Why Does My Printer Say No Paper When There Is Paper? – Troubleshooting Guide

Printers generally need two things to do what you want them to do. First, they need paper, and then they need printer ink. So, it can be frustrating and confusing when you’ve loaded a printer paper tray, yet it says there’s no paper inside.

When your printer fails to detect paper inside, start by resetting the printer. That will resolve any minor issues causing that problem. If that doesn’t work, the problem is likely caused by incorrectly loaded paper, a foreign object stuck in the paper tray, dirty rollers, or outdated drivers and print software.

Keep reading to learn more about the issues mentioned above and how you can fix them quickly.

A printer will not work if it thinks it doesn’t have any paper. So, here are the reasons your printer fails to detect any paper and how you can correct them.

Perform A Printer Reset

What it is: Resetting your printer will often clear many minor issues it might experience. You can reset a printer by browsing its menus and looking for a reset or reboot option.

Alternatively, you can also power-cycle the device to reset it manually.

What happened: All electronic devices experience glitches from time to time. The simplest way to think of a glitch is as a short-term error that prevents the printer from behaving normally.

When your printer mistakenly says that there’s no paper, your first troubleshooting step should be to perform a reset on the printer. Doing that could clear the printer’s minor errors and save you time.

How to do it: You can reset any printer model through power cycling. In simpler terms, that means turning the printer off and on again.

Power cycling of a printer must be done correctly to be effective. So, firstly, disconnect the device from its power source. Then, leave it alone for at least 1 minute before reconnecting and restarting the printer.

Read: Why Printer Not Printing In Color? – Troubleshooting Guide

Refill Paper Correctly

What it is: You must consider several things when refilling a printer with paper. Firstly, the paper in an input tray or paper tray must be of the same type and size. You cannot mix paper sizes and types in the same input tray.

Besides that, the paper must be in good condition, free from crumples or folds.

Lastly, the printer’s input or paper tray must also be fixed correctly.

What happened: Another reason your printer fails to detect paper is something wrong with the paper supply. For example, the paper might be crumpled, folded, or arranged incorrectly in the paper tray.

Besides that, different paper types might be mixed together in the same tray. That might mean having a few pieces of A4 paper wrongly placed inside the A3 paper tray.

Lastly, the paper tray itself might not be installed correctly. The paper tray or its door is likely not closed firmly as it should be.

How to do it: Firstly, inspect the paper supply in your printer. Ensure all the paper is in good condition and arranged correctly. Next, follow your printer’s instructions when loading the paper tray.

Lastly, be sure to close the paper tray or its door firmly. Leaving it ajar even a little bit can cause your printer to say there’s no paper.

Read: How To Fix Problem “Printer Offline”? – Troubleshooting Guide

Foreign Objects In Paper Trays

What it is: Printers have different kinds of paper trays. For example, smaller desktop printers tend to only have a paper input tray. In contrast, larger ones have multiple removable paper trays to house several different types of paper at once.

What happened: When your printer won’t detect any paper, it’s also worth inspecting the paper trays a little closer. A foreign object that falls into the paper tray can be problematic for the printer.

For example, your printer won’t sense that the paper tray is inserted correctly if there’s a foreign object stuck in or around that tray.

How to do it: Printer paper trays are removable. So, it’s best to remove the tray that the printer thinks is empty and inspect it on all sides.

You must remove any foreign object stuck somewhere it doesn’t belong. Remember that this can also include crumpled pieces of paper stuck around the paper tray.

Read: 3 Ways How To Fix Printer Paper Jam?

Check For Dirty Rollers

What it is: Printers rely on rollers to pick up paper from the paper tray and move it through the other components. Larger printers will also have several rollers to guide the paper to the printing section, where ink will be deposited onto individual sheets.

Those rollers will start turning when the printer receives printing instructions from your computer or other devices.

What happened: Dirty rollers can also affect the printer’s ability to detect paper. The rollers are likely dirty with dirt or paper scraps that might have come off during printing.

Naturally, each roller will get dirtier with time. So, the chances of this problem getting higher the more you use your printer.

How to do it: Firstly, remove any large pieces of dust, debris, or paper scraps that you find around your printer rollers. Next, you can apply small amounts of isopropyl alcohol (or rubbing alcohol) to clean the rollers.

Isopropyl alcohol is commonly used to clean electronic device components as it is effective at removing dirt and also evaporates quickly.

Printers generally need two things to do what you want them to do. First, they need paper, and then they need printer ink. So, it can be frustrating and confusing when you’ve loaded a printer paper tray, yet it says there’s no paper inside.

When your printer fails to detect paper inside, start by resetting the printer. That will resolve any minor issues causing that problem. If that doesn’t work, the problem is likely caused by incorrectly loaded paper, a foreign object stuck in the paper tray, dirty rollers, or outdated drivers and print software.

Keep reading to learn more about the issues mentioned above and how you can fix them quickly.

A printer will not work if it thinks it doesn’t have any paper. So, here are the reasons your printer fails to detect any paper and how you can correct them.

Perform A Printer Reset

What it is: Resetting your printer will often clear many minor issues it might experience. You can reset a printer by browsing its menus and looking for a reset or reboot option.

Alternatively, you can also power-cycle the device to reset it manually.

What happened: All electronic devices experience glitches from time to time. The simplest way to think of a glitch is as a short-term error that prevents the printer from behaving normally.

When your printer mistakenly says that there’s no paper, your first troubleshooting step should be to perform a reset on the printer. Doing that could clear the printer’s minor errors and save you time.

How to do it: You can reset any printer model through power cycling. In simpler terms, that means turning the printer off and on again.

Power cycling of a printer must be done correctly to be effective. So, firstly, disconnect the device from its power source. Then, leave it alone for at least 1 minute before reconnecting and restarting the printer.

Read: Why Printer Not Printing In Color? – Troubleshooting Guide

Refill Paper Correctly

What it is: You must consider several things when refilling a printer with paper. Firstly, the paper in an input tray or paper tray must be of the same type and size. You cannot mix paper sizes and types in the same input tray.

Besides that, the paper must be in good condition, free from crumples or folds.

Lastly, the printer’s input or paper tray must also be fixed correctly.

What happened: Another reason your printer fails to detect paper is something wrong with the paper supply. For example, the paper might be crumpled, folded, or arranged incorrectly in the paper tray.

Besides that, different paper types might be mixed together in the same tray. That might mean having a few pieces of A4 paper wrongly placed inside the A3 paper tray.

Lastly, the paper tray itself might not be installed correctly. The paper tray or its door is likely not closed firmly as it should be.

How to do it: Firstly, inspect the paper supply in your printer. Ensure all the paper is in good condition and arranged correctly. Next, follow your printer’s instructions when loading the paper tray.

Lastly, be sure to close the paper tray or its door firmly. Leaving it ajar even a little bit can cause your printer to say there’s no paper.

Read: How To Fix Problem “Printer Offline”? – Troubleshooting Guide

Foreign Objects In Paper Trays

What it is: Printers have different kinds of paper trays. For example, smaller desktop printers tend to only have a paper input tray. In contrast, larger ones have multiple removable paper trays to house several different types of paper at once.

What happened: When your printer won’t detect any paper, it’s also worth inspecting the paper trays a little closer. A foreign object that falls into the paper tray can be problematic for the printer.

For example, your printer won’t sense that the paper tray is inserted correctly if there’s a foreign object stuck in or around that tray.

How to do it: Printer paper trays are removable. So, it’s best to remove the tray that the printer thinks is empty and inspect it on all sides.

You must remove any foreign object stuck somewhere it doesn’t belong. Remember that this can also include crumpled pieces of paper stuck around the paper tray.

Read: 3 Ways How To Fix Printer Paper Jam?

Check For Dirty Rollers

What it is: Printers rely on rollers to pick up paper from the paper tray and move it through the other components. Larger printers will also have several rollers to guide the paper to the printing section, where ink will be deposited onto individual sheets.

Those rollers will start turning when the printer receives printing instructions from your computer or other devices.

What happened: Dirty rollers can also affect the printer’s ability to detect paper. The rollers are likely dirty with dirt or paper scraps that might have come off during printing.

Naturally, each roller will get dirtier with time. So, the chances of this problem getting higher the more you use your printer.

How to do it: Firstly, remove any large pieces of dust, debris, or paper scraps that you find around your printer rollers. Next, you can apply small amounts of isopropyl alcohol (or rubbing alcohol) to clean the rollers.

Isopropyl alcohol is commonly used to clean electronic device components as it is effective at removing dirt and also evaporates quickly.