Ender 3 Paused Print Won’t Resume? Here’s What To Do

Ender 3 printers are some of the best out there, but they still have their issues. When you use the pause feature on an Ender 3 printer, it often won’t start up again, or some features such as your heated print bed won’t work when you resume. So, what can you do about it? 

If your Ender 3 paused a print and won’t resume, you can disconnect the power, then reconnect it and resume the job. Otherwise, you can print the remaining portion of your 3D print and glue the two pieces together or alter the G-code to resume printing. 

In the rest of this article, I will teach you how to resume your printing job, even when the auto-resume function does not work after a paused or failed print job. This article will also explore some of the safeguards the Ender 3 printer has to minimize print failure. Read on for more details. 

Why Your Ender 3 3D Printer Won’t Resume a Print

The Creality Ender 3 V2 3D Printer (available on Amazon) has several safeguards to reduce the risk of project failure following interruptions. This 3D printer has a resume and pause feature, letting you pause your print job and resume it later.

So, with this printer, you can pause the print job at any time, and it will also automatically pause in the case of a power outage or print failure. Then, it should allow you to resume the job after you have resolved the power or technical issue.  

Typically, the resume function will automatically pop up if you restart the printer or press resume. The 3D printer will prompt you to select if you want to proceed with the print job from the last layer or not, which is a very convenient feature. 

However, sometimes issues arise when you use this print feature, and most experts will advise you not to use the pause feature since it can be problematic. 

When you pause a print mid-layer, your printer will no longer understand what step of the code it’s on. So, pausing while your printer has already started a layer can make your printer lose its place, creating all sorts of potential errors. 

Some common issues that occur on an Ender 3 when you pause a print are: 

• Heated print bed stops heating
• The nozzle won’t return to the start position
• The “Move Axis” features will not function
• Your printer simply will not resume the print

So, if you can, you may want to avoid using the pause feature. 

However, if you are experiencing any of these issues, keep reading to learn about what you can do to salvage your 3D print. 

3 Easy Fixes for an Ender 3 3D Print That Won’t Resume

1. Disconnect Your Ender 3 From Power

As always seems to be, unplugging your device and then plugging it back in is usually the easiest way to get it working again. 

Unplugging your printer will help it find its place in the G-code again, which will ensure that your printer is not stuck mid-step. 

Be sure to unplug it, and don’t press the power button. If you use the power button, your Ender 3 might not be able to resume, which will mean that you’ll have to start your print over again. 

1. Print Remaining Section Then Merge

If your 3D printer does not give you the option to resume your print, you can manually help it start back up where it left off. 

However, identifying the exact layer where the printing was interrupted is of utmost importance in both instances. 

Once you have identified this print layer, the next step is to split the two sections of your project, starting afresh from the layer where your print job was interrupted. This way, you will have two pieces of the same project. But first, do the following: 

1. Remove your partially complete print from the print bed and set it aside. 
2. Split your entire project into two using your slicer or CAD program, and use the printer to print the remaining section of your project. 

You can easily merge the two sections of the project as long as you identify the correct print layer where the interruption occurred. Connecting these two parts of the same model is the final phase when using this approach. 

To merge these sections: 

1. Sand both of your print pieces to ensure that their surfaces are as smooth as possible. 
2. Use a strong adhesive to join these two sections together. It is as easy as joining two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. 
3. Use G-Code Commands To Restart Print

G-code commands are a set of instructions that guide the printing process. You can think of them as linear instructions that essentially tell your 3D printer how it is supposed to carry out a given print job. Because these commands are sequential, they are executed one after the other. 

Remember, use this approach only if you have a firm grasp of programming. Below are a few easy steps to guide you through this process. 

Locate the G-Code File

To locate the G-code file, you need to go to the settings section and open the Machine Control Panel. Open this file and determine the last layer printed before the project is interrupted. 

Once you find it, you’ll know the exact point at which your printing should resume. 

Edit the G-Code File

Edit the G-code file via the control software, command interface, or using a slicer program. 

Here, you will add a set of commands that will resume the printing process from the layer that was interrupted when executed. Think of this approach as manually restarting the printing process when the auto-resume function fails to load. 

Because the printing process can be long and arduous, the mere thought of having to start all over again is a nightmarish scenario. So, you may want to consult an expert to help you with this process, mainly if you are not adept at reading and editing programming code. 

If you are up to the challenge of editing the G-code using a slicer application or any other interface, or if you are interested in learning how to edit the G-code and send commands to your printer, this video goes into greater detail about how you can do this: 

Conclusion

The Ender 3 3D printer is designed with the user in mind. Accordingly, it has a pause and resume function, which will give you more control over the printing process.

However, if the resume function refuses to work for whatever reason, you can manually resume the printing job, provided you follow the guidelines discussed in this article. Restarting your printer or slicing your print into two parts will save you the trouble of starting over again, especially if you are working on a large project or the previous object was almost done.