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Windows Central
Windows Central
Technology
Mauro Huculak

Windows 11 is finally killing off legacy printer drivers in 2026 — and it’s going to shake up a lot of older hardware

A Lenovo laptop running Windows 11 showing Printer settings with a bunch of old, dusty printers behind the laptop.

Microsoft is moving forward with a long-planned cleanup of the Windows 11 printing stack. Starting with the non-security update released in January 2026, Windows 11 no longer supports legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers, a change that will affect devices running versions 24H2 and 25H2 as the rollout gradually expands.

The company first announced the deprecation of V3 and V4 printer drivers in September 2023, giving hardware partners and customers more than two years to prepare. As the final cutoff now approaching, Microsoft is signaling that the transition to modern printing is no longer optional for Windows 11 users.

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