Xerox Printer Not Working After a Windows Update

You installed a Windows update, restarted, and now your Xerox won't cooperate. It might show as offline. Jobs might pile up in the queue and never print. Or the printer's own screen might be showing an error it never showed before. (If the message is on the printer's display, our Xerox printer code errors and messages page is a better place to start.)

The good news is that a Windows update changes the software on your computer, not the printer itself. The driver, the port, and a few security rules are what shift, so every fix below happens on the PC. Try one at a time and send a test page after each, so you know which one worked.

Why a Windows Update Can Knock Out a Xerox Printer

Microsoft's own documentation says printer drivers might not work as expected after a Windows update. With Xerox printers, that usually shows up in one of four ways:

• The driver changed or stopped working. Under Microsoft's published timeline, Windows has ranked its built-in IPP driver ahead of third-party drivers since July 1, 2026. So a Xerox that gets removed and re-added can come back on Microsoft's driver instead of Xerox's, with fewer Xerox-specific options.
• The port changed. Windows can set a network printer up on a WSD (Web Service Device) port. Xerox has support articles for print jobs that fail on WSD and recommends a Standard TCP/IP port instead.
• The print queue jammed. One stuck job can freeze the spooler, the Windows service that handles print jobs, and everything behind it waits.
• Security rules tightened. Windows 11 24H2 changed how it handles SMB, which affects scanning to your PC. Windows Protected Print Mode can also remove printers that use third-party drivers. Both are covered further down.

Not sure where to start? Match what you're seeing:

Fixes to Try, in Order

Step 1: Power cycle the printer, then restart your PC

Turn the printer off, unplug it, and wait 30 seconds. Plug it back in, power it on, and give it a minute to finish starting up and reconnect to your network. Then restart your computer and send a test page. It's basic, but Microsoft lists it first in its own printer guide because it clears temporary glitches on both ends.

Step 2: Clear the print queue and restart the spooler

If jobs are sitting in the queue and won't print or delete, the Print Spooler is probably jammed.

1. Search for Services in the Start menu and open it.
2. Find Print Spooler, right-click it, and choose Stop.
3. Open File Explorer, paste %WINDIR%\system32\spool\printers into the address bar, and delete everything inside that folder. Leave the folder itself alone.
4. Back in Services, right-click Print Spooler and choose Start. Double-click it and make sure Startup type is set to Automatic.

Send another test page.

Step 3: Run the Windows printer troubleshooter

Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and look for the option to run the troubleshooter. It opens in the Get Help app and runs a few automatic checks. Treat it as a two-minute check, not the fix. If it finds nothing or can't repair the problem, move on.

Step 4: Check which port your Xerox is using

This is the step most people skip, and it matters most when the printer says Offline even though it's clearly on and connected.

1. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and select your Xerox.
2. Choose Printer properties and open the Ports tab.
3. Look at the port that's checked. If it says WSD, or it's a TCP/IP port whose IP address no longer matches the printer's current one, that's likely your culprit.
4. Select Add Port, choose Standard TCP/IP Port, then New Port. Enter the printer's current IP address, click Next, then Finish. Windows assigns the new port to the printer. Send a test page.

To find the IP address, look in the network or connectivity settings on the printer's control panel (the menu name varies by model) or print a configuration report. If Add Port is grayed out, you need an administrator account, or your IT team. Once it's working, consider having your router reserve that IP address for the printer so it doesn't change again.

Step 5: Remove the printer and reinstall it with Xerox's installer

Get the software from Xerox's own support site, not a third-party driver site.

1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select your Xerox, and choose Remove.
2. If the same problem keeps coming back, remove the old driver package too. Open Print Server Properties (in Windows 11 it's under the related settings on the Printers & scanners page), go to the Drivers tab, select the Xerox driver, click Remove, and choose Remove driver and driver package. You'll need administrator rights, and Windows won't remove a driver that another installed printer still uses.
3. Restart your PC.
4. On Xerox's support site, find your exact model under Drivers & Downloads and download the Xerox Smart Start installer. Xerox recommends it because it detects your printer and installs the recommended driver for it. Pick your printer from the list (or enter its IP address if it isn't listed), choose Quick Install, and wait for the confirmation message.

Step 6: Check whether Windows moved your Xerox to its built-in driver

Open Printer properties, go to the Advanced tab, and look at the driver name. If it reads Microsoft IPP Class Driver, Windows is using its own driver instead of Xerox's.

That isn't automatically a problem. Microsoft built that driver for Mopria-certified printers, over network or USB, and says most new printers are Mopria certified. You can check your model on Mopria's list. Where you can lose out is Xerox-specific settings. Xerox's answer is the free Xerox Print and Scan Experience app from the Microsoft Store (Smart Start can install it too), which gives you Xerox's own settings from inside the print dialog. If you'd rather run Xerox's full driver, repeat Step 5 and use Smart Start's Advanced Install to choose it yourself.

Step 7: Last resort: roll back the driver or remove the update

Roll back the driver. Open Device Manager, expand Print queues (or Printers), right-click your Xerox, choose Properties, and open the Driver tab. If Roll Back Driver is available, use it. If it's grayed out, there's no earlier version to go back to.

Uninstall the update. Go to Start > Settings > Windows Update > More options > Update history > Uninstall updates, pick the update that landed just before the trouble started, and select Uninstall. Microsoft gives two cautions: some updates can't be removed, and you should understand the risks before removing a security update. Before you do it, check Windows release health to see whether Microsoft has already acknowledged a printing problem with that update. If pulling the update fixes things, you can pause updates for a while from Settings > Windows Update, but don't leave the PC unpatched for long.

When Printing Works but Something Else Doesn't

Scan to computer stopped working

Scanning to a shared folder on your PC runs over SMB, and Windows 11 24H2 changed the defaults. Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions now require SMB signing on both outgoing and incoming connections. Home doesn't. A scanner that can't sign its traffic can be turned away, and the scan fails even though printing is fine.

Start by checking Xerox's support page for your model for newer firmware. Then confirm the scan destination on the printer uses port 445, which is what Xerox's Scan to SMB setup guides call for. Turning signing off on the PC weakens its security, so treat that as a last resort and involve whoever manages your network first.

A printer that vanished on a work or managed PC

Windows Protected Print Mode is a Windows 11 security setting that limits printing to Windows' built-in method. When it's switched on, printers that use third-party drivers are uninstalled, and some scanners aren't available in this mode either. To check, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and look under Printer preferences for Windows protected print mode.

If your employer turned it on through Group Policy, you can't switch it off yourself, so ask your IT team. If your Xerox is Mopria certified, you can add it back and it will use Windows' built-in printing instead.