HP Printer Issues After a Windows Update: How to Get Back to Printing

You didn't change a thing on the printer. Windows installed an update, the computer restarted, and now your HP won't cooperate. Documents pile up in the queue. Windows says the printer is offline or the driver is unavailable. Or it prints, but the two-sided and paper options you always use are gone.

Here's the reassuring part: the printer itself is almost never the problem. An update changes your computer, not your HP. It can swap the driver Windows uses, jam the service that handles print jobs, pick a different default printer, or raise the security bar for shared printers and scan-to-folder setups. Once in a while, the update has a printing bug of its own. Each cause leaves a different clue, and this guide shows you how to find yours.

The steps are written for Windows 11, with Windows 10 menu paths where they differ. They work for home printers like DeskJet, ENVY, OfficeJet Pro, and Smart Tank models, and for LaserJet printers in small offices.

Using older HP tools? HP has replaced HP Smart with the HP app and retired HP Print and Scan Doctor. Every step below uses what HP supports today.

Start Here: Match What You're Seeing

Look for the symptom closest to yours and head to the fix in the last column. If nothing matches, run the quick checks below and begin with Fix 1.

Why a Windows Update Can Throw Off Your HP Printer

Windows updates don't reach into your printer's hardware or firmware. They change the software on your computer that talks to the printer. These are the usual suspects.

• Windows is using a different driver. Since July 2026, when a printer is newly added on Windows 11, Windows prefers its own built-in driver over HP's wherever the printer supports it. If your HP was removed and added again after the update, that's likely what happened. A big version upgrade can also leave HP's driver broken, which shows up as "Driver is unavailable."
• A print job got stuck around the restart. A document sent just before the update can stall in the Print Spooler, the Windows service that passes jobs to your printer. Everything queued behind it waits.
• Windows picked a new default printer. When Let Windows manage my default printer is turned on, Windows makes the printer you used most recently your default. A second copy of your HP, often named "(Copy 1)," can also appear.
• The computer lost track of the printer on your network. If your router gave the printer a new IP address while the PC was restarting, Windows may keep looking in the old spot and call the printer offline.
• Security rules got stricter. Updates since 2021 changed how Windows connects to printers shared from another computer, which is where errors 0x0000011b and 0x00000709 come from. Windows 11 version 24H2 also requires signed connections to shared folders on Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions, and that can stop an HP all-in-one from scanning to a folder on your PC.
• HP's own tools changed at the same time. HP Smart has given way to the HP app, and HP Print and Scan Doctor has been retired. If one of them quit working around update time, it's easy to blame Windows.
• The update really does have a bug. It happens. In early 2025, Microsoft confirmed that some USB printers were printing pages of random text after Windows updates. In August 2026, a .NET Framework update made some apps fail when printing or creating PDFs with certain fonts, including Calibri. Microsoft resolved both.

Before You Change Anything: Three Quick Checks

These take about two minutes. They confirm whether Windows is actually the culprit and leave you with the details any later fix, or support call, will ask for.

1. See whether anything else can print. Try printing from your phone with the HP app, or from another computer. If nothing prints from any device, the problem is the printer or your network, not the update. Jump to "Signs the Update Isn't the Real Problem" below.
2. Find out what installed and when. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history. Write down the KB number and install date of the most recent update, especially if the date matches the day printing stopped. On Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history.
3. Check your Windows version and edition. Go to Settings > System > About and look under Windows specifications. Note the Edition (Home or Pro) and the Version (for example, 24H2 or 25H2). Both matter if you scan to a folder on your PC (Fix 7).

While you're in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, click your HP printer and look at the status under its name. "Offline," "Driver is unavailable," and "Error" each point to a different fix in the table above.

How to Fix HP Printer Problems After a Windows Update

Start with Fix 1 and work down, sending a test print after each one. If the table above pointed you to a specific fix, go straight there.

Fix 1: Install Every Pending Update, Then Do a Full Restart

It sounds backward, but the cure for a bad update is often the next one. Microsoft sometimes ships a correction within days. After the September 8, 2026 security update caused problems on some PCs, for example, Microsoft released an extra out-of-band update on September 14. HP's own advice for printers that stop working after a Windows 11 update starts with this step too.

1. Go to Settings > Windows Update and click Check for updates. Install everything offered, and restart if Windows asks.
2. Check again. More updates can show up once the first batch is installed. Keep going until Windows says you're up to date.
3. Turn the printer off with its power button, wait until it shuts down completely, and turn it back on.
4. On the computer, click Start > Power > Restart. Choose Restart, not Shut down. With Fast Startup turned on, which is the default on many PCs, Shut down doesn't fully reset Windows. Restart does.

Send a test print. If it works, you're done.

Fix 2: Empty the Print Queue and Reset the Print Spooler

One stuck job can hold up everything behind it, and Windows may even report the printer as offline because of it. Clearing the spooler removes the blockage. This deletes every waiting job for every printer on your computer, so you'll need to resend your documents afterward.

1. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
2. Find Print Spooler in the list, right-click it, and choose Stop.
3. Press Windows key + R again, type %WINDIR%\System32\spool\PRINTERS, and press Enter. Click Continue if Windows asks for permission.
4. Delete everything inside that folder. Leave the folder itself where it is.
5. Go back to Services, right-click Print Spooler, and choose Start.
6. Double-click Print Spooler and make sure Startup type is set to Automatic. Click OK.

Jobs still piling up? Our guide to an HP printer job stuck in the queue goes deeper.

Fix 3: Check Which Driver Windows Is Using Now

A driver swap is the most common reason an HP printer behaves differently after an update, and it takes about a minute to check.

1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and click your HP printer.
2. Click Printer properties, then open the Advanced tab.
3. Look at the name in the Driver box.

Here's what that name tells you:

• It starts with "HP" (for example, "HP Universal Printing PCL 6"). HP's driver is still in place, so the driver probably isn't the issue. Move on to Fix 4.
• It says "Microsoft IPP Class Driver." Windows is using its built-in driver. Everyday printing works, but HP-specific settings may be missing. On many recent DeskJet, ENVY, OfficeJet Pro, Smart Tank, and small-office LaserJet models, HP's Print Support Application works on top of this driver and adds color, two-sided printing, and paper size options. If those options show up when you print, leave things as they are. If they're missing and you need them, switch drivers as described below.
• The status says "Driver is unavailable," or the Driver box is empty. The driver is damaged or gone. Skip ahead to Fix 6.

To switch back to HP's driver: open the Driver drop-down on that same Advanced tab. If an HP driver for your model is listed, select it, click Apply, and print a test page. This needs administrator rights. If no HP driver appears in the list, reinstall it with Fix 6.

Fix 4: Remove Extra Copies and Set Your Default Printer Again

After an update, you might find your HP listed twice, often with "(Copy 1)" added to one name. Or Windows may have started sending everything to a different printer, like Microsoft Print to PDF.

1. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
2. If your HP appears more than once, click each copy and choose Print test page. Keep the copy that prints. Click the other one and choose Remove.
3. Scroll down to Printer preferences and turn off Let Windows manage my default printer.
4. Scroll back up, click the HP printer you kept, and choose Set as default.

On Windows 10: go to Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners, clear the Let Windows manage my default printer check box, click your HP printer, and choose Manage > Set as default.

Fix 5: Let Diagnose & Fix in the HP App Take a Pass

HP's troubleshooter now lives inside the HP app. On Windows, it clears stuck jobs, resumes paused printing, fixes spooler errors, reconnects a printer that shows offline, checks for driver updates, and corrects a port that doesn't match the printer.

1. Open the HP app. If you don't have it, download it free from the Microsoft Store and add your printer.
2. Click the Diagnose & Fix icon in the lower-left corner.
3. Click Start, and follow any instructions if it finds a problem.

Still using HP Smart? The HP app has taken its place. When your computer can run the HP app, HP won't let you go back to HP Smart. Let HP Smart update itself to the HP app rather than uninstalling it, and your saved printers come along.

Still have HP Print and Scan Doctor? HP stopped supporting the tool on May 27, 2025, and now advises deleting it because of potential security risks. If a website still offers it as a download, don't take it.

Fix 6: Reinstall Your HP Printer Software From Scratch

When the driver is missing, damaged, or keeps coming back wrong, a clean reinstall gives Windows a fresh start. HP recommends it for printers that quit after a Windows 11 update or upgrade. Don't stop at deleting the printer. Unless the driver package goes too, Windows can pull the same damaged files back in when you reconnect.

Download the software first

• Home and small office printers: the HP app from the Microsoft Store, or HP Easy Start from 123.hp.com/setup. In HP Easy Start, choose Full Software and Drivers when asked.
• LaserJet printers in a managed office: IT usually installs the HP Universal Print Driver from HP's support site.

Type HP's web address yourself rather than clicking an ad, since lookalike "printer setup" sites are common.

Remove the old installation

1. Turn off the printer. If it connects with a USB cable, unplug the cable from the computer.
2. In the HP app, click your printer and choose Remove from app.
3. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Find your printer's name, click the three dots next to it, and choose Uninstall.
4. Restart the computer.
5. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. Click each copy of your HP printer and choose Remove.
6. On the same page, under Related settings, click Print server properties. Open the Drivers tab, select each driver for your HP, click Remove, choose Remove driver and driver package, and confirm. Getting a message that the driver is in use? Reboot, then repeat this step.

Install it again

1. Turn the printer back on.
2. Run the HP app or HP Easy Start and follow the prompts. If you use USB, plug in the cable only when the installer asks for it.
3. Print a test page.

Adding the printer through Windows Settings instead? Look for Default install printers using Windows Ready Print in Printers & scanners first. When it's on, Windows uses its built-in driver wherever the printer supports it. When it's off, Windows uses its standard driver selection, which may pick HP's driver. The setting only affects printers you add from now on.

For help choosing between the HP app, full software, and HP's universal drivers, see our HP printer driver guide.

Fix 7: Get Scanning Working Again

Scanning trouble after an update usually falls into one of two groups: scanning from your computer, or an HP all-in-one that can no longer save scans to a folder on your PC.

If you scan from your computer

1. Open the HP app, click your printer, and try the Scan option there. It often keeps working even when other scan tools don't.
2. If Windows switched your printer to its built-in driver (Fix 3), HP's desktop scan software may have gone with it. Reinstall with Full Software and Drivers through HP Easy Start (Fix 6), if HP offers it for your model.
3. If Windows protected print mode is turned on, your scanner may not be available at all. Microsoft notes that some scanners don't work in that mode unless they're Mopria certified. See the 2026 section below.

If your printer scans to a network folder

This mostly affects office all-in-ones like LaserJet Pro MFP and OfficeJet Pro models. Windows 11 version 24H2 and later requires signed connections to shared folders on Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions, and Windows 11 Pro no longer lets devices sign in as a guest. A printer that used to save to your folder without a real username and password gets turned away. Windows 11 Home doesn't require signing, so this is mainly a Pro and business issue.

On the computer that holds the scan folder:

1. Make sure you sign in to Windows with an account that has a password. A Windows Hello PIN won't work for this.
2. Share the folder with that account and give it permission to save files.
3. Set your network to Private. File sharing stays off on a Public network.

On the printer:

1. Find the printer's IP address in its network or wireless settings menu, or print a network configuration page.
2. Type the IP address into a web browser to open the printer's Embedded Web Server.
3. Open the Scan tab and find the network folder settings. Depending on the model, it's labeled Network Folder Setup or Scan to Network Folder.
4. Edit your saved folder. Enter the path as \\<computer's IP address>\<folder name>, then enter the Windows username and password for the account that owns the share.
5. Save, and run the test option if your model has one.

If the test still fails with the right username and password, check HP's support site for a printer firmware update. Some older models may not support the connection security that newer Windows versions expect. Our guide to updating HP printer firmware walks through it. Until then, scan to email, a USB drive, or the HP app.

Resist the quick workarounds you'll find online, like disabling SMB signing, turning on insecure guest access, or re-enabling the old SMB1 protocol. Microsoft recommends against each one, since they leave your shared files easier to reach for the wrong people. On a work network, hand this one to IT.

Fix 8: Fix "Windows Cannot Connect to the Printer" (0x0000011b or 0x00000709)

These errors appear when you print to an HP printer that's shared from another computer or a print server, not when you print to the printer directly.

• 0x0000011b goes back to a September 2021 security update that tightened how Windows authenticates connections to shared printers.
• 0x00000709 is common on Windows 11 version 22H2 and later, which changed the way computers connect to shared printers by default.

At home or in a small office

1. Install the latest updates on both computers: the one sharing the printer and the one printing to it.
2. Better still, stop printing through the other computer. Most HP printers with Wi-Fi or Ethernet can take jobs from every computer directly. Add the printer on each computer with the HP app or by its IP address. With no shared connection in the middle, these errors have nothing to trip over, and the other computer no longer needs to be switched on for you to print.
3. If your HP only connects by USB, keep sharing it, but plug it into the computer that's on most often and kept up to date.

Skip the registry tweaks. Plenty of websites suggest registry edits that make these errors vanish. They work by switching off protections Microsoft added for real security flaws.

At work

Let IT know which error you got, which Windows 11 version you're on, and the update's KB number. This gets fixed on the print server or through Group Policy rather than on individual PCs. For shared printing to work on Windows 11, the network must allow TCP port 135 between PCs and the server, along with ports 49152 to 65535 or a single fixed port chosen by IT.

IT note, September 2026: Administrators have reported HP Universal Printing PCL 6 and other Type 3 drivers failing on Windows Server 2022 Remote Desktop hosts after the September 8, 2026 update (KB5122882). The September 14 out-of-band update (KB5129237) reportedly didn't fix it, and Microsoft hadn't listed it as a known issue as of September 17, 2026. Check Microsoft's Windows release health page before rebuilding drivers or print queues.

Fix 9: Uninstall the Update or Pause Updates for Now

Save this for last, when printing broke the same day a specific update installed and nothing above helped.

Uninstall the update

1. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history. On some versions, Update history is under More options.
2. Under Related settings, click Uninstall updates.
3. Pick the update installed on the day your printer quit, select Uninstall, and restart when it finishes.

This requires an administrator account, and a few updates can't be removed at all. On Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history > Uninstall updates.

Hold off the next install

In Settings > Windows Update, use the pause option to stop updates for as long as 35 days. Once that date arrives, Windows resumes and installs whatever is newest.

Undo a full version upgrade

Did printing stop after a larger upgrade, like moving to the next yearly release of Windows 11? Open Settings > System > Recovery and choose Go back. The option usually disappears about 10 days after the upgrade. Your files stay, but apps and drivers installed after the upgrade are removed. If you don't see Go back, that window has closed.

Treat this as a stopgap. Windows updates are cumulative, so next month's update brings the same changes back. Use the time to fix the driver or settings, or keep an eye on Microsoft's Windows release health page for a fix. Going without security updates for long leaves your computer exposed.

Still on Windows 10? Microsoft ended support on October 14, 2025. Only PCs enrolled in Extended Security Updates still get security fixes, so removing one is an even bigger trade-off.

Windows Ready Print, Protected Print Mode, and Your HP Printer

Windows is shifting printing duties from HP's and other brands' drivers to Microsoft's own system, now branded Windows Ready Print. That doesn't retire your HP. It does account for many of the odd driver names and missing settings people have noticed since early 2026.

Key dates

• January 15, 2026: New printer drivers no longer get published through Windows Update for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025. Microsoft reviews updates to existing drivers one at a time.
• July 2026: When you add a new printer, Windows 11 prefers its built-in IPP driver wherever the printer supports it. Printers already set up stay as they are.
• July 1, 2027: Printer makers' driver updates will be limited to security fixes.

Microsoft also says drivers that are already released can still be installed, and HP's own installers keep working.

A new setting in Printers & scanners

Default install printers using Windows Ready Print controls which driver Windows picks when you add a printer. With it on, Windows uses its built-in driver where supported. With it off, Windows falls back to its standard driver selection, which may choose HP's driver. It has no effect on printers you already have.

HP Print Support Application

HP's answer to Windows' built-in driver is the HP Print Support Application, which used to be called the HP Universal Print Application. It runs on top of Microsoft's driver and adds color, two-sided printing, and paper size options. It supports select DeskJet, ENVY, LaserJet, OfficeJet Pro, and Smart Tank models on Windows 11, and HP recommends version 24H2 or later. On supported printers, it installs automatically when you add the printer with the HP app, HP Easy Start, or Windows Plug and Play.

Windows protected print mode

This optional Windows 11 security setting only allows Windows' built-in printing. Before you turn it on, here's what HP says happens to HP printers:

• Existing HP printer drivers are deleted, and printers set up with them stop working.
• New HP printer drivers can't be installed.
• Turning the mode off later doesn't bring the drivers back. You have to reinstall them.

With it on, you can still print by adding the printer as an IPP Device, or through the HP Print Support Application on supported models. In Printers & scanners, printers that work with this mode show a small shield icon.

If your HP vanished after someone turned it on: go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, scroll to Printer preferences, and select Turn off under Windows protected print mode. Then reinstall the printer with Fix 6. If your organization turned it on through Group Policy, you'll need your administrator.

Keep the Next Windows Update From Breaking Your Printer

Monthly updates aren't going away, so a little prep now makes the next one a non-event.

• Test on update week. Microsoft releases its monthly security updates on the second Tuesday. Print a test page the next morning, before you need the printer for something that can't wait.
• Give your printer an address that doesn't change. Reserving the printer's IP address in your router keeps Windows from losing track of it after a restart. Our HP printer offline guide shows how.
• Keep the printer's firmware current. HP firmware updates can help printers keep up with network and security changes on the Windows side.
• Know your setup. Write down your printer's model number and whether you use the HP app, HP's full software, or Windows' built-in driver. A reinstall goes much faster when you know what you're reinstalling.
• Check before you turn on protected print mode. Look for the shield icon next to your printer in Printers & scanners first.
• Keep Windows Update's hands off your drivers (Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions only). Run gpedit.msc, then open Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Manage updates offered from Windows Update. Enable Do not include drivers with Windows Updates. Be aware that this stops Windows Update from delivering any driver at all, for graphics, audio, and everything else, so driver updates become your job. On a company PC, ask IT before touching it.

Signs the Update Isn't the Real Problem

Windows updates take the blame for plenty they didn't cause. Look somewhere else if:

• Your phone can't print either. When printing fails from every device, the issue is the printer or your network. Start with our HP printer not printing guide.
• The printer shows an error, a flashing light, or a message on its screen. That's the printer asking for attention, like a jam, a cartridge problem, or a stalled carriage. Look up the message in our HP printer error codes and messages guide.
• Something changed with your Wi-Fi. A new router, a new Wi-Fi password, or a router firmware update can knock the printer off the network the same week Windows updates. See HP printer not connecting to Wi-Fi.
• Pages print, but they're faded, streaky, or blank. That usually points to ink, toner, or the printhead rather than Windows.