Stop a print job before it starts

You can cancel a print job on an HP printer in three places: on the printer itself, from your computer, or from the printer's web interface. The fastest method depends on whether the job has already reached the printer or is still waiting in your computer's queue. If the job is actively printing, the printer's control panel is usually quickest. If it has not reached the printer yet, canceling it from your computer prevents it from ever getting there.

Most HP printers let you cancel from the control panel by pressing a button or navigating a menu. Older models may have a single Cancel or Stop button; newer models often require you to find the job in a queue menu and select it. On your computer, Windows and Mac both let you pause or cancel jobs through their print settings. If neither of those works, you can log into the printer's web interface directly and cancel from there.

Key Takeaways

  • Press the Cancel or Stop button on your HP printer's control panel to stop an active print job immediately.
  • On Windows, open Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners, select your HP printer, and click Open Queue to pause or cancel waiting jobs.
  • On Mac, go to System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, select your HP printer, and click Open Print Queue to manage jobs.
  • If the printer's panel and your computer's queue do not work, log into the printer's web interface by typing its IP address into a browser.
  • A job that has already started printing cannot be stopped mid-page, but canceling prevents the remaining pages from printing.

Cancel from the printer's control panel

The control panel is on the front of your HP printer, usually below or beside the display screen. Look for a button labeled Cancel, Stop, or a red X symbol. Press it once. On many HP models, this immediately stops the current job and clears the queue.

If your printer has a touchscreen or menu display, you may need to navigate to a Jobs, Queue, or Active Jobs menu instead. Use the arrow buttons to find the job you want to cancel, select it, and press Delete or Cancel. The exact menu names vary by model — check your printer's manual or the HP support website for your specific model number if the buttons are not obvious.

If the printer is in the middle of printing a page when you press Cancel, it will finish that page but stop before moving to the next one. The job is then removed from the queue.

Cancel from Windows

On Windows 10 and 11, open Settings by pressing the Windows key and typing "Settings," then select it. Go to Devices, then Printers & Scanners. Find your HP printer in the list and click it, then click Open Queue.

A window will open showing all jobs waiting to print. Right-click the job you want to stop and select Cancel, or click it once and look for a Cancel button at the top of the window. The job will be removed immediately. If the job is already printing, canceling it from here will stop it after the current page finishes.

If the queue window does not open, or if your printer does not appear in the list, restart your printer and computer, then try again. Make sure your HP printer is connected to the same network or USB port as your computer.

Cancel from Mac

On Mac, click the Apple menu in the top left corner and select System Preferences (or System Settings on newer versions). Click Printers & Scanners, find your HP printer in the list on the left, and click it. Then click Open Print Queue.

A window will show all jobs waiting to print. Click the job you want to cancel and press the Delete key, or look for a delete button (usually an X or minus sign) at the bottom of the window. The job will be removed from the queue immediately.

If you do not see your HP printer in the Printers & Scanners list, click the plus button to add it. You may need to enter your printer's IP address or select it from a list of nearby printers on your network.

Cancel from the printer's web interface

Every networked HP printer has a web interface you can access from any computer on the same network. To find your printer's address, look at the printer's control panel display or print a network configuration page. The address will look like 192.168.1.100 or similar.

Open a web browser on your computer and type the printer's IP address into the address bar, then press Enter. You will see the printer's settings page. Look for a tab or menu labeled Jobs, Queue, or Active Jobs. Click it to see all waiting and printing jobs. Select the job you want to cancel and click Delete or Cancel.

If you cannot find the IP address, restart your printer, then go to the control panel menu and look for Network Settings, TCP/IP, or Information. The address should be displayed there. If the web interface asks for a password, try "admin" as both the username and password — this is the default on most HP printers.

What happens after you cancel

Once a job is canceled, it is removed from the printer's queue and will not print. If the printer was in the middle of printing when you canceled, the current page will finish, but no more pages will follow. The printer will then be ready for the next job.

If you canceled a job by mistake, you will need to send the print job again from your computer. There is no undo function — the job is gone once canceled. If you want to print the same document again, open it and send it to the printer as you normally would.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cancel a job that is already printing?

Yes, but the current page will finish printing before the job stops. You cannot interrupt a page that is already coming out of the printer. Once the page is done, the remaining pages will not print.

Why does the job still print after I canceled it?

The job may have already been sent to the printer's memory before you canceled it. Try canceling from the printer's control panel instead of your computer. If pages keep printing, restart the printer by turning it off for 30 seconds, then back on.

What if the Cancel button does not work?

Try canceling from your computer's print queue instead. If that does not work, restart both your printer and computer. If the job is stuck, turn off the printer, wait 30 seconds, and turn it back on to clear the queue.

Can I cancel a job sent to a shared printer on my network?

Yes, if you sent the job, you can cancel it from your computer's print queue or from the printer's web interface. If someone else sent the job, you may need the printer's admin password to cancel it from the web interface.