Microsoft puts an end to rumors that old printers and legacy drivers will no longer be supported in Windows.
A message Microsoft shared four weeks ago on the Windows Roadmap caused confusion. Microsoft wrote then that ‘legacy V3 and V4 drivers are no longer supported’. Because many old printer models use these types of drivers to install updates, there were fears of an impending printer graveyard.
Microsoft has now issued a mea culpa for the confusion. In a statement to Windows Central, it assures Windows users that their printers will continue to work. “Windows has not ended support for legacy printer drivers. If your printer works with Windows today, it will continue to work and you don’t need to do anything,” Microsoft said.
In-house drivers first
What Microsoft has changed is that driver requests must now first pass through a manual review process. It is therefore unlikely that Microsoft will still allow requests for legacy drivers, but that is not the same as actively blocking programs that were once approved. Microsoft admits that the original wording was incorrect and has removed the post.
As of July 1, the internal rules for ranking drivers will change, so that if multiple options are available, preference is automatically given to the built-in Microsoft IPP class driver. Next year, Microsoft will only allow security fixes via third-party programs. The Protected Print mode in Windows already blocks these automatically.
With these changes, Microsoft aims to centralize the fragmented ecosystem as much as possible via Windows Update. Printers are a popular target for hackers due to often outdated drivers and because they are connected to the network. Microsoft considers it a security concern that many manufacturers have their own drivers. This new approach should give Microsoft more oversight and control over the printer landscape in Windows.