Getting rid of a printer in Windows 11 isn’t anything too fancy, but it can be a pain if you’re not sure where to look or if your system decides to hang onto the device. Sometimes printers stick around even after you’ve unplugged them, or they still pop up after driver updates, leaving your device cluttered and confusing. This guide runs through a few simple ways to kick out those stubborn printers—useful when they’re obsolete or just won’t uninstall normally. The aim is to tidy up your device list, avoid printer errors, or troubleshoot a pesky printer that just won’t disappear from the menu.
How to Remove a Printer from Windows 11
Method 1: The easy way via Settings
This is the go-to method that works for most folks. It’s pretty straightforward—head into Settings, find your printer, and remove it. Should be a doddle, but sometimes Windows likes to hide things or make it a bit trickier, especially if driver issues or permissions come into play.
- Open Settings by clicking the Start menu and choosing Settings, or just hit Win + I.
- Go to Bluetooth & Devices (or just Devices on some Windows 11 versions).
- Click on Printers & scanners from the sidebar.
- Scroll through the list, find your printer—sometimes the names are similar, so give it a good look.
- Click on the printer and hit Remove device. Confirm any prompts—sometimes Windows throws up a UAC (User Account Control) dialog, so you might need admin rights.
If all goes well, the printer will vanish and life goes back to normal. But if it’s stubborn or still pops up elsewhere, give the next methods a go.
Method 2: Remove through Devices and Printers (Control Panel)
This older-school approach can be more reliable, especially if Windows’ modern interface is playing up. It’s a bit more manual, but it gets rid of drivers and hidden settings that might be lingering behind the scenes. Sometimes, the Settings app doesn’t fully clean up the driver, leaving ghost printers that cause trouble later on.
- Open the Start menu, type Control Panel, and open it.
- Go to Hardware and Sound, then click Devices and Printers.
- Find your printer in the list, right-click it, and select Remove device.
If it still won’t budge, try opening Print Management (type it into the Start menu) and look under All Printers. Right-click the device there and select Delete. You can also remove its drivers from All Drivers. This way, you dodge any leftover driver clutter that can cause grief down the line.
Method 3: Use PowerShell or Command Prompt for a deeper tidy-up
This is a bit of a nuclear option, but if the usual methods aren’t working, you can try deleting the printer via terminal commands. Handy if you’re dealing with network printers or devices that refuse to go away. Sometimes, Windows leaves behind bits and bobs the UI doesn’t catch, so this can do the trick.
- Right-click the Start button and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- Type:
Get-Printer
to list all printers. - Find the exact name of the printer you want gone.
- Remove it with:
Remove-Printer -Name "PrinterName"
(be sure to swap in the real name from the list).
If need be, you can also delete drivers with commands like Remove-PrinterDriver or manage drivers through specialised tools. Just be careful with those commands!
Heads-up
Some printers can be a bit odd. A quick reboot after removing them helps sometimes—Windows might need a nudge to tidy up. For network printers, disconnect from the network or disable sharing before removing. Also, ensure you’ve got admin rights; otherwise, permission errors can pop up. With drivers especially, manual cleanup might be necessary if the device keeps showing up after removal.
Summary
- Use Settings → Devices → Printers & scanners for regular printers.
- If it’s being stubborn, try the Control Panel route via Devices and Printers.
- Advanced users can use PowerShell or Command Prompt to purge printers and drivers.
- Reboot after removing, and consider updating or clearing drivers if the issue persists.
Wrapping it up
Printer stuff can get pretty weird — Windows doesn’t always play nice. But these methods usually do the trick, getting rid of unwanted devices and clearing the clutter. If an old printer keeps hanging around, a more thorough driver clean-up or reinstall might be the next port of call. Just keep in mind, Windows isn’t always upfront about what’s still lurking, so a bit of trial and error is par for the course. Hopefully, this helps you cut through the rubbish faster — once you get the hang of it, it’s usually not too bad.