Microsoft is currently investigating printer issues reported by numerous users after Windows updates and is planning a corrective update to fix the error. Those affected are noisy Microsoft Notice Windows 10 client versions 20H2 through 21H2 and Windows Server version 20H2. In the support article, Microsoft also requests that affected users submit appropriate feedback through the Feedback Hub.
Printing errors will occur as soon as the preview is updated. KB5014666 dated June 28, 2022, or the security update KB5015807 on July 12, 2022. The latest security update contains the fixes from the June 2022 preview update.
According to the Microsoft support article, the problem is that the printers appear twice in the list of devices, usually with a similar name and the suffix “Copy1”. Or applications that reference an existing printer name can no longer print. In both cases, the printing function is interrupted after the installation of the update. Uninstalling the updates restores printing functionality in most cases.
various solutions
Until a fix update is available, Microsoft proposes various solutions to help you print again. This includes navigating to Bluetooth Printers & Scanners & Devices in the Settings app and checking printer settings. If duplicates of a printer entry appear there, you need to check if a printer entry works. If the original printer entry can be used for printing, the second printer entry can be removed by adding “Copy1” or something similar.
If that doesn’t help, Microsoft suggests removing the printer and adding it back. It also suggests trying to install the latest printer driver. Microsoft describes the procedural steps in detail in the support article.
Unplug the USB connector and plug it back in
However, there are indications that the Microsoft support article does not describe the full scope of the issues. After the July 2022 patch day, multiple administrators in the enterprise environment contacted the author of the article and reported printing issues. In some cases, simply unplugging the printer’s USB port and plugging it back in was enough. Windows assigned or installed the correct printer driver.
Other users complained of errors printing to Lexmark devices, which could be cleared by turning the device off, unplugging it from the printer connection, and plugging/turning it back on, including updating the driver. Additional issues with offline HP laser printers have been reported. There doesn’t seem to be a solution here yet.
In many cases the cause of the error was trivial, the option to use the USB port for printing in the printer properties was no longer checked. Manually setting this option in the printer properties fixed the issue. There have also been cases where all printer ports completely disappeared after installing the July 2022 update.
(axk)
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