Microsoft Drops Support for Older Printers, Creating Even More Electronic Waste

Posted by DBDukes February 15, 2026

Microsoft Drops Support for Older Printers, Creating Even More Electronic Waste

Microsoft is dropping support for older printers by phasing out legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers in Windows 11, a decision that is expected to create a massive wave of unnecessary electronic waste. While the company maintains that this shift is a security necessity to close vulnerabilities like the "PrintNightmare" exploit, the practical result is that millions of perfectly functional devices may soon become incompatible with modern systems. Brian from the Britec09 YouTube channel recently highlighted this issue, noting that the update effectively turns these reliable printers into "doorstops" for users who rely on Windows 11.

[YouTube]

The phase-out, which officially began in January 2026, means that Windows will no longer automatically find or install these legacy drivers via Windows Update. Brian points out that the communication regarding this change has been buried deep in technical documentation, often leaving users unaware until their hardware fails to work. He emphasizes that unless manufacturers provide updated, modern drivers, many of these machines are headed for landfills, despite being in perfect working order.

Identifying at Risk Hardware

The transition is staged over several years, but the impact is already being felt. As of January 15, 2026, no new third-party printer drivers are being published to Windows Update for Windows 11 or Windows Server 2025. By July 2026, Windows will prioritize its own internal "inbox" drivers over legacy options, and by July 2027, third-party updates will be restricted entirely to security fixes.

How to Check Your Printer

You can determine if your printer relies on these legacy drivers by checking the driver type in Windows:

Open the Control Panel and go to Devices and Printers.
Right-click any whitespace and select Print server properties.
Click the Drivers tab.
Look at the Type column; if your printer is listed as Type 3 or Type 4, it is part of the legacy group Microsoft is phasing out.

The Microsoft Security Excuse

This policy feels like another example of Microsoft using "security" as a convenient excuse to force hardware refresh cycles. By mandating TPM 2.0 and removing support for functional equipment, they are building a walled garden that prioritizes their AI-driven corporate roadmap over the lifespan of the technology we already own. For many, the choice will be between discarding a perfectly good printer or staying on an older, increasingly unsupported operating system -- a dilemma that clearly favors Microsoft's push toward a newer, more controlled ecosystem.

The most frustrating part of this "security" narrative is that it is entirely platform-dependent. If these printers were truly a universal security risk, every operating system would be rushing to block them. Instead, we see that the rest of the computing world is managing just fine without turning hardware into trash.

Comparison: Why Other Operating Systems Don't Have This Problem

The reason your "obsolete" printer will likely work fine on a Mac, a Chromebook, or a Linux machine is that they all share a common, open-source printing architecture that is fundamentally different from the proprietary Windows system.

Feature	Linux, ChromeOS, and macOS (CUPS)	Windows (Print Spooler)
Core Architecture	CUPS (Common Unix Printing System)	Windows Print Spooler (Proprietary)
Security Risk	Minimal; printers run in isolated "user-space."	High; targeted by PrintNightmare exploits.
Driver Philosophy	Moves toward universal standards (IPP) while keeping legacy "filters" for older hardware.	Phasing out legacy drivers (V3/V4) entirely to reduce "attack surface."
Hardware Life	Prioritizes keeping old hardware functional through community-maintained drivers.	Prioritizes security through forced obsolescence and hardware refresh.
Vendor Control	Users can manually add drivers and PPD files to maintain old hardware.	Microsoft is blocking new legacy driver submissions to Windows Update.

The CUPS Advantage

Unlike Windows, which relies on kernel-level drivers that can grant an attacker full system access, the CUPS architecture used by everyone else is built on the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). This allows these systems to talk to printers as network devices rather than as integrated system components. Because they don't share the Windows Print Spooler code, they aren't vulnerable to PrintNightmare, and therefore have no technical reason to follow Microsoft in "purging" your hardware.

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