This one sounds ominous at first. Microsoft is killing Windows 11 driver support for older printers. OK, deep breath. This is something that’s been around for a few years, and it’s a migration of driver compatibility, and a removal of older-style drivers from Windows Update. If your printer manufacturer still provides Windows 11 drivers, that’s actually the most robust place to get drivers for your printer anyway. The downside will be amongst the printers that are so old that the older Microsoft V3 and V4 printer drivers were helping your printer limp along far past its prime. Microsoft is doing this to alleviate some of the stress of supporting the 7 remaining BrandX Model 1 and Model 2, which BrandX stopped supporting after release some 20 years ago, and nobody expected them to last this long anyway. It’s not pretty, but it’s also a part of old hardware just no longer being worth anyone supporting.
Microsoft cuts off new third-party print driver releases via Windows Update.
