Printer trail

Printer Drivers

A driver is the small piece of software that lets your computer talk to your printer. When it is missing, outdated or damaged, you may see a “driver unavailable” message, garbled output or a printer that never appears.

These guides show you how to get drivers only from safe, official places and how to replace a broken one cleanly on Windows and Mac.

3 guides in this topic

Before you start

  • Write down the printer’s exact model name and your computer’s operating system.
  • Use only Windows Update, Apple’s software updates or the printer maker’s official site.
  • Avoid “driver updater” tools and download sites that aren’t the manufacturer’s.

Guides in Printer Drivers

  1. How to Install or Update a Printer Driver

    Install or update a printer driver on Windows 10, 11 or a Mac: use Windows Update, Device Manager, the maker’s official installer or macOS updates.

    5 min read

  2. How to Remove and Reinstall a Printer Driver

    Reinstall a printer driver cleanly on Windows or Mac: remove the printer and its driver package, restart, then add it again from an official source.

    5 min read