Is the Printer Sharing Feature Not Working on Windows? Try These Fixes
Windows makes it simple to share a printer with multiple PCs on a local network. While that’s convenient, sometimes, you might run into strange issues or errors while sharing or accessing a shared printer.
Fortunately, it’s possible to fix such annoying issues. These are the various solutions you need to try to fix printer-sharing issues on Windows.
1. Make Sure Printer Sharing Is Enabled
This may seem obvious, but it’s still worth double-checking that printer sharing is enabled on your computer. Here’s how you may go about it.
2. Run the Printer Troubleshooter
Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 include troubleshooters to assist you with common system-level issues. And if you’re having issues with printing, running the printer troubleshooter is your best shot.
The printer troubleshooter will now open and scan your system for any issues. Wait for the troubleshooter to do its stuff and then see if the issue is fixed.
If you like to know more about these handy built-in troubleshooters, check out ourguide to every troubleshooter in Windows 11.
3. Turn Off Windows Firewall
There’s a good chance that Windows Firewall is blocking your shared printer and causing problems. To check for this possibility, temporarily disable Windows Firewall on your computer and then try to access the printer again.
4. Restart the Print Spooler Service
The Print Spooler service is responsible for handling all print jobs on Windows. If there is a problem with this service, printer sharing may not work, and you may encounter various errors. In most cases, you canfix the Print Spooler service not runningby restarting it:
5. Remove and Re-Add the Printer
Next, you can try removing the printer that’s not working and re-adding it. This should help fix any issues caused by incorrect setup.
If this doesn’t work, check outhow to force delete or uninstall a printer on Windowsfor more methods
6. Install the Latest Windows Updates
Several forum users reported issues with the printer-sharing feature shortly after a Windows update. If the issue is caused by a bug, it shouldn’t take long before Microsoft fixes it. Hence, it’s a good idea to check for any pending system updates if the above solutions don’t work.
PressWin + Ito open the Settings app and head to theWindows Updatesection. Download and install any pending updates and see if the issue is resolved.
Fixing Printer Sharing Problems on Windows
One or more fixes in this guide should help you with printer sharing issues on your Windows computer. However, if none of the solutions work, consider contacting the printer manufacturer and following their suggested fixes to resolve the problem.
Want to make your printer more recognizable? Here’s how to give it a unique name in Windows 11.
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