How to Fix The “Printer Attention Required” Error (Full Guide)
A printer is one of the most difficult peripherals to troubleshoot. They’ve become easy to install over years with drivers for them installing automatically but drivers are only one part of the setup process. You can have the right drivers installed for a printer but it may still not work right.
Problems with printers manifest in different ways; sometimes a printer appears offline even when it is turned on and connected, other times print jobs stall in the print queue, and sometimes the printer never enters its ready-to-print state.
Printer Attention Required
Printer problems may be covert; you have no idea what’s wrong, or they may be overt in the form of error messages on your screen.
If you’re trying to print a document and you see the ‘The printer requires your attention’ error, try the fixes below.
FIX (step-by-step): The printer requires your attention error
1. Hardware check
A hardware check is the first thing you should do when you see the ‘The printer requires your attention’ error. It normally means a panel is open, paper is missing or stuck, or something similar.
Check if the printer itself is flashing a message or light to indicate a problem. If you’re sure that there is no paper jam, and you haven’t left a panel open, go over the printer’s manual and make sure it is setup the way it is supposed to. Try changing the port it is connected to.
You’d be surprised that the smallest things can cause problems. Run through these basic checks as well.
2. Check ink cartridges
The ‘The printer requires your attention’ error is often shown when there is a problem with the ink cartridges.
- Make sure the cartridges are full/reasonably full.
- Make sure the cartridge has been installed correctly.
- Make sure you’ve removed the cover from the cartridge head after installing it.
- Make sure you’re using genuine cartridges.
- Some printers may show an error if you’ve refilled the cartridge. Refilling may be blocked which is unfortunate but also how some printer manufacturers make money.
- Try to swap out the cartridges for new/different ones.
3. Print a test page
Print a test page from the printer.
- Disconnect the printer from the system.
- Check the printer for a button or check its manual for instructions on how to print a test page.
- If the page does not print, the problem lies with the printer and not Windows 10.
- If the page prints, the problem lies with Windows 10.
4. Run the printer troubleshooter
Run the Windows 10 troubleshooter for printers. If there’s a problem with a printer-related service, this is troubleshooter will be able to resolve them.
- Open the Settings app with the Win+I keyboard shortcut.
- Go to Update & Security.
- Select the Troubleshoot tab.
- Click Additional troubleshooters.
- Select and run the printer troubleshooter.
- Apply all fixes that it recommends.
4. Restart the spooler service
The printer spooler service is an integral service that is needed to complete a print job. If it has stalled or isn’t running correctly, it can result in the ‘The printer requires your attention’ error.
- Press the Win+R keyboard shortcut to open the run box.
- In the run box, enter
services.mscand tap Enter. - Look for the Print spooler service and right-click it.
- Select the Restart option.
- Disconnect the printer and connect it again.
- Try printing.
5. Uninstall and reinstall the printer
Printers generally install automatically but the installation can go wrong. Try uninstalling and reinstalling the printer to fix the ‘The printer requires your attention’ error.
- Open the Settings app with the Win+I keyboard shortcut.
- Go to Devices.
- Select the Printers & Scanners tab.
- Select the printer and click Remove device.
- Once removed, disconnect the printer from the computer.
- Turn the printer off.
- Restart your Windows 10 system.
- Connect the printer again and allow it to install.
- Try printing.
Conclusion
Printer technology hasn’t improved much as far as printing from a desktop is concerend. A printer runs into all sorts of problems but as long as the printer doesn’t have hardware issues, you will be able to solve problems by uninstalling and reinstalling it.
