Microsoft (MS) will stop updating printer companies’ drivers in Windows. On the 8th, MS announced this fact through a notice on its website titled ‘Termination of service plan for third-party Windows printer drivers.’ Of course, this does not mean that printer driver support will no longer be provided. However, this means that it becomes difficult to receive printer updates on Windows itself, and that it will be supported in a different way a few years later.
Let’s look at the specific schedule. Starting in September of this year, existing third-party printer drivers with plans to end service will be announced. From 2025 onwards, new printer drivers will no longer be published on Windows Update. Starting in 2027, third-party printer driver updates will no longer be allowed, except for security-related fixes.
According to a report by BGR, this change in driver implementation method has already begun with Windows 10 version 21H2, released in April 2022. In this version, MS provides support for printer devices through the Microsoft IPP class driver. This method eliminates the need for printer manufacturers to provide their own installers, drivers, and utilities. Customization of the device experience is available through automatically installed printing support apps distributed through the Windows Store.
For decades now, Microsoft has allowed third-party printer companies to bundle their drivers with Windows Update, making it easy to update them to the latest software. However, now Microsoft plans to encourage developers to use the MS Store to update printer drivers. This is interpreted as an intention to make other developers rely on the MS Store to distribute software and apps.
MS explained that this solution is supported on all Windows versions and versions, eliminating the need for printer manufacturers to recreate and distribute software, and improving stability and performance. Additionally, support for Windows 10 is scheduled to end in the next few years, and users should prepare for the change by updating to Windows 11.
However, in the early stages of such large changes, errors often occur and performance and stability deteriorate. Additionally, it is expected that it will be difficult to avoid confusion among printer manufacturers and users who have been accustomed to the existing method for a long time.
Source = MS
