Why does Windows say my printer driver is unavailable after an update?

Windows Updates can sometimes overwrite existing third-party printer drivers with generic Microsoft drivers, or break the registry paths that the system uses to locate the driver files.

Can I use a generic driver if the manufacturer driver is not available?

Yes, you can often use a generic class driver or a basic driver from Windows Update, but you may lose access to advanced features like scanning, double-sided printing, or ink level monitoring.

How do I find the correct driver for my printer?

Visit the official support website of your printer manufacturer, such as HP, Canon, Epson, or Brother. Enter your printer's exact model number, which is usually printed on a label on the back or bottom of the device, and download the installer for your specific version of Windows.

What is the difference between a basic driver and a full software package?

A basic driver only contains the essential files needed to send print jobs to the printer. A full software package includes utility programs for scanning, maintenance, checking ink levels, and configuring wireless settings.

It says driver unavailable but the printer still prints. Does it matter?

Not urgently. That version of the message means Windows has lost the manufacturer's software around the driver and is printing through a basic one. Pages still come out; what goes missing is scanning, ink levels and settings like duplex. Reinstalling the full package restores those, and nothing is at risk while you wait.

There is no Windows 11 driver for my printer. Is it finished?

Almost certainly not. Windows has been moving to a class driver of its own that talks to printers over IPP, which nearly every printer from the last ten years supports, so a missing download often means the printer is now meant to be driven by Windows directly. Add it as an IPP device and it will usually print, duplex and colour included. Scanning tends to need the manufacturer's app, installed separately.

Windows will not let me remove the driver. It says it is in use.

The print spooler is holding the files open. Open services.msc, stop Print Spooler, then remove the driver package from Print Server Properties, then start Print Spooler again. The removal that refused a moment earlier goes through. This is the step most repairs stall on.

Should I use a driver updater program?

No. They are the most common way a working setup gets replaced with something worse, several bundle software nobody asked for, and none of them know your printer better than the company that made it. The manufacturer's support page, searched by the model number printed on the machine, gives the right file and nothing else.

Driver IssuesWorth attentionAbout 15 min

Printer Driver Unavailable: Meaning, Causes and Safe Troubleshooting

Quick answer

The printer driver unavailable error means Windows cannot communicate with your printer because the driver is missing, corrupted, or incompatible. To fix it, disconnect the printer, uninstall the existing driver using the Print Server Properties menu, and install the latest driver from the manufacturer's website before reconnecting the device.

Published 12 August 2026Updated 21 August 2026

What this means

That "Driver Unavailable" message does not mean your printer is ready for the trash. Your hardware is fine. Windows has just lost its connection to the machine because the driver is corrupted, outdated, missing, or incompatible with your operating system.

This usually happens because Windows Update replaced your manufacturer's driver with a generic one that does not work. Or perhaps you plugged in the USB cable before running the installer, which forces Windows to assign the wrong generic driver. If you have a network printer, a changed IP address will also trigger the error.

Sometimes the block is temporary. Your antivirus might be blocking the driver installer from modifying registry keys, or corrupted system files are preventing the Print Spooler service from starting. If your printer is older, it might lack a Windows 11 driver, requiring you to run a Windows 10 driver in compatibility mode. Even plugging an older USB 2.0 printer into a newer USB 3.0 port will trigger this communication failure.

There is a larger change behind a lot of these reports, and it helps to know about it before hunting for a driver that may no longer exist. Microsoft has been moving Windows away from manufacturer supplied printer drivers and towards a single class driver built into Windows, which talks to printers over the IPP standard that virtually every printer made in the last decade already speaks. Windows Update has been winding down delivery of third party printer drivers as part of that. The practical consequence is that a search for a Windows 11 driver for a working printer sometimes turns up nothing at all, not because the printer is unsupported, but because it is now meant to be driven by Windows itself rather than by a download. Adding the printer so that Windows uses its own driver is a fix in that situation rather than a compromise.

It is also worth knowing which version of the message you have. If Settings shows Driver unavailable and the printer still prints, Windows has lost the extra software around the driver rather than the driver itself, and the printer is working through a basic one. That is worth fixing for the sake of scanning and ink levels, but nothing is urgent. If the printer will not print at all, the driver is genuinely missing or broken, and the removal and reinstall below is the route.

Common causes

A recent Windows Update corrupted the existing printer driver files.
The printer driver is outdated and incompatible with the current Windows version.
The printer was connected to a USB port before the driver software was installed.
Windows Print Spooler service is glitched or stopped.
Generic Windows drivers were assigned instead of the manufacturer-specific driver.

What to check first

1Verify the printer is powered on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network or USB port.
2Restart both your computer and the printer.
3Unplug the USB cable from the computer and plug it into a different USB port.

Step-by-step fix

1
Run the Windows Printer Troubleshooter
Go to Settings, select Update & Security or System, click Troubleshoot, and choose Other Troubleshooters. Select Printer and run the troubleshooter to let Windows attempt automatic repairs.
2
Remove the Printer from Windows
Open Settings and go to Bluetooth & devices, then Printers & scanners. Select your printer and click Remove. This clears the broken association in Windows.
3
Uninstall Printer Software from Control Panel
Open the Control Panel and go to Programs and Features. Find any software related to your printer brand, select it, and click Uninstall. Restart your computer after this step.
4
Clear the Print Server Properties
Press Windows Key + R, type 'printui /s /t2' and press Enter. Select your printer driver from the list and click Remove. Choose 'Remove driver and driver package' and click OK.
Be careful not to delete drivers for other working printers installed on your computer.
5
Download and Install the Latest Manufacturer Driver
Go to the official website of your printer manufacturer. Search for your exact printer model. Download the full software and driver package. Run the installer and only connect the printer when the installer prompts you to do so.
6
Restart the Print Spooler Service
Press Windows Key + R, type 'services.msc' and press Enter. Scroll down to 'Print Spooler'. Right-click it and select Restart. Ensure its Startup Type is set to Automatic.
7
Stop the spooler first, or the driver will refuse to be removed
This is the reason the removal step above so often fails with a message about the driver being in use. Press Windows Key and R, type services.msc and press Enter. Find Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Stop, and leave the window open. Now run the removal from Print Server Properties, choosing Remove driver and driver package. When it completes, go back to the services window and start Print Spooler again. The same removal that refused a minute earlier goes through cleanly.
Nothing can print while the spooler is stopped, so start it again when the removal is done.
8
Use Print Management for a fuller clear-out
Print Server Properties shows drivers for the current user; Print Management shows everything on the machine, including the leftovers from printers that were removed years ago. Press Windows Key and R, type printmanagement.msc and press Enter. Under Custom Filters, open All Drivers. Right-click anything belonging to the printer that is giving trouble and choose Delete. With the spooler stopped as in the previous step, entries that would not move before will delete here.
Delete only entries for the printer you are repairing. Others in the list belong to printers that still work.
9
Let Windows drive the printer instead of hunting for a download
If there is no driver on the manufacturer's site for your version of Windows, this is usually the answer rather than a workaround. In Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Printers and scanners, choose Add device, then The printer that I want is not listed. Pick Add a printer using an IP address or hostname, set the device type to IPP Device, and enter the printer's address. Windows uses its own class driver, which handles printing and usually duplex and colour as well. Scanning normally still needs the manufacturer's app, which can be installed separately.
10
Run an older driver in compatibility mode
When only a Windows 10 driver exists, it will often install and run on Windows 11 with one setting changed. Right-click the downloaded installer, choose Properties, then the Compatibility tab. Tick Run this program in compatibility mode for and select Windows 10, then run the installer as administrator. This is worth trying before concluding a printer is unsupported, because in most cases the printer's language has not changed at all and only the installer objects.
11
Check whether it is the antivirus, by watching where it fails
A driver installation that reaches a certain point and then rolls back, every time, in the same place, is usually being blocked rather than failing. Driver installers write to protected areas of the registry and some security software treats that as suspicious without saying so. Pause the protection, run the installer, and turn the protection back on immediately afterwards. If it completes cleanly that way, add the manufacturer's installer to the exclusions rather than leaving anything switched off.
Turn protection back on as soon as the installation finishes. Do not leave it off and do not download drivers from anywhere but the manufacturer while it is paused.
12
Rule out the port before blaming the driver
An older printer plugged into a USB 3.0 port, the blue ones, can fail to enumerate properly and present as a driver problem. Move it to a USB 2.0 port, usually black, and try again. Skip any hub and go straight into the computer, because a hub without its own power supply is the other common cause of the same symptom. If the printer then installs without complaint, the driver was never the problem.

When to contact a professional

Stop troubleshooting and call a professional if you have completely reinstalled the driver, verified the USB or network connection on another computer, and Windows still fails to recognize the printer. When you uninstalled the driver, you must have kept the printer disconnected to stop Windows from automatically reinstalling the bad driver. If you did that and the computer still does not see the printer, stop. Attempting further fixes will void your warranty.

Worth knowing

One detail causes more failed repairs on this than anything else. Removing a driver package fails with a message about the driver being in use, because the print spooler is holding the files open. Stopping the spooler, removing the package and starting the spooler again is what makes the removal work, and it is the difference between the step below succeeding and appearing to be broken.

On a Mac the equivalent message is different and so is the cure. macOS does not report a driver as unavailable; it silently falls back to a generic driver, which prints and cannot scan. Removing the printer and adding it again with the correct driver selected from the Use menu is the fix, and Reset printing system clears everything if the wrong driver has become stuck.

One caution about driver update utilities. Programs that offer to find drivers automatically are the most common way a working printer setup gets replaced with something worse, and several of them bundle software nobody asked for. The manufacturer's own support page, searched by the exact model number from the label on the machine, is both safer and more likely to have the right file.

Questions people ask

Why does Windows say my printer driver is unavailable after an update?: Windows Updates can sometimes overwrite existing third-party printer drivers with generic Microsoft drivers, or break the registry paths that the system uses to locate the driver files.
Can I use a generic driver if the manufacturer driver is not available?: Yes, you can often use a generic class driver or a basic driver from Windows Update, but you may lose access to advanced features like scanning, double-sided printing, or ink level monitoring.
How do I find the correct driver for my printer?: Visit the official support website of your printer manufacturer, such as HP, Canon, Epson, or Brother. Enter your printer's exact model number, which is usually printed on a label on the back or bottom of the device, and download the installer for your specific version of Windows.
What is the difference between a basic driver and a full software package?: A basic driver only contains the essential files needed to send print jobs to the printer. A full software package includes utility programs for scanning, maintenance, checking ink levels, and configuring wireless settings.
It says driver unavailable but the printer still prints. Does it matter?: Not urgently. That version of the message means Windows has lost the manufacturer's software around the driver and is printing through a basic one. Pages still come out; what goes missing is scanning, ink levels and settings like duplex. Reinstalling the full package restores those, and nothing is at risk while you wait.
There is no Windows 11 driver for my printer. Is it finished?: Almost certainly not. Windows has been moving to a class driver of its own that talks to printers over IPP, which nearly every printer from the last ten years supports, so a missing download often means the printer is now meant to be driven by Windows directly. Add it as an IPP device and it will usually print, duplex and colour included. Scanning tends to need the manufacturer's app, installed separately.
Windows will not let me remove the driver. It says it is in use.: The print spooler is holding the files open. Open services.msc, stop Print Spooler, then remove the driver package from Print Server Properties, then start Print Spooler again. The removal that refused a moment earlier goes through. This is the step most repairs stall on.
Should I use a driver updater program?: No. They are the most common way a working setup gets replaced with something worse, several bundle software nobody asked for, and none of them know your printer better than the company that made it. The manufacturer's support page, searched by the model number printed on the machine, gives the right file and nothing else.

Was this guide helpful?

Not the problem you have?

Switch off and unplug a printer before reaching inside it. Steps that can damage hardware or affect a warranty are flagged above. If your machine is still under warranty, or the fault involves the power supply or internal electronics, contact the manufacturer or a qualified technician instead. Full disclaimer.

What this means

Common causes

What to check first

Step-by-step fix

Run the Windows Printer Troubleshooter

Remove the Printer from Windows

Uninstall Printer Software from Control Panel

Clear the Print Server Properties

Download and Install the Latest Manufacturer Driver

Restart the Print Spooler Service

Stop the spooler first, or the driver will refuse to be removed

Use Print Management for a fuller clear-out

Let Windows drive the printer instead of hunting for a download

Run an older driver in compatibility mode

Check whether it is the antivirus, by watching where it fails

Rule out the port before blaming the driver

When to contact a professional

Worth knowing

Questions people ask

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