Printing: Remove stuck print jobs from a printer queue

A stuck print job in a print queue can sometimes stop all subsequent jobs from printing. Use these directions to clear the stuck job from the queue.

Instructions for a Windows computer

  1. Use one of these methods to open the Settings menu in Windows
    1. Press Windows Key Windowskey + i to open the menu using the keyboard shortcut.
    2. From your desktop, click the Start Windows10startmenuicon button and then the Settings Windows10settingsgearicon icon

  2. In the Settings menu, select Devices
    Devices Settings window
  3. In the Devices menu, select Printers & Scanners from the left-side navigation bar
    Pointing to Printers & Scanners option in Devices Settings
  4. In the list of your printers and scanners, click on the printer with the stuck job, then click Open queue
    Printer highlighted and open queue button pointed to
  5. In the printer's job queue, find the stuck job you want to cancel.
    print queue window with a job highlighted
  6. Right-click on the stuck job and select Cancel
    arrow pointing to cancel in the context menu
  7. If you are prompted to confirm cancelling the job, click OK.
  8. The job is removed from the queue.

If these instructions don't work...

  • Contact IT support for help.
    • If your stuck job is printing to a UWM shared network printer, you may not have permission to delete jobs. IT support can clear the jobs for you.
    • If the job won't leave the queue even though you have tried cancelling it, there may be a problem that IT can help resolve.



Keywords:
print, queue, stuck, job, printer, printing 
Doc ID:
109741
Owned by:
Desktop Support L. in UW-Milwaukee Help Desk
Created:
2021-03-18
Updated:
2026-03-24
Sites:
UW-Milwaukee Help Desk