windows printing

Microsoft quietly corrected a badly worded roadmap entry this month, but the technical reality behind that correction — a staged, multi‑year rework of how Windows distributes and prioritizes printer drivers — is very much real, and it will change how millions of machines discover, install, and...

Microsoft’s backpedal on recent roadmap wording won’t change the direction of travel: Windows 11 is not suddenly dropping support for legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers overnight, but the plumbing that delivered those drivers to millions of PCs has been reconfigured — and the practical effect for...

Microsoft has quietly flipped a major switch in Windows 11’s print ecosystem: beginning in mid‑January 2026 Microsoft stopped accepting and automatically publishing new legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers through Windows Update, and is steering Windows toward the Microsoft IPP inbox class driver...

Microsoft has quietly converted a long‑teased roadmap into enforced policy: as of January 15, 2026, Windows Update will no longer act as the default distribution channel for new legacy V3 and V4 third‑party printer drivers for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025+. That change is the first hard...

It’s happening quietly, but it’s consequential: Microsoft has stopped automatically distributing new legacy printer drivers (the long-familiar V3 and V4 packages) through Windows Update for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025, and the company has published a clear multi‑year timeline that...

Microsoft's recent enforcement of a long‑announced cleanup in the Windows printing stack has left a noisy trail of headlines — but the real story is more nuanced: Windows 11 has begun moving away from vendor-supplied legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers as a primary distribution channel, favoring...

Microsoft’s multi-year clean‑up of the Windows print stack has moved from planning to practice, and its consequences are now material for home users, IT teams, and printer manufacturers: Windows Update has stopped accepting routine V3/V4 printer driver submissions for Windows 11 and Windows...

Microsoft has quietly accelerated a long‑planned pivot: as of mid‑January 2026 Windows Update will no longer be the default delivery channel for new third‑party V3 and V4 printer drivers on Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025, and the platform will progressively prefer Microsoft’s IPP inbox class...

Microsoft has quietly moved a long‑announced printing modernization from roadmap to reality: beginning January 15, 2026, Windows Update will generally stop publishing new third‑party legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025+, with follow‑on milestones that change...

Microsoft’s quiet, multi‑year cleanup of Windows’ printing stack has moved from roadmap to reality: beginning January 15, 2026 Microsoft stopped publishing new legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers to Windows Update for Windows 11 (and Windows Server 2025+), and a staged timeline now directs most...

Microsoft’s recent roadmap language startled a lot of people: a sentence suggesting that Windows would “no longer support V3 and V4 printer drivers starting in January 2026” read like a doomsday notice for legacy printers. The reality, when you step back and read Microsoft’s detailed guidance...

Microsoft has stopped publishing new legacy V3 and V4 third‑party printer drivers to Windows Update for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 as of January 15, 2026, forcing a shift from automatic, OS‑mediated driver delivery toward vendor‑supplied installers and a standards‑based, inbox‑driven...

Microsoft's quiet-but-significant shift in Windows 11 printing means that, as of January 15, 2026, the operating system will no longer publish new V3 and V4 printer drivers through Windows Update for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025+. Existing drivers that were already on Windows Update will...

Microsoft’s quiet, staged decision to stop publishing new legacy printer drivers (the V3 and V4 models) to Windows Update for Windows 11 marks one of the most consequential — and least understood — shifts in the Windows device ecosystem in years. Effective January 15, 2026, Microsoft moved the...

Microsoft has begun enforcing the long‑announced phase‑out of legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers for Windows 11, turning a multi‑year deprecation plan into an operational migration for IT teams, small businesses, schools, and anyone still running older printers that depend on vendor kernel...

Microsoft’s long‑planned cleanup of Windows’ printing stack has reached a critical phase: legacy V3 and V4 third‑party printer drivers will no longer be serviced through Windows Update beginning in January 2026, and Windows 11 is being reconfigured to prefer the modern IPP inbox class driver and...

Microsoft has quietly begun enforcing a long‑announced cleanup of Windows’ printing stack: starting with January 2026 updates, Windows 11 will stop servicing legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers through Windows Update and will prefer Microsoft's modern IPP inbox class driver and Print Support Apps...