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by John W. Simek, Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.

Recent Windows Update May Break USB Printing

July 26, 2022

Life is full of inconveniences. Bleeping Computer reports that some users may experience problems with USB printing after applying a Windows update. “Microsoft has received reports of issues affecting some printing devices following installation of Windows updates released June 28 (KB5014666) and later.” Apparently, the problem exists for Windows 10 (version 20H2, 21H1, and 21H2) and Windows Server (version 20H2). If you have a problem with USB printing, Microsoft requests you file a report via the Feedback Hub under the Problem > Devices and Drivers> Print category by choosing “Make new bug” under the “Find similar feedback” section.

You could try the following actions to resolve the issue:

  • Opening the Settings app, navigate to “Bluetooth & devices,” and select “Printers & scanners.”
  • ​If there appears to be a duplicate installation of an existing printer, such as with the suffix “Copy1”, confirm if printing works for this printer. This printer should operate as expected.
  • ​If you need to use the original printer installation and not the duplicate, right-click the duplicate printer, select “Printer properties,” and select the “Ports” tab. Observe the port in use.
  • ​Opening “Printer properties” on the original printer and selecting the “Ports” tab. From the list displayed, select the port option in use by the duplicate printer. The duplicate copy printer can be removed if this original printer works normally.

If the steps don’t work, you can check for a print driver update from the manufacturer. Reinstalling the print driver is also an option. Good luck.

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