompt with Win + R
Type WT and press Shift + Enter to launch the Windows Terminal with administrator privileges.
Type net stop spoolerand press the Enter key. You will see the message “The print spooler service is stopping”and then the print spooler service has stopped successfully.
Type del %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers* /Qand press Enter.
Type net start spoolerand press Enter. You will be prompted with the message The print spooler service started successfully.
Now you can close the command prompt. Your printer queue is now completely cleared.

2] Clear the printer queue using Task Manager.

To open the Task Manager, press the CTRL + ALT + Delete keys at the same time.
Now click on “Services”which is usually found between the “Processes”and “Performance”tabs.
Now scroll through all the services and find the Spooler service.
Right-click it and select Stop Service.
Open Windows Explorer.
In the address bar, type C: Windows\system32\spool\PRINTERS and press Enter.
Here you can find a pop-up asking you to continue as an administrator. Select Continue.
Select it all in the folder by pressing CTRL + A and then Delete.
Once all entries are removed, go back to Task Manager > Services and right-click Print Spooler. This time select Start Service.
Now you can exit Task Manager. Your queue should be cleared.

3] Clear printer queue using GUI method.

You can also clear the printer queue using the GUI method by following the steps given below.

While holding down the Windows key, press R to open the Run dialog box.
Type services.msc and press Enter.
Locate the print spooler service in the list. Right-click it and select Stop.
Leave the Services window open. While holding down the Windows key, press R to open the Run dialog box.
Type and %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers\press Enter.
Select all files by holding CTRL and pressing A.
Press the Delete key to delete all files.
Return to the Services window, right-click Print Spooler and select Start.

You can also update the driver by downloading the latest version from the OEM website. Also, try disconnecting and reconnecting the printer to see if that solves the problem.

I hope these solutions will help you solve the Printer Status: Suspended, Unable to Resume error.

How do I restore the status of my printer?

To prevent your printer from being suspended, make it the default printer. You can manually set it as default or install HP Print and Scan Doctor. You can get more information here if you need it.

Select Printers and Scanners from the Control Panel.
Uncheck “Let Windows manage my default printer”.
Then select “Manage”from the menu next to your printer’s name.
Then select the Default option from the menu.

What does a printer pause mean?

This means that the printer cannot pause further work due to outdated drivers, print job freezes, and any interference from third-party applications.

How to stop printing and clear the queue?

You can quickly stop printing and clear the queue from the printer by deleting jobs from the print queue. To do this, open the print queue from the taskbar and pause printing. Then delete all jobs listed there.

Can I pause and resume printing?

Yes, you can pause and resume printing, but you’ll have to do so from the printer’s queue options. You can pause printing, and when you’re ready, you can resume printing again. It is useful to add jobs to the queue, but not print them.