All printers will show 'Not Connected' shortly after opening Word.

Question

All printers will show 'Not Connected' shortly after opening Word.

Jamie Kissinger 0

Windows 11, 25H2. All the printers in the Printers and Scanners menu show 'Not Connected' when I open MS Word. I can restart the spooler and they will restart, but shortly after they go back to 'Not Connected'. No printers show in any other app or program. I have stopped the spooler, cleaned all the files out of the folder (not the folder itself), and restarted the spooler. Same result. Does Windows have an unresolved issue?

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3 answers

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Answer 1

Hello Jamie Kissinger

I understand that all printers appear as “Not Connected” shortly after you open Word on Windows 11 Home 25H2. Restarting and clearing the Print Spooler restores them only briefly, and the printers then disappear from other applications as well.

Since the printers disappear across Windows and restarting the Print Spooler helps only briefly, the issue may be related to a printer driver or printing service conflict rather than Word itself. I also could not find this exact behavior listed as a current known issue for Windows 11 25H2.

Please try the options below and check whether the issue continues:

Install all pending updates under Settings > Windows Update, including optional driver updates, then restart the PC.
Run the Windows printer troubleshooter.
Download the latest Windows 11 driver directly from each printer manufacturer. Then open Device Manager > Print queues, right-click each affected printer, select Uninstall device, restart Windows, and reinstall one printer at a time. Outdated or duplicate drivers can repeatedly stop the spooler.
Press Windows + R, enter winword /safe, and test again. If the printers remain connected, disable Word add-ins under File > Options > Add-ins.
If needed, repair Office through Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Microsoft 365 > Modify > Quick Repair.

Please let me know how it goes after trying these steps, and I'll be glad to continue looking into it with you.

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Norah-L 9,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-26T03:29:38.1766667+00:00

Hi Jamie,

Could you please let me know if my previous reply helped?

I’m happy to assist further if needed.

Answer 2

Jamie Kissinger 0

None of the suggestions has resolved the issue.

Norah-L 9,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-29T02:36:18.77+00:00
Dear Jamie,

Thank you for the update. Have you also tried Stefan’s suggestion in the comments under Teachers4Teachers Admin’s question?

In addition, you can try the following steps. These are community-reported workarounds rather than confirmed fixes, but they may be worth trying:

Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select one printer, run the troubleshooter, and accept the option to set it as the default printer. If Set as default is unavailable, turn off Let Windows manage my default printer first.

If that does not help, search for Command Prompt, select Run as administrator, enter net start spooler, and then restart the computer.

Let me know how it goes!
Jamie Kissinger 0 Reputation points

2026-07-29T12:59:04.3366667+00:00

When the printers are available (Word not open), troubleshooter doesn't find a problem. When Word is open and the printers are not connected, troubleshooter tells me there are no printers installed and does nothing.

When I enter net start spooler in the command prompt (Word not open) I get:

C:\Users[REMOVED PII]>net start spooler

System error 5 has occurred.

Access is denied.

When I enter net start spooler in the command prompt (Word open) I get the same result.
Norah-L 9,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-30T08:18:41.43+00:00
PII caution: Since this is a public forum for users. I have redacted some private information here for your privacy and security.

Dear Jamie,

Thank you for testing this. The “System error 5: Access is denied” message might indicate that Command Prompt is not running with administrator permissions.

Please close the current Command Prompt, then:

Open Start and type Command Prompt.

Select Run as administrator and approve the permission prompt.

Run these commands one at a time:

net stop spooler

net start spooler

Restart the computer, open Word, and check whether the printers remain connected.

Let me know how it goes!

Answer 3

Teachers4Teachers Admin 0

Hello I'm have the same problem and have done all the above but still have the issue of printers disappearing when opening MS Word.

Norah-L 9,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-28T07:58:50.38+00:00

Teachers4Teachers Admin,

I’m sorry you’re experiencing the same issue.

Could you share your Windows version and OS build, Office version, and printer models? Also, please check Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application immediately after the printers disappear and let me know if you see an error mentioning Print Spooler, spoolsv.exe, or a printer driver.

For privacy, please remove any personal or device information from screenshots or logs before posting them here.
Stefan Blom 348.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-28T09:12:33.84+00:00

@Teachers4Teachers Admin

If the printer is wireless, you can try connecting it physically to your computer and see if that makes a difference. For more troubleshooting, go to https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/Windows/Hardware/Printer/fix-printing-problems-in-word-excel-or-other-apps .

If you need further assistance, consider starting your own thread by using the Ask a question option.
Teachers4Teachers Admin 0 Reputation points

2026-07-30T01:24:13.9866667+00:00

Thank you - Printer is a network printer. Event View log didnt give any errors for spooler.
Norah-L 9,555 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-30T08:15:13.6133333+00:00
Hi Teachers4Teachers Admin

Thank you for checking. As a next step, please try removing and reinstalling the printer to see if it helps:

Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.

Select the network printer, choose Remove, and restart the computer.

Download the latest Windows 11 driver for the exact printer model from the printer manufacturer’s website.

Return to Printers & scanners, select Add device, and reinstall the printer. If it is shared through another computer or print server, reconnect it using the same network printer path you used previously.

After reinstalling it, please open Word and check whether the printer remains connected.