Recently, news emerged about Microsoft making important changes to printer driver support in Windows 11. Microsoft said that starting January 2026, Windows would stop supporting V3 and V4 printer drivers, as they were deprecated in late 2023. This led many to think that their old printers would stop working after installing the latest Windows updates. As it turns out, that was not true.
Microsoft issued a new statement to clarify that the initial announcement about the discontinued V3 and V4 printer drivers was inaccurate. As such, the company removed it from the Windows Roadmap website and explained that all printers that currently work with Windows 11 will continue working, and there are no actions required from users. However, each new legacy driver submitted to Hardware Quality Labs and published to Windows Update will be approved on a case-by-case basis.
Here is the original announcement:
"January 2026, Windows will no longer support V3 and V4 printer drivers. These older driver models were announced as deprecated in September 2023."
And here is the latest statement from a Microsoft spokesperson:
"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."
So what is actually going on? For users, nothing. If you have a computer connected to an old printer, it should continue working as is. For manufacturers and driver developers, though, legacy drivers can only be approved as exceptions. Microsoft wants everyone to use the modern printing stack and clean it of legacy drivers (it is ditching V3 and V4 drivers in favor of the Mopria standard that makes it easier for Windows to print on any printer), but that does not mean that the company intends to kill your 15-year-old Brother.
Via Windows Central