Printer Drivers on Windows: What Changed in 2026

You went hunting for a printer driver download and the manufacturer's page was unhelpful. There is a reason for that. It is not you.

Microsoft has been retiring the old printer driver system in stages, and two of those stages have already passed. Windows now prefers its own built-in driver over the one your printer maker wrote.

That sounds alarming and mostly is not. I have taken what actually changed, with the dates. Microsoft published them.

The short version of what replaced them

Windows has had a built-in printer driver for years. It is now the default rather than the fallback.

Documented by Microsoft on its end of servicing page: "With the release of Windows 10 21H2, Windows offers inbox support for Mopria compliant printer devices over network and USB interfaces via the Microsoft IPP Class Driver."

And what that was meant to achieve: "This removes the need for print device manufacturers to provide their own installers, drivers, utilities, and so on."

⭐ So the thing you were hunting for may not need installing. A Mopria certified printer works from what Windows already has.

⚡ Customization moved to the Store. Microsoft's wording: "Device experience customization is now available via the Print Support Apps that are distributed and automatically installed via the Windows Store."

The dates, and two of them are behind us

Microsoft published the timeline. Better than letting people find out by accident.

The announcement itself was September 2023, which Microsoft records as "Announced legacy third-party printer driver for Windows end of servicing plan."

15 January 2026: "For Windows 11+ and Windows Server 2025+, no new printer drivers will be published to Windows Update. Existing printer drivers on Windows Update can still be updated but only approved on a case-by-case basis."

1 July 2026: "Printer driver ranking order modified to always prefer Windows IPP inbox class driver."

1 July 2027: "Except for security-related fixes, third-party printer driver updates will no longer be allowed."

⭐ Both 2026 dates have passed. So if your printer behaves differently from how a two year old guide describes, that is why.

⚠️ The July 2026 one is the one you can feel. Windows now picks its own driver ahead of the manufacturer's when both are available.

What this does not mean, in Microsoft's own answers

The reassuring half. Worth reading before anybody panics.

Will Windows block manufacturer drivers? Microsoft: "Windows will continue to allow vendor-supplied printer drivers to be installed via separate installation packages."

Will existing drivers stop installing? Microsoft: "Existing printer drivers can be installed on Windows PCs, even after the end of servicing."

Will features be removed? Microsoft: "There are no plans to disable print features specifically related to the legacy printer driver platform."

⭐ Nothing is being taken away from a printer that works today. The change is about what arrives through Windows Update. Not about what runs on your machine.

⚡ And security fixes continue, for as long as your Windows version is in support.

What to do when you need a driver now

The practical part. This is the order that works after these changes.

First, just add the printer and let Windows try. On a Mopria certified device it will use the IPP class driver and you are finished. The add flow and what to do when it is not found is a separate job.

Second, let Windows Update look. Printer drivers still reach you that way, and existing ones can still be updated.

Third, go to the maker's site only if something is missing. A feature you use. A scanner endpoint. A tray you cannot select.

⛔ Do not start at the manufacturer's site out of habit. That was the right order in 2015 and it is the slow one now.

Whether you should update a printer driver at all

The answer is usually no, and here is why that holds.

⭐ A printer that prints correctly does not need a newer driver. The same is true of drivers generally, and the reasoning holds here.

⚡ Update when you have a named problem that a release note says was fixed. Not because a version number differs.

⚠️ And a manufacturer utility is not a driver. The suite that runs at startup to check ink levels is optional, whatever its installer implies.

Multi-function printers, and what still works

The question this change raises, and Microsoft answered it directly.

Microsoft's FAQ: "Will multi-function devices (print, scan, fax) work over IPP? Yes, they will."

The detail for network devices: "the Print and Fax endpoints will work via IPP and IPP Fax Out, respectively, while the Scan endpoint will work via WS-Scan or eSCL."

And the caveat for USB: "For USB devices, the endpoints will only be accessible when the USB interface is in IPP Over USB mode."

⚠️ That USB condition is the one to watch. A cheap older all-in-one on a cable may print fine from the built-in driver. And still want the maker's software to scan.

⭐ Ours, and marked as ours: is scanning what you need, and is it not working from Windows alone? That is the case where the manufacturer package is still the right answer.

Which printers keep getting manufacturer drivers

Microsoft named the exceptions. It did not leave them implied.

Drivers can still be signed for: "A printer that cannot be Mopria certified", submissions "specifying a ceiling of Windows 10 or lower", and "Native ARM64 printer drivers".

⭐ So an older or unusual printer is explicitly catered for. It is not being pushed off a cliff.

⚡ Look for the Mopria logo on the box or the maker's spec page. It tells you the built-in driver route will work.

If your printer stopped working around one of these dates

Practical, because that may well be why you are here at all.

⛔ Check whether Windows swapped the driver. After the July 2026 ranking change, a printer that had a manufacturer driver may now be on the IPP class driver.

⭐ Ours: did a specific feature disappear rather than printing failing? Remove the printer and add it back with the manufacturer's own package. Microsoft confirms those still install.

⚠️ If printing fails entirely rather than losing a feature, that is a different fault. It starts with the test page.

⚡ And a printer that vanished from the network is not a driver problem at all. Discovery is the thing to skip past.

Status: gone over the dates 23 August 2026 against Microsoft's published end of servicing plan, which was last updated in May 2025. Every date, timeline entry and FAQ answer quoted here comes from that page. Two of the four dates, January and July 2026, are already in the past at the time of writing, and this page reads them as history rather than as forthcoming.

Do I still need to install printer drivers on Windows?

Often not, on your machine or anybody else's. Microsoft states that Windows has offered inbox support for Mopria compliant printers via the Microsoft IPP Class Driver since Windows 10 21H2. It says this removes the need for manufacturers to supply their own installers. Add the printer first and see whether Windows handles it.

What changed with printer drivers in 2026?

Two things. From 15 January 2026, no new third-party printer drivers reach Windows Update on Windows 11 and Server 2025. From 1 July 2026, Windows ranks its own IPP inbox class driver first.

Will my printer stop working?

Microsoft says no. Vendor drivers can still be installed from separate packages. Existing drivers still install after the end of servicing, and there are no plans to disable print features tied to the legacy platform. Security fixes continue while your Windows version is supported.

Can I still scan from an all-in-one printer?

Yes for network devices, where scanning works over WS-Scan or eSCL. For USB devices, Microsoft says the endpoints are only accessible in IPP Over USB mode. So an older USB all-in-one may still need the manufacturer's software to scan.

The Short Version

• Windows has had a built-in printer driver since Windows 10 21H2, and it is now preferred.
• Microsoft announced the end of servicing for legacy third-party printer drivers in September 2023.
• Since 15 January 2026 no new third-party drivers are published to Windows Update.
• Since 1 July 2026 Windows ranks its own IPP inbox class driver first.
• From 1 July 2027 only security fixes are allowed for third-party printer drivers.
• Manufacturer drivers can still be installed from their own packages. Microsoft says so plainly.
• Add the printer and let Windows try first. Go to the maker's site only if something is missing.
• Scanning over USB may still need the maker's software, which Microsoft states as a condition.

Where to Next

Add the printer and let Windows use what it already has. On a Mopria certified device that is the whole job now, and it is faster than any download.

Only go to the manufacturer if something is missing afterwards. Most often that is scanning on an older USB all-in-one.

If a feature disappeared rather than printing failing, remove the printer and add it back with the maker's own package. Microsoft confirms those still install.

Where the right driver is installed but jobs land on the wrong device, that is the default printer setting rather than the driver.

And if your printer lost a function around July 2026, tell me the model and what stopped. That is exactly the case these dates predict and real examples would be worth having.