It can be super annoying when your printer randomly decides to up and stop working in Windows 11. Nothing seems to be fixing the issue. You’ve restarted the printer and checked all the cables, but you still have the same problem – Windows 11 not recognizing printer availability. Let’s sort that problem out with a few fixes you might not have tried yet.
Fix 1 – Troubleshooting Your Printer
Sometimes, Windows 11 itself can tell you what’s wrong, even if it does bury its ability to do so in a troubleshooter that isn’t obvious to access. Follow these steps to find (and use) a printer-specific troubleshoot.
Step 1: Open the “Settings” menu by typing “Settings” into your Windows search bar and clicking the appropriate icon.
Step 2: Head to “System” and click the “Troubleshoot” option. You’ll find it about two-thirds of the way down the list.
Step 3: Choose “Other Troubleshooters” from the list.
Step 4: Find “Printer” in the list (it should be near the top) and click the “Run” button. Windows 11 will take some time to troubleshoot and lets you know if there are any device issues you need to fix to get your printer up and running again.
Fix 2 – Restart the Print Spooler
Windows 11’s print spooler handles every aspect of how the operating system communicates with your printer. That can be a problem – spooler corruption or even just accidentally turning it off means that Windows won’t recognize any printer you try to use. Check the spooler with these steps.
Step 1: Press “Windows Key + R” to open the “Run” dialog box and type “services.msc” before hitting the “OK” button.
Step 2: Double-click the “Print Spooler” option in the list, which is usually a little beyond halfway down.
Step 3: Select “Stop” to prevent the print spooler from running anymore and hit the “OK” button.
Step 4: Open your “This PC” folder and follow this path to reach the print spool folder:
C:\Windows\system32\spoolsv.exe
Once there, delete every single file you see in that folder.
Step 5: Retrace Steps 1 through 3, with the only difference being that you hit the “Start” button instead of “Stop.” Click “OK” again and restart your PC. The restarting process should cause Windows 11 to recreate its print spool, getting rid of any corruption that cause it not to recognize your printer before.
Fix 3 – Update Your Printer’s Drivers
A missed driver update could cause conflicts between Windows 11 and your printer, which you can fix with these steps:
Step 1: Right-click the “Start” button in the Windows toolbar and select “Device Manager.”
Step 2: Click the little arrow next to “Print Queues” to expand the category.
Step 3: Right-click on “Microsoft Print to PDF” and choose “Update Driver” from the list of options in the menu.
Step 4: Choose the “Search automatically for drivers” option and wait for a while. Windows 11 will run some online searches to see if there are any missing drivers your printer needs and install them. If none are found, it’ll tell you that the most up-to-date drivers are already installed, meaning there’s another problem causing your printer woes.
Was this helpful?
Last updated on 25 February, 2025
Read Next
6 Fixes if Windows 11 Is Not Recognizing USB Devices
Fix 1: Unlock and Trust the Device Some devices, like iPhones or Androids, have an added layer of authentication to verify user identity.
3 Fixes for Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Not Recognizing USB Drive
Basic Fixes Avoid using largely sized USB drives: You need to avoid using USB drives that are larger than 128GB in size.
5 Fixes for Apple Photos Not Recognizing Faces on iPhone
Fix 1: Disable and Re-Enable iCloud Photos Sync A common reason why the Apple Photos app may fail to recognize and organize photos by face is due to sync issues
4 Fixes for PS5 Not Recognizing External Hard Drive
Try Basic Fixes Make sure the hard drive is compatible: Your PS5 supports nearly all external hard drives ranging from 250GB to 8TB in storage capacity, connected via the SuperSpeed
Top 9 Ways to Fix Windows 11 Computer Not Recognizing Headphones
Connecting your favorite pair of headphones allows you to isolate yourself from the surrounding noise and lets you focus on the task at hand.
Top 7 Ways to Fix Steam Not Recognizing Controller on Windows 11
Select games on your PC are more fun with a controller rather than the keyboard and mouse combo.
7 Fixes When Printer on Windows 11 Keeps Printing Landscape Instead of Portrait
1.
Outlook AutoArchive Settings Are Missing – Three Fixes
The “New” Outlook may be sleek and streamlined, but it’s also a nightmare for people who are used to the advanced features the old version of Outlook offered.
The article above may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. The content remains unbiased and authentic and will never affect our editorial integrity.
