Microsoft was wrong: Windows 11 is not ending support for legacy printer drivers after all

"If your printer works today, it will continue to work" Microsoft says as it issues correction around plans to end support for legacy printer drivers.

In a statement issued to Windows Central, Microsoft has confirmed that the company is not planning to end support for legacy printer drivers on Windows 11. The correction comes after the Windows Roadmap was updated to incorrectly imply support for V3 and V4 printer drivers were being deprecated in the OS last month.

"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," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "As of Jan 15, 2026, legacy drivers submitted to Windows Hardware Quality Labs and published to Windows Update will only be approved on a case-by-case basis, as described in the End of Servicing Plan for Third-Party Printer Drivers on Windows on Microsoft Learn"

The company says that "an update to the Windows Roadmap stated that Windows will no longer support V3 and V4 printer drivers—this update was inaccurate and has since been removed." It's clear that Microsoft's original wording around this confused people as it implied that support was being outright removed. That's not the case.

This is good news for Windows users who are still using older printers, as it means your printer should continue to work on the latest versions of Windows 11 with no problems. The only thing that's changing is that hardware makers will no longer be able to submit new legacy drivers for Windows Update certification, with certain exceptions.

Microsoft has been on a deprecation spree with Windows 11 in the last handful of years, so it's no surprise to see that people believed Microsoft when it said that support for legacy printer drivers was being deprecated. Luckily, at least for now, that's not actually the case, and older printer drivers should continue to work just fine for the foreseeable future.

The latest Windows 11 update is actually a good one, with improvements to overall system performance and reliability, UI updates, and new features such as support for Emoji 16, a built-in network speed test tool, and an updated Widgets Panel, which are all beginning to roll out now