Fix Another computer is using Printer error in Windows 10 / 11

Many of Windows 10 users are reporting to face a problem with their printer. When they are trying to print something they are prompted with ‘Another computer is using Printer’. If you are facing the same problem then don’t worry, there are fixes available to solve your problem. This problem occurs majorly due to old/incompatible printer drivers on your computer or when the Printer Spooler service is not running on your computer. Follow these fixes to solve your problem. Before proceeding for fixes, try to connect your printer with another computer. Check if it is working fine on another computer. If it is working with another computer then go for these fixes.
You should try these initial workarounds to solve your problem-

Initial Workaround

1. Try to switch off the printer and then reconnect it to the computer.
2. Check if any Windows Update is pending. If there is any update pending, update your computer. Check if your problem is solved.

If any of these initial workarounds didn’t work out for you follow these solutions.

 

Fix 1 – Restart Print Spooler service in your computer

You are facing ‘Another computer is using your printer’ error may be because the Printer Spooler service is stopped on your computer. To restart Printer Spooler service on your computer follow these steps-

Before doing this disconnect your computer with printer, either by removing the plug, or disabling the internet. After doing these steps given below , connect the printer again.



1. At first, type “Services” in the search box beside the Windows icon.

2. Then, click on the “Services” in the search result.

 

Services Start

 

2. In the services window, find the “Print Spooler” service in the list of services.

Right click on the “Print Spooler” service and click on “Restart” to restart the Print Spooler service.

 

Service Print Spooler

 



3. Close Services window. Reboot your computer.

Connect the printer again.

After rebooting check if your problem is solved or not. If your problem is not solved yet then go for the fixes.

Fix-2 Set your printer device as default

‘Another computer is using Printer’ is causing the disturbance in your work, maybe because the printer device you are using is not set as the default printing device on your computer. To set your printer device as your default printing device on your computer follow these steps.

1. Type “Printers & scanners” in the search box beside the Windows icon. Click on the “Printers & scanners“.

 

Search Printer&scanner

 

2. Now, on the right pane, you will see the list of printers & scanners.

3. Uncheck the box beside “Let Windows manage my default printer” option.

4. Now, from the list of the printers click on the printer which you are using. After doing that, click on “Manage“.

 

Printer And Scanner Default

 

NOTE-
(ONLY IF YOU ARE USING A CANNON PRINTER)

Canon printers are likely to be listed as two individual printers on your computer. One of the printers is listed only with the simple name and another printer name will be with a “-WS” ( stands for Web Service) at the end of the name. If are you facing the ‘Another computer is using your printer’ error then may be because you have set “-WS” named Canon printer as your default printer. Like, if you have a Canon Pixma printer connected, then you will see these printer names in your settings window-

Canon Pixma G4010 

Canon Pixma G4010 WS

Simply select the device without “-WS” ( Example- Cannon Pixma G4010) in your settings page and follow the rest of the process.

5. Click on “Set as default” in the Manage your device settings window.

 

 

Setasdefault

 

Reboot your computer.

Check if your problem is solved or not.

 

Fix-3 Update your Printer driver

The problem you are facing with your printer is may be happening because your printer driver is outdated. You can update your printer driver by following these steps-

1. What you need to do is type “Device Manager” in the search box.

2. Then, click on the “Device Manager” in the search result.

 

Device Mngr

 

2. In the Device Manager window, find “Print queues” from the list of the devices, click on it to expand it.

3. Now, from the drop-down select the printer device which you are using. Right click on it and click on “Update driver”.



 

Printer Update Driver

 

3. At the next step, choose the option “Search automatically for updated driver software“.

 

Driver Update

 

Wait till Windows searches for the compatible driver for your printer driver, downloads it and installs it. Then, reboot your computer.
Check if your problem has solved. If the problem still persists then go for the next fix.

Fix-4 Restart your computer and printer

Switching your computer and printer off and reconnecting them again can solve your problem. Restarting both the computer and printer can reset the initial files and reconfigure printer settings to default settings.

1. Shut down your computer and turn off your printer.

2. Unplug your computer and printer.

3. Wait for 5 minutes. Then, turn on your computer and printer. Connect your printer with your computer.

Try printing something. Your problem should be solved.