Printers Disappearing from Windows 11

Gary Tifeld 20 Reputation points
2025-10-17T16:12:14.3666667+00:00

Hello all,

Here’s something I’ve been encountering over the past few months that I haven’t seen addressed anywhere else. I know several people who have been having a problem with their printer disappearing from the list of connected/installed printers. When they go to print as usual, the default choice is to “Save as PDF” and their actual printer does not appear on the list of connected printers. Once they reboot the PC, the printer is back and it works again. It sometimes happens again a day later and sometimes is fine for several weeks, but the problem keeps reoccurring. This happens with all different makers of printers and PC brands. The only consistency seems to be Windows 11. In each case, I’ve been able to verify that the PC has all the latest updates for Windows, PC and printer manufacturers. Is this a known bug and is there a fix?

Thank you in advance.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Devices and drivers
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Answer accepted by question author
IGYQ 21,945 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2025-10-17T17:02:20.4933333+00:00

Hi!

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

This behavior started appearing more frequently after Windows 11 23H2 and KB5036893 / KB5036980 cumulative updates. Fixes are in progress but there is no exact release date of the patch.

You can use this workaround for now.

Method 1: Restart Print Spooler automatically

Set Windows to restart the spooler service when it misbehaves:

  • Press Win + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
  • Find Print Spooler, double-click it.
  • Set Startup type → Automatic (Delayed Start).
  • Under Recovery tab, set First failure, Second failure, Subsequent failures → Restart the Service.
  • Apply, OK.

Method 2: Disable automatic printer management

  • Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
  • Turn off:
    • Let Windows manage my default printer
  • Restart your PC

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  1. philip 1 Reputation point
    2026-08-06T16:29:55.74+00:00

    Although the post is old, the issue is still relevant today. I have the exact issue as the OP stated. It doesn't appear to be specific to a user but to some component in WIN 11. Like the OP said, it is irrelevant to the make and model of the printer.

    Usually, restarting the computer helps or restarting the print spooler does help but I will see if it holds.

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  2. philip 1 Reputation point
    2026-08-26T18:52:14.8966667+00:00

    Just to follow up on this matter. I have a 2nd computer running WIN 11 Enterprise 25H2 with the same problem as the first computer as I mentioned earlier.

    I have 2 different computers with different users and 1 problem... disappearing printers. Typically, I will restart the print spooler and that fixes the issue which buys me a few days. The problem continues to come back even though I restart the spooler. As magically they reappear after restart the spooler they magically disappear as well.

    In my particular environment, I have two Dell Optiplex computers running WIN 11 but the versions and editions are different. I have 2 different users but the same domain. One computer is printing to an IP printer and the other one is IP and USB printers.

    I have some similarities but some differences as well.

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