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Microsoft is withdrawing support for older printers' drivers
If you've got a Windows PC and a printer, you need to check whether you're affected by these changes – or you could lose access to features
Microsoft is changing the way it handles printer manufacturer drivers in Windows 11, which could affect people using very old printers. But you can get around it.
The tech giant is phasing out support for older, legacy printer drivers, known as v3 and v4 drivers. While the move will likely affect only a small number of owners, it's worth checking whether you'll be affected.
Below, we explain how to find out if the changes impact your printer – and how to get around it if they do. Plus, we show how you could save hundreds of pounds a year on your printing costs, and why you need to watch out for websites that will charge you for drivers.
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This small piece of software lets your printer communicate with your computer. If a driver isn’t working properly, you might notice problems such as poor-quality printouts or a loss of functionality, such as scanning or printing from a phone.
While legacy v3 or v4 printers will continue to work as normal, they won't receive new drivers via Windows Update.
To check if your printer driver is v3 or v4, try this:
- Open the Start menu and search for Print Management
- Click Drivers in the left-hand menu
- Look for the Driver Type column, which will list each driver as Type 3 or Type 4
Conor Houlihan, Which? Tech Support adviser, says: 'Many printer drivers are older or poorly maintained, so they can break after major updates, cause spooler errors, or lose functionality over time. They can also be tricky to set up.'
What does this change mean to printer owners?
For most people, nothing will change. If your printer is working fine now, it should continue to do so.
The change mainly affects how legacy drivers are distributed through Windows Update. Existing drivers should continue to work, but manufacturers can only provide updates to them subject to Microsoft’s approval, and on a case-by-case basis.
However, if you have a much older printer that relies on a legacy driver, you could run into issues.
Tech Support's Conor Houlihan says: 'In some cases, manufacturers may never have released dedicated drivers for Windows 10 or Windows 11, and almost none produced native drivers for newer Arm-based PCs. That means you may have to rely on generic or legacy drivers, which might not fully support all features or may struggle to connect to the printer at all.
'For example, generic legacy drivers often don’t include options such as automatic duplex printing that you would normally get with a fully featured, up-to-date driver.'
If you’re still using Windows 10, don’t let this change put you off upgrading when support ends. Windows 10 will lose security updates in October 2026, and over time your PC will become more vulnerable to security risks if you continue using it (for more advice, see: Windows 10 is ending security support).
Got an older printer? Here's what you can do
If you have problems, you can still download the correct driver directly from the printer manufacturer’s website. Go to the official website of your printer’s manufacturer and search for your model in the Support or Drivers section.
It’s worth noting that after a fresh Windows 11 installation, or when setting up a new user profile, Windows may install a generic printer driver instead of the manufacturer’s own version. Basic printing should still work, but some features such as scanning might be missing. All you need to do is go to your printer manufacturer's website and download the correct driver from there.
Beware of dodgy drivers
At Which? Tech Support, we've seen an increase in people being charged for drivers. You should never pay for a driver as they are free from the manufacturer. Always go directly to your manufacturer’s website so you’re not at risk of this.
Changes to printer drivers can cause some confusion, and scammers often take advantage of that. For example, watch out for any pop-ups that claim you have a 'driver error' and ask you to call a phone number – this is a common scam technique.
For peace of mind, use the official support pages for these major brands:
Save big on printing costs
'Do you have an ageing cartridge inkjet printer? There’s now a more modern type of inkjet known as a tank printer. Instead of using cartridges, it has built-in tanks that you refill with bottled ink. These bottles can contain more than 10 times as much ink as a standard cartridge, yet often cost less than a single set of cartridges.
'It might sound too good to be true, but it isn’t. Our research shows that people typically keep their printers for around 13 years. Over that time, we estimate you could save an average of around £1,267 on ink alone. This estimate is based on printing 30 pages a month, made up of 20 black text pages and 10 colour graphics pages and using the manufacturer's own ink.
'If you’re replacing a cartridge inkjet, switching to a tank model makes sense financially.
'Just make sure you leave it turned on. Tank printers are designed to carry out automatic cleaning cycles, which help prevent the ink from drying out and clogging the printhead. They spend most of their time in standby mode anyway, and we estimate the electricity cost at around £1 a year.'
Oliver Trebilcock, Which? printers expert
Our professional lab tests reveal the best home printers that produce high-quality prints – with impressively low running costs. If you're getting rid of an old printer and don't know what to do with it, find out how to recycle electrical items
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