A printer can be connected to a computer via USB cable or through a wireless network, if the connection
is interrupted for any reason, your computer will not be able to communicate with the printer and
consequently marks it as Offline.
Make sure that all the connections between the printer and the computer are connected properly.
If the printer is connected via a USB cable, make sure that the USB cable is correctly inserted and is free
from any defect or a tear.
If the Dell printer is on a wireless network make sure that the network to which the Dell printer is
connected is not turned off or has suffered a temporary drop.
Restart the stopped print services to fix the Dell printer offline issue
After checking that the printer is actually turned on and that it is properly connected to the computer,
another possible cause may be the spooler service which for some reason may have stopped.
It should be noted that Windows spooler service is in charge of managing the prints and therefore its
malfunction certainly involves a failure to print.
If the print service is stopped, your printer will not print, and the computer will show the printer as offline.
Reinstall Dell printer's drivers
Outdated or faulty printer drivers can hinder the communication between the printer and the computer.
This may cause the Dell printer offline issue. Completely uninstalling and then reinstalling the latest
drivers for your Dell printer is likely to sort out the error.
To uninstall the printer's driver go to the start menu and open the run window.
Now type printui /s /t2 and press enter.
The Print Server Properties window will open up, click on the drivers' tab.
Select your Dell printer drivers and click on remove.
If prompted for, choose the option Remove drivers and driver package and then click on delete.
Now download the latest drivers for your Dell printer and install them.
Open the Dell webpage and go to the Dell Drivers page.
You have to enter the printer's service tag.
In case you don't have the tag, you can click on the view products tab and then select your printer's
model.
Every printer has its model number printed on it, so you can easily find the model number of your Dell
printer.
Now select the operating system installed on your computer.
After this, you will find the list of all the available software utilities and drivers for your printer's model.