Microsoft confirms weird printing issues and uncalled HP Smart App installations on Windows

Microsoft has confirmed weird printing issues plaguing Windows 10 and 11 customers. The company has updated its official Windows Health Dashboard documentation with details about the HP Smart App invading PCs and printers changing their names and icons. Additional symptoms include the "No tasks are available for this page" error when clicking on a printer.

According to Microsoft, all three problems are related to printer configurations on systems with access to the Microsoft Store. Therefore, Windows 10 and 11 installations without the Microsoft Store should continue working as they should, with no changes in printer names or apps. Besides, printing processes "are not expected to be affected" regardless of whether your computer has the Microsoft Store app or not. You should be able to queue printing jobs and use additional features, such as copying or scanning.

As for affected platforms, according to Microsoft, all Windows 10 and 11 versions, both consumer and server editions, are hit. Those include the following:

Sadly, the documentation says nothing about workarounds or temporary fixes. Microsoft only said it is investigating the problem with its partners and it would provide an update when more information is available. Also, the issue is not related to Windows Update, so there is no "originating update" you can uninstall to resolve the situation. But if you noticed the HP Smart App on your system and you do not use HP printers, feel free to uninstall it.

You can find more information about the issue here.

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