Microsoft has cured this Windows 11 printer nightmare – but the fix might surprise you
Windows 11 users (and Windows 10 users too) have been dealing with strange issues surrounding a frustrating bug with printers, but the good news is that there is now a fix.
The bad news is that it's not exactly a simple fix as Microsoft, rather unusually, requires the installation of a standalone troubleshooting tool to facilitate repairs.
As we previously reported, the problem is that PCs install the HP Smart app with no HP printer connected (or in some cases no printer at all) and printers are renamed to a specific HP LaserJet (regardless of their model).
As a result, some of the functionality doesn't work on the affected printers, and there's a lot of headaches going on (especially for those who don't have a printer at all, apparently suffering at the hands of the Microsoft Print to PDF icon being renamed).
In any case, the solution here is as mentioned, but you will have to download the aforementioned troubleshooting tool from Microsoft and execute it.
This will undo the printer renaming, restore the correct icons for printers, and remove the HP Smart app if it should not have been installed.
You can refer to Microsoft's support page for complete instructions on how to use the tool here.
The theory behind this bug was that the printer strangeness occurred due to incorrect metadata provided in a Windows update, which resulted in printers being incorrectly identified as an HP LaserJet.
It seems like this was a good idea, as the tool that brings the solution is called the 'Microsoft Printer Metadata Troubleshooter'.
Normally we would expect the fix to be implemented via Windows Update, so as mentioned it is quite unusual to have to perform a separate download. In short, it's a somewhat clunky process, but at least it's a fix that was sorely needed for some people, as this bug could, in some cases, prevent functions beyond basic printing from working.
Through Tom's hardware