How to Install a Printer Driver in Windows 11: 4 Ways

To install a printer driver in Windows 11, start by simply adding the printer: for most printers made in recent years, Windows installs its built-in Microsoft IPP Class Driver automatically and nothing else is needed. If Windows does not find a driver, check the optional driver updates in Windows Update, and if that fails, install the package for your exact model from the printer maker’s own support site. This guide explains all four routes, how to check which driver you have, and how to remove an old one cleanly.

What a printer driver does, and why you may not need one

A driver translates what you print into a language the printer understands and tells Windows which paper sizes, trays and colour options the printer has. For years every printer needed its own driver from its maker.

Today most network printers support standard driverless printing (IPP Everywhere and Mopria). Windows 11 includes a generic driver for these, the Microsoft IPP Class Driver, and uses it automatically. Microsoft’s published plan goes further: from January 15, 2026 no new third-party printer drivers are published to Windows Update for Windows 11, and from July 1, 2026 Windows ranks its own IPP class driver first when choosing a driver. Existing third-party drivers can still be installed, from Windows Update or from the maker’s installation package.

In practice that means: try the built-in driver first, and only install the maker’s software if something is missing.

Way 1: let Windows install the built-in driver

1. Make sure the printer is on and connected to the same network as the PC (or plugged in by USB).
2. Open Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, then Printers & scanners.
3. Select Add device and wait for the printer to appear.
4. Select Add device next to the printer.

Windows downloads or selects a driver in the background. When the printer shows in the list, it is ready. Our full walkthrough, including adding a printer by IP address, is in how to add a printer in Windows 11.

How to check which driver is in use

1. In Printers & scanners, select the printer.
2. Select Printer properties.
3. Open the Advanced tab and read the Driver field.

Driver name shown	What it means
Microsoft IPP Class Driver	Built-in driverless printing; nothing to install
Model name, for example “Maker Model Series”	A driver from the printer maker, installed by Windows Update or by the maker’s package
Generic / Text Only	Windows could not find a proper driver; install one of the options below

Way 2: optional driver updates in Windows Update

Windows sometimes holds a model-specific driver back as an optional update.

1. Open Settings, then Windows Update.
2. Select Advanced options, then Optional updates.
3. Expand Driver updates, tick any entry for your printer and select Download & install.
4. Restart if asked, then print a test page.

If nothing is listed for your printer, Windows has no extra driver for it.

Way 3: the maker’s driver package

Use this route when the printer is older, when it is not recognised at all, or when you need features the built-in driver lacks (some photo paper types, finishing options, the maker’s scanning software).

1. Find the exact model name on the front or top of the printer and on the label at the back.
2. Go to the maker’s own support website and search for that model. Avoid third-party “driver download” sites and driver updater tools; they can bundle unwanted software.
3. Choose Windows 11 as the operating system and download the recommended full package or basic driver.
4. Run the installer. If it is a USB printer, wait until the installer tells you to connect the cable; some packages ask you not to plug in earlier.
5. Print a test page from Printer properties.

Many makers now offer a slimmer package or point Windows users to their app in the Microsoft Store. If you only need to print, the basic driver is usually enough.

Way 4: Have Disk (an INF driver you already have)

Some makers supply drivers as a folder with an .inf file instead of an installer, often for business printers.

1. In Printers & scanners, select Add device, then Add manually next to “The printer that I want isn’t listed”.
2. Choose Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings and pick or create the port.
3. On the driver screen, select Have Disk, browse to the folder and select the .inf file.
4. Choose your model from the list and finish the wizard.

Updating or replacing a driver

To move a printer from one driver to another, for example from an old maker driver to the built-in one:

1. Remove the printer in Printers & scanners (select it, then Remove).
2. Open Print server properties (at the bottom of the Printers & scanners page under related settings), select the Drivers tab, select the old driver and choose Remove, then Remove driver and driver package.
3. Restart the PC and add the printer again.

If Windows shows error 0x8007007e during this, see our printer error 0x8007007e guide.

Installing a driver with PowerShell

For more than one PC, or when the Add printer wizard keeps picking the wrong driver, PowerShell gives you exact control. Microsoft’s documentation describes Add-PrinterDriver as installing a printer driver on the computer, and it needs administrator rights. It only installs drivers already in the Windows driver store, so add the maker’s .inf first with pnputil -i -a path\to\driver.inf, then run Add-PrinterDriver -Name "Exact model name". The name must match the model line inside the .inf file. Our step-by-step guide to adding a printer with PowerShell adds the port and printer too.

Listing every printer driver on the PC

Before installing or removing anything, it helps to see what is already there. Three places show it:

• Print Server Properties, Drivers tab: open it with printui /s from the Run box. It lists every printer driver Windows has, with its type and environment.
• PowerShell: Get-PrinterDriver lists installed printer drivers, and Get-Printer | Select-Object Name, DriverName shows which printer uses which driver.
• The driver store: Microsoft’s pnputil -e lists all third-party driver packages, including printer ones, with their oem file names.

If two printers share one driver, removing it affects both. Our guide to removing a printer in Windows 11 explains the safe order and the matching Remove-PrinterDriver cmdlet.

Without a CD

Installation discs that came with older printers are not needed: the same or newer drivers are online, and the built-in driver often makes them unnecessary. See how to install a printer without the CD.

Next steps

Once the driver is in place, set the printer as your default and, if other people at home should use it, see how to share a printer on a network. For scanning on a multifunction printer, the printer scanner setup guide explains whether you need the maker’s software.