How to Fix a HP Printer that Cancels Print Job by itself

The information in this guide applies to both Windows and macOS.

If you are trying to print from your HP printer through Wi-Fi connection, connect to the printer through USB, and see if it fixes the problem.

If your HP printer is automatically canceling your print commands, there is something wrong with either your printer configuration or your computer settings.

When this happens, the first thing to do is to restart your HP printer. Here’s how to do that:

1. Turn off your printer.
2. Unplug all the cables from the printer, including the power cable.
3. When unplugged, press the Power button on the printer for 5 seconds to clear its cache.
4. After 5 minutes, plug the printer back in and turn it On.

The next step is to update printer drivers. Here’s how to do that in Windows:

On macOS? Skip to steps for macOS.

1. Open Start Menu and type Device Manager in search.
2. Expand the Printers section and then right-click on your HP printer.
3. Select the Update driver option in the context menu.
4. Click on Search automatically for the updated driver software option.

Now your PC will automatically search for the latest driver for your HP printer and install them accordingly.

5. Once it is done, restart your PC.

Alternatively, you can also download latest driver for your HP printer from HP web directly. Here’s how do to that:

1. Go to HP Printer Drivers page.
2. Type your printer model and click on Submit button.

3. Select your Operating System and then download all the driver/firmware packages marked as Recommended and install them.

Steps for macOS

1. Open the App Store.
2. Click on Updates in the left panel. If any update is available for your HP printer, install it.

Your printer still cancelling print jobs automatically? Run HP Scan Doctor utility, restart print spooler, clear queue, and run SFC scan.

Run HP Printer and Scan Doctor

HP Print and Scan Doctor is a free official utility from HP to troubleshoot various printing and scanning problems.

1. Download HP Print and Scan Doctor utility and install it on your computer.
2. Launch the utility.
3. Select your printer and then click on Next.
4. On select window, click on Fix Printing option.

Now, the utility will scan for any issue with your printer configuration and fix them.

Restart Print Spooler

If the problem is due to random glitch of print spooler server, and restarting it will resolve it. Here’s how to do that:

1. Press Windows Key + R to open Windows Run.
2. Type services.msc and hit Enter.

3. Right-click the Print Spooler service and click Restart.
4. Right-click it again and click on Properties.

5. Click on the drop-down list before Startup type: and set it to Automatic.
6. Click Apply and then OK to save the changes. See the screenshot below:

Clear Print Queue

1. Open Windows Run by pressing Windows Key + R. Type services.msc and hit Enter.
2. Right-click on Print Spooler service, then click on Stop.
3. Leave the Services window open, and open Windows Run again.
4. Type the following in Windows Run, and then hit Enter:

%systemroot%/System32/spool/printers/

5. Select all the files in the folder and delete them.
6. Now, right-click the Print Spooler service in the Services window and click Start. See the screenshot below:

1. Click on Apple Logo and select System Preferences.
2. Click on Printers & Scanners. Select your HP printer and click Open Print Queue.
3. Click on x button next to all pending print jobs to clear the queue. See the screenshot below:

Check your Antivirus Settings

Your HP printer won’t work if your PC antivirus program terms it suspicious. Although it is rare, it can happen.

To confirm if your Antivirus is making your printer cancel the print job, disable it temporarily and then send the print command again.

If it prints without any problem, then make an exception for a printer in your Antivirus.

Run SFC Scan

Your HP printer is still automatically canceling all your printer jobs? The problem may be with Windows files.

However, luckily, there is a handy feature, known as System File Checker in Windows that scan all the system files and repairs the corrupted ones.

Here’s how to run the SFC scan:

1. Open the start menu.
2. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator option.
3. Type sfc /scannow and then hit Enter. See the screenshot below:

Depending upon your PC, this process may take some time.

4. Once done, restart your PC.

Set your HP Printer to Default

If you have multiple printers connected to your PC, then make sure the HP printer in question is set as the default printer.

Here’s how to do that:

1. Press Windows + R keys to open the Run Dialog box. Type control and hit Enter.
2. Click on Devices and Printers.
3. This will display all the printers that are connected or were once connected to your PC.
4. Right-click on your HP printer and then select the Set as the default printer option in the context menu.

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So which method worked for you to get your HP printer back to work? Do share with me in the comments section!