Joe B.

Expert ★★★★★ 27,853 satisfied customers

Specialities: Android phones/tablets, Wi-Fi printers, Mopria & print plugins, home/office networks

Android “Ready to print” but nothing happens — Default Print Service, Mopria plugins, stuck jobs & print spooler reset

Technician

Hey! Let’s fix the issue where Android says “Ready to print” but nothing prints.
A few questions so we can target the right fix: which Android version (roughly) and phone brand (Samsung, Pixel, Xiaomi, etc.) are you using? Are you printing over Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, or USB? And when you tap Print, does it show “Sending print job” then “Ready to print” with no error, or do you see any “Print service stopped” / “Print spooler error” pop-ups from the Android system print service?

Customer

It’s a Samsung phone on Android 14. I’m using Wi-Fi to an HP printer on the same network. The share menu shows the printer, I tap Print, it says “Ready to print” at the bottom and then nothing happens. No error. The printer works fine from my Windows laptop and from the HP Smart app — just not from the normal Android Default Print Service.

Technician

Got it — that’s a classic Android system print service stuck situation.
On modern Android, the built-in Default Print Service (plus any plugins like HP Print Service Plugin or Mopria Print Service) acts like a print spooler. If its queue or cache gets corrupted, you’ll see “Sending… / Ready to print” but the job never actually reaches the printer.

Typical causes when Android is “ready” but the printer never prints:
• Stuck jobs in the Android print spooler or a frozen print service plugin.
• Both Default Print Service and a vendor plugin (HP / Brother / Canon / Epson / Mopria) trying to talk to the same printer.
• The printer’s IP changed, so the saved printer entry is stale even though it still shows “Ready”.

Plan: 1) Confirm only one active Android print service. 2) Reset the system print service / print spooler by clearing cache & storage. 3) Forget & re-add the printer. 4) If needed, reset network settings and test from a simple app like Chrome or Photos.

Customer

Where exactly do I find this Android print service and print spooler stuff? I only ever see the printer in the Share → Print window saying “Ready to print”.

Technician

Perfect question — Android hides most of the printing system under Settings.
Step 1 — Check which Android print services are enabled
1) On your phone, go to Settings → Connected devices → Connection preferences → Printing (on some phones: Settings → Devices & sharing → Printing).
2) You’ll see Default Print Service, and possibly plugins like HP Print Service Plugin, Mopria Print Service, or the manufacturer’s print service.
3) For testing, temporarily turn off all print services except one (either Default Print Service for generic IPP/Mopria devices, or the official plugin for your printer).
4) Go back to your document, tap Print again and see if the “Ready to print” message changes to “Printing” or if you get any new error.

If it still says “Ready to print and does nothing”, we’ll go a level deeper and reset the Android print spooler via the Apps screen.

Customer

I found Printing and had both Default Print Service and HP Print Service turned on. I disabled Default, left HP on, but it still just says Ready to print and nothing comes out. How do I reset the print spooler on Android?

Technician

Great, let’s do a full Android system print service reset — this usually fixes “Ready to print but nothing” in one go.
Step 2 — Reset Android’s print spooler (system print service)
1) Open Settings → Apps → See all apps.
2) Tap the three dots in the top-right → Show system.
3) Scroll down and look for Print Spooler, Android System Print Service, Default Print Service, and any vendor print plugin (HP / Brother / Epson / Canon / Mopria).
4) For each one:
  • Tap it → Force stop.
  • Go to Storage & cache → tap Clear cache and then Clear storage / Clear data (this just resets print preferences and clears stuck jobs).
5) Go back to Settings → Connected devices → Printing and toggle your main print service Off → On to restart it clean.

Now try printing a simple PDF or photo again. Often, after this print spooler reset on Android, “Ready to print” finally becomes an actual print job at the printer.

Customer

I did the force stop and cleared cache/data for Print Spooler and HP Print Service. The phone rediscovered the printer and says Ready to print, but it still doesn’t print. The HP app works though. Could this be a Wi-Fi or IP issue?

Technician

Yes, that’s the next thing to rule out — especially stale printer entries.
Step 3 — Refresh the printer entry and network link
• In Settings → Connected devices → Printing, tap your active print service → tap the printer name → choose Forget or Remove printer if the option exists.
• Re-discover the printer (Default Print Service will scan your Wi-Fi; HP/Mopria plugins do the same). Make sure it shows as Online / Ready, not “Unavailable”.
• On the printer’s panel, confirm it’s connected to the same Wi-Fi SSID as the phone and not to a guest or 5 GHz-only network that your phone can’t reach reliably.
• If the printer’s IP address changes often, consider assigning a static IP or DHCP reservation so Android’s saved entry doesn’t point to an old IP.

Since HP Smart can print, we know the printer and Wi-Fi are fine; the issue is specifically with the Android printing framework. If this refresh still leaves you at “Ready to print but nothing happens”, I’d like you to test using the Android Default Print Service alone to see whether Mopria / HP plugin behavior is any different.

Customer

I switched back to Default Print Service only, forgot the HP printer, re-added it, and now I can see it as an “Mopria” printer. Still the same: job sits on Ready to print. No error messages at all. Is there some bigger Android reset for printing?

Technician

Understood — then we’ll combine a system print service reset with a light network reset and app testing.
Step 4 — Reset Android print + network path
1) Power cycle the printer and Wi-Fi router (off for 20–30 seconds, then back on).
2) On the phone, go to Settings → System → Reset options and use Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth (or similar). This does not erase photos or apps, but you’ll need to re-join Wi-Fi networks.
3) Reconnect the phone to the same Wi-Fi as the printer.
4) Re-enable a single print service (Default Print Service or Mopria or HP plugin). Let it find the printer again.
5) Test printing from at least two different apps: for example Chrome and the built-in Files / PDF viewer. Sometimes the share/print menu in one app misbehaves while others work fine.

If after all that, jobs still get stuck at “Ready to print”, we’re probably dealing with a deeper Android print framework bug on this phone. In that case, the workaround is to rely on the vendor’s app (HP Smart / Brother iPrint / Canon PRINT) or a third-party print app, and/or consider updating or rolling back recent system updates.

Customer

After the network reset and re-adding the printer, Chrome finally sent a test page. Files app also prints now. So the “Ready to print” bug seems gone. Any tips for preventing this Android print service issue from coming back?

Technician

Nice — that confirms it was a mix of Android system print service cache and networking.
To keep Android printing stable and avoid “Ready to print but nothing happens” in the future:
• Keep only the one print service you actually use enabled (Default Print Service, Mopria, or your vendor plugin). Disable duplicates to avoid conflicts.
• Every so often, open Settings → Apps → Show system and clear cache for Print Spooler / Default Print Service — especially after Android version updates.
• Try to keep the printer on a static IP or DHCP reservation so Android’s saved printer entry doesn’t point to the wrong address later.
• Avoid force-closing apps while the “Sending print job” banner is showing; let the Android print framework finish sending the job to the printer.

If you ever see “Print Spooler has stopped” or jobs stuck on “Printing…” again, you can repeat the system print service reset steps quickly — it usually takes under a minute once you know where the settings are.

Customer

That all makes sense. One last question: is there any difference in reliability between Android’s Default Print Service, Mopria Print Service, and the HP plugin? I just want the least buggy option.

Technician

Good question — this is where choosing the right Android print service helps a lot.
• Default Print Service (Android’s built-in IPP/Mopria) is simplest and works with many modern printers out of the box. It’s great if you just need basic printing from multiple brands.
• Mopria Print Service is an alliance-backed plugin that adds features and compatibility for lots of models; it integrates with the Android printing framework much like Default Print Service but with extra device support.
• Vendor plugins (HP / Brother / Canon / Epson) often give the most control for their own printers (quality, color mode, tray selection, etc.), but can conflict if you leave multiple services enabled.

In practice: pick one of these for each phone and printer combo, keep the rest disabled, and you’ll see far fewer “Ready to print but nothing prints” errors. If you want, I can help you pick the best combo for your exact Android version and printer model — just open the chat and we’ll look at it together.

Customer

Awesome — clearing the system print service and using just one plugin fixed it. Android no longer gets stuck on Ready to print. Thanks for walking me through all the steps!

Technician

Summary: When Android says “Ready to print” but nothing happens, the fix is usually to reset the Android system print service / print spooler, clear cache & data for print plugins, remove duplicate print services, and re-add the printer on the same Wi-Fi network. After a quick system print service reset and refresh, most Android printing issues disappear. Want help doing this live on your phone? Open the chat.

Quick answer: the accepted fix

Accepted fix when Android shows “Ready to print” but nothing prints: in Settings → Apps → Show system, Force stop and clear cache/data for Print Spooler / Default Print Service and any print plugins, then toggle your main Android print service Off → On, forget and re-add the printer on the same Wi-Fi. This system print service reset clears stuck jobs so Android can finally send the print job to your printer.

FAQ

Step-by-step (Android phones & tablets)

1. On Android, go to Settings → Connected devices → Printing and leave only one print service enabled (Default Print Service, Mopria, or your vendor plugin).
2. Open Settings → Apps → See all apps → ⋮ → Show system, then Force stop and clear cache/data for Print Spooler / Default Print Service and any print plugins.
3. Power cycle the printer and Wi-Fi router, reconnect the phone to the same Wi-Fi, and let the print service rediscover the printer.
4. Print a test page from Chrome or the Files/PDF viewer; if it works, repeat from your usual apps and keep the cache-clear steps handy for future issues.

Note for mixed environments (Android + computers)

1. If the printer works from Windows or macOS but not Android, treat the computer as a “known good” reference — this confirms the printer and network are fine.
2. Use the printer’s web interface or PC driver to check firmware version, Wi-Fi signal, and IP address, then configure Android’s print service to use that same network and device.
3. For offices, consider exposing a Mopria-compatible IPP queue that both Android devices and PCs can use, so you’re troubleshooting one shared print path instead of several.

Sources

• Mopria Alliance — Print from Android using Default Print Service & Mopria
• Google Support — Clear Print Spooler cache on Android (Pixel)
• Brother — Unable to print with Mopria Print Service on Android

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