By Aminu Abdullahi
Publication Date: 2026-02-10 15:44:00
Microsoft has officially begun a multi-year process to phase out support for the aging software that enables millions of older printers to work with Windows 11.
The company isn’t pulling the plug overnight, but the roadmap is now clear. Starting this year, the pipeline for new driver updates for these legacy machines via Windows Update is effectively closed. But don’t panic and drag your printer to the curb just yet. According to Microsoft’s support page, this shift is about future updates, not a sudden bricking of your existing hardware.
As of January 15, 2026, Microsoft has stopped publishing new “v3” or “v4” printer drivers to Windows Update for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025. If a printer manufacturer desperately needs a new driver approved, it will be a rare, case-by-case exception.
This marks the next step in a transition Microsoft first announced back in September 2023, giving…
