Windows 11 Ready Print: IPP Is the Default in 2026
From July 2026 Windows 11 installs printers driverless over IPP by default. Here is what changes, what can break, and how to fix printing when it does.
Microsoft just changed how Windows installs printers, and most people will not notice until a printer behaves differently. Starting with the July 2026 update, Windows 11 installs new printers driverless over IPP by default instead of downloading a manufacturer driver. For modern printers this is faster and safer. For older ones, it is where mystery printing problems start.
Quick answer
From July 2026, Windows 11 defaults to "Windows Ready Print," installing new printers with its built-in IPP driver instead of a manufacturer driver. It only affects printers you add from now on, not queues you already set up. Mopria-certified and IPP Everywhere printers just work. If an older printer loses a feature (special trays, custom color modes) or will not print, install the manufacturer's own driver or app to override the inbox driver. Nothing you have already installed changes on its own.
Key takeaways
- Windows Ready Print (the renamed Modern Print Platform) is now the default for new printer installs on Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025.
- It uses Microsoft's IPP inbox driver, so no third-party driver is downloaded. This is driverless printing.
- The change applies to new installations only; existing printer queues keep working as they are.
- Mopria-certified / IPP Everywhere printers are guaranteed to work with the inbox driver.
- If you lose an advanced feature or a printer will not work, installing the vendor driver or app overrides the inbox driver.
What "Windows Ready Print" actually is
For years, adding a printer meant Windows hunted down a manufacturer driver, often a large package with its own updater and background services. That model is what made printing fragile and was the root of the PrintNightmare class of vulnerabilities, where malicious print drivers could run code with system privileges.
Windows Ready Print replaces that with a single, standardized path built on IPP (Internet Printing Protocol), an open network standard for sending print jobs, plus Microsoft's IPP class driver. Instead of a unique driver per model, Windows talks to the printer using the same standard language, the way your phone already prints to most printers without installing anything. The security payoff is real: no third-party driver means the entire PrintNightmare attack surface largely disappears.
What changes on July 1, 2026 (and what does not)
The most important thing to understand is how narrow the change is. Microsoft altered the driver ranking so the Windows IPP inbox driver is preferred over third-party drivers during new printer installations. It does not reach into printers you already added and convert them.
| Scenario | What happens |
|---|---|
| Printer you already set up | No change; keeps its current driver and settings |
| Add a Mopria / IPP Everywhere printer | Installs driverless over IPP, works immediately |
| Add an older printer with no IPP support | Windows tries IPP first; may fall back or need the vendor driver |
| You install the manufacturer's driver or app | That driver takes over and overrides the inbox default |
So if your home printer has worked fine for a year, this update does not touch it. The behavior only shows up the next time you add a printer.
The upside: faster setup and fewer crashes
For a Mopria-certified or reasonably modern network printer, this is a clear win:
- Setup is instant. Windows detects the printer and prints with no driver download, no vendor installer, no reboot.
- No bloat. You skip the tray-icon updater and background service that many printer suites install.
- Fewer spooler crashes. A huge share of "print spooler keeps stopping" problems trace back to a bad third-party driver. Removing it removes the crash.
- Better security. Driverless printing closes the door on malicious-driver attacks like PrintNightmare.
If your printing has been reliable, you may simply notice that adding a printer got quicker.
The downside: older printers and lost features
Driverless printing standardizes on common features. If your printer relies on vendor-specific extras, the inbox IPP driver may not expose them:
- Specialty trays, booklet or stapling finishers, and unusual paper sizes
- Custom color-management or photo modes on inkjets
- Proprietary scan-to features bundled with the print driver
- Very old printers that predate IPP Everywhere and Mopria
In these cases the printer will still print, but a specific button or option may be missing, or a legacy model may refuse the IPP path entirely. That is not a bug in your printer, it is the tradeoff of a universal driver.
What to do right now
You do not need to do anything before adding your next printer, but keep this checklist handy for when something looks off:
- Check for the Mopria logo on your printer or in its specs. If it is there, the inbox driver will work fully.
- Add the printer normally (Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Printers and scanners, Add device) and test a page.
- If a feature is missing, download the manufacturer's official driver or app. Installing it overrides the inbox driver and restores the extra options.
- If an old printer will not install, get the vendor's Windows 11 driver, or connect it through a print server that presents it over IPP.
- If printing breaks after the update, remove the printer and re-add it, then restart the Print Spooler service (services.msc, Print Spooler, Restart).
- In a business, test one printer of each model before the July update rolls out fleet-wide, since finishing options are the most common casualty.
If your trouble is mechanical rather than driver-related, our guides to faint or streaky prints and a Canon paper-jam error with no visible jam cover the usual culprits, and scanner problems often trace to the WIA driver.
Why Microsoft is pushing this
The security angle is the real driver. PrintNightmare and its relatives showed that letting any user install a print driver was a system-level risk. By making driverless IPP the default and keeping vendor drivers as the exception, Microsoft shrinks that risk for everyone at once. It is the same instinct behind the wider 2026 patch effort against privilege-escalation bugs, which we covered in the June 2026 Patch Tuesday roundup.
Frequently asked questions
Will my current printer stop working after the July 2026 update?
No. The change only affects printers you install after the update. Any printer already set up keeps its existing driver and settings, so nothing you use today changes on its own.
What is IPP and why is driverless printing safer?
IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) is an open standard for sending print jobs over a network, so Windows can talk to a printer without a model-specific driver. Removing third-party drivers eliminates the malicious-driver attack surface behind PrintNightmare, which is the main security reason for the shift.
My new printer is missing a feature it used to have. How do I get it back?
Install the manufacturer's official driver or companion app for your model. Doing so overrides the Windows inbox IPP driver and restores vendor-specific options like special trays, finishers, and custom color modes.
How do I know if my printer supports Windows Ready Print?
Look for Mopria certification or IPP Everywhere support in the printer's specifications or on the box. Those printers are guaranteed to work fully with the Windows inbox driver. Most network printers from the last several years qualify.
Can I force Windows back to the old driver method?
You cannot easily revert the default ranking, but installing the vendor driver for a given printer effectively puts you back on the manufacturer driver for that device. In managed environments, administrators can control this with print-related Group Policy settings.
