You sent a document to your Canon MAXIFY GX5020, and nothing happened. The job sits in the queue, the printer reads as offline, or your phone simply cannot find it on the network. Wireless drops like this are frustrating on a MegaTank printer you bought to run reliably, but the good news is that the GX5020 is a capable wireless machine, and most of these failures trace back to a handful of fixable causes. Work through the fixes below in order, starting with the quickest and safest, and you will likely be printing again before you reach the reset at the end.
One thing worth knowing up front is that, unlike many budget printers, the GX5020 supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g/a/n), so band mismatches are a common and easy-to-miss culprit. Keep that in mind as you go.
Start With a Clean Power Cycle
Before changing any setting, restart the whole chain. Power off the printer and your wireless router, then turn them both back on. Confirming and restarting both the printer and the router is the first network check Canon recommends. If the GX5020 shows offline, fully powering the printer off, unplugging it, waiting about 30 seconds, then plugging it back in often clears the state.
A simple power cycle clears most transient connection drops, expired network leases, and stuck radio states. Give the router a full minute to come back and rebroadcast its network before you test printing again.
Make Sure the Printer's Wi-Fi Radio Is Actually On
It sounds obvious, but the Wi-Fi radio can be disabled without you realizing it, especially after a setting change or someone else's troubleshooting. On the printer, check that the Wi-Fi icon appears on the LCD.
If the icon is missing, re-enable the radio from the operation panel:
- 1.From the Setup menu screen, select Device settings.
- 2.Go to LAN settings > Wi-Fi.
- 3.Select Wi-Fi enab./disable.
- 4.Choose Enable.
Once the Wi-Fi icon shows on the display, the printer's radio is active and ready to join a network.
Confirm You Are on the Right Band and the Same Network
Because the GX5020 supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, a band mismatch is one of the most common reasons a printer seems to disappear. Canon notes that, depending on the wireless router, a different network name (SSID) is assigned for a bandwidth such as 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. If your printer is on one band and your phone or PC is on another with a separate name, they may not see each other.
Make sure the printer and your computer or phone are on the same network and SSID. If your router merges both bands under a single name and the printer struggles to join, temporarily separating the bands in your router settings, or moving the printer onto the 2.4 GHz SSID, can help it connect reliably.
Improve the Signal Between Printer and Router
Weak or noisy signal causes intermittent drops and cannot-find-printer errors that look like a deeper problem. Place the GX5020 closer to the router and clear the line of sight between them.
Avoid putting the printer behind metal or concrete walls, and keep it away from interference sources such as microwave ovens and cordless phones. Better signal often resolves the connection on its own, with no further changes.
Re-Run Wi-Fi Setup From the Printer's Panel
If your network name or password changed, or you swapped routers, the printer is still trying to reach the old network. Re-running setup re-establishes the connection. From the Setup menu, go to Device settings > LAN settings > Wi-Fi > Wi-Fi setup, then pick the method that fits your situation:
- 1.Choose Manual connect to pick your network SSID from a list and enter its password directly on the printer.
- 2.Choose WPS (Push button) if your router supports WPS, then press the WPS button on the router when prompted.
- 3.Choose Easy WL connect to push the network settings from your computer or phone to the printer.
The panel also offers Manual setup and WPS (PIN code) for less common configurations, but for most owners Manual connect or WPS (Push button) is the fastest route back online.
Let Canon's Wi-Fi Connection Assistant Diagnose It
If the printer still cannot be found from your computer, use Canon's dedicated tool. The free Wi-Fi Connection Assistant, available for Windows and macOS, is designed to check, diagnose, and repair the connection between the printer and computer.
On Windows the utility installs with the printer driver, so you may already have it; otherwise download it from Canon's support site. Run it, then choose Diagnose and Repair. This is Canon's recommended tool when the printer cannot be found on the network, and it automates several checks you would otherwise do by hand. If you prefer to investigate by hand, you can also use the printer's own functions to print its network settings information and review the connection details before trying anything more involved.
Check Your Router's Filtering and Security Settings
If the printer still will not connect, your router may be quietly blocking it, which is especially common right after a router or password change. Verify that the router is not filtering the printer out, and confirm the security details line up across all of your devices.
- 1.Check IP filtering and MAC address filtering on the router, and make sure DHCP is enabled so the printer can receive an address.
- 2.Confirm the Wi-Fi password length and format match exactly across the router, the printer, and your computer.
- 3.Confirm the authentication and encryption method match across those same devices.
- 4.As a test, temporarily turn off your security software's firewall, then try connecting again.
If disabling the firewall lets the printer through, you have found the block. Add an exception rather than leaving the firewall off, and turn it back on when you are done testing.
Clear the Offline Flag and Stuck Queue on Windows
Sometimes the printer is connected fine, but Windows insists it is offline. That is usually a software flag, not a network fault.
- 1.Open the printer's queue.
- 2.Select the Printer menu.
- 3.Clear the checkmark next to Pause Printing.
- 4.Clear the checkmark next to Use Printer Offline.
- 5.Cancel any stuck jobs in the queue.
If the jobs refuse to clear, restart the Print Spooler service. Search Services, right-click Print Spooler, and choose Restart. A stuck queue or a lingering offline flag can make a perfectly connected printer appear unreachable.
Update the Printer's Firmware
Firmware updates can resolve connectivity bugs that no amount of reconnection will fix. The printer must be connected to the Internet first, so if you have a partial or wired connection working, use it for this step.
- 1.Go to Setup > Device settings > Firmware update > Install update.
- 2.Confirm the prompts and select Yes.
- 3.Wait while the printer restarts automatically.
After the printer comes back up, test the wireless connection again, since a fresh firmware build may clear the issue entirely.
Reset the Network Settings as a Last Resort
If nothing above works, reset the printer's network configuration and start fresh. Resetting returns settings to their defaults, so use the narrowest option that fits your problem. On the printer, go to Setup > Device settings > Reset setting and choose one of the following:
- 1.Choose LAN settings to return only the network settings to default, then redo Wi-Fi setup. This is the right choice for a connection problem.
- 2.Choose All data only if you want to reset everything. Be aware that this resets all settings, including the administrator password, so you will need to reconfigure the printer afterward.
Be aware of what a reset will not touch, since the language, the print head position, usage statistics, and the SSL/TLS certificate cannot be reset. After the reset finishes, re-run Wi-Fi setup from the operation panel as described earlier. If the printer still refuses to connect after all of this, contact Canon support through the official model support page for the GX5020.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Canon MAXIFY GX5020 work on 5 GHz Wi-Fi?
Yes. The GX5020 supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g/a/n), so it is not limited to 2.4 GHz like many budget printers. Just make sure the printer joins the same band and network name your phone or computer uses, since some routers assign a different SSID to each band.
What is the Canon Wi-Fi Connection Assistant and where do I get it?
It is a free Canon utility that checks, diagnoses, and repairs the connection between the printer and your computer. It is available for both Windows and macOS, and on Windows it installs along with the printer driver. Run it and choose Diagnose and Repair when the printer cannot be found on the network.
Can I still print if my Wi-Fi is completely down?
Yes. The GX5020 also offers wired Ethernet (100BASE-TX/10BASE-T), Hi-Speed USB, and Wireless Direct. With Wireless Direct, turn it on from Setup > Device settings > LAN settings > Wireless Direct > Switch WL Direct, then connect your device to the SSID shown as DIRECT-XXXX-GX5000series, with up to 5 devices at once. The password is viewable on the printer LCD or by printing the network settings.
Will resetting the LAN settings erase my other printer settings?
No. Choosing LAN settings under Setup > Device settings > Reset setting returns only the network configuration to default, leaving other settings in place. If you instead choose All data, everything resets and the administrator password is reset too. The language, print head position, usage statistics, and SSL/TLS certificate are never reset by either option.
Which mobile app does the GX5020 use, and what does it require?
The official app is Canon PRINT (formerly named Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY, with the Canon PRINT Business app now merged into it). It requires an iPhone or iPad on iOS 16.0 or later, or an Android device on Android 7.0 or later. The printer also supports AirPrint and Mopria for printing without the app.
