Microsoft clarifies Windows 11 printer driver policy — support for legacy printers is not ending

Microsoft confirmed today that Windows 11 is not ending support for legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers despite previous reports, walking back a Windows Roadmap entry from earlier this month that implied those drivers were being cut from the OS entirely.

In a statement to Windows Central, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "Windows has not ended support for legacy printer drivers. If your printer works with Windows today, it will continue to work, and no action is required." The company acknowledged that a Roadmap update stating Windows would "no longer support V3 and V4 printer drivers" was inaccurate and has since been removed from the page.

The confusion stems from what Microsoft did change on January 15, 2026: new V3 and V4 printer driver submissions to Windows Update were blocked by default and now require case-by-case approval for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 and later. That isn’t the same as removing support for those drivers altogether. Existing drivers already available through Windows Update remain accessible, printers already installed and working will continue to function, and vendors can still distribute drivers directly via their own installer packages.

V3 and V4 are older Windows printer driver models that have been around for well over a decade. Microsoft first announced plans to phase out servicing for these legacy driver models back in September 2023, giving hardware partners more than two years to prepare. The push to modernize the Windows print stack is largely in part due to security concerns. Legacy printer drivers, which can run in kernel mode, have historically been a source of serious vulnerabilities, including the class of exploits known as PrintNightmare.

Although Windows has not ended support for legacy drivers, Microsoft’s broader deprecation timeline is still in effect. From July 1 this year, Windows will adjust its internal driver ranking to “prefer” Microsoft’s built-in Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) driver over third-party legacy alternatives when both are available. Then, from July 1, 2027, third-party printer driver updates distributed via Windows Update will be limited to security-related fixes only.

Microsoft also introduced Windows Protected Print Mode with Windows 11 24H2, an optional feature that removes third-party drivers entirely and restricts printing to Microsoft's own class drivers — a hint that Microsoft intends to wean Windows 11 off legacy driver models in the long term. For now, though, your old printer lives to print another day.

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