Do I Need Printer Drivers? Driverless Printing Explained

Do I need printer drivers? For many home printers bought in the last few years, the honest answer is: often not. Operating systems now include generic drivers that speak standard printing protocols, and the printer does the rest. This guide explains how driverless printing works, when the maker’s software is still worth installing, how to update drivers in Windows, and what the common error 740 means.

What a printer driver does

A driver translates what your computer wants to print into a language the printer understands, and tells the computer what the printer can do: paper sizes, two-sided printing, colour, trays. Traditionally every printer model needed its own driver from its maker.

How driverless printing works

Driverless printing replaces model-specific drivers with shared standards. The printer advertises its abilities on the network or over USB, and the computer or phone uses a built-in generic driver:

• IPP Everywhere, a standard from the Printer Working Group, used widely on macOS, Linux and ChromeOS.
• Mopria, a certification used by Android and by Windows. On Android phones it is what lets you print without the maker’s app; see print from an Android phone to a printer.
• AirPrint, Apple’s system for iPhone, iPad and Mac. See print from iPhone to a home printer.

Microsoft says that since Windows 10 version 21H2, Windows includes inbox support for Mopria-compliant printers over network and USB through the Microsoft IPP Class Driver. Customisation that used to come in the driver can be delivered through Print Support Apps from the Microsoft Store.

What is changing on Windows

Microsoft has published an end-of-servicing plan for legacy third-party printer drivers. As listed on its documentation page (updated in 2025):

Date	Change
September 2023	Plan announced
15 January 2026	For Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 onwards, no new printer drivers published to Windows Update; existing ones updated only case by case
1 July 2026	Driver ranking changed to always prefer the Windows IPP inbox class driver
1 July 2027	Except for security fixes, third-party printer driver updates no longer allowed through Windows Update

Microsoft also states that existing drivers can still be installed, including from the maker’s own installation package, and that it has no plans to disable features of the legacy driver platform. For a home user, the practical effect is that a modern, Mopria-compatible printer is the easiest to live with on Windows 11.

When the maker’s software still helps

• Older printers that do not support Mopria, IPP Everywhere or AirPrint.
• Scanning extras, such as scan-to-folder buttons or document feeder options, although Windows and macOS can scan from many devices on their own.
• Maintenance tools for nozzle checks, head cleaning and alignment, if the printer’s own control panel does not offer them. See print head clogging for when to use them.
• Advanced photo settings and paper profiles.

Download software only from the maker’s official support site, choosing your exact model. Avoid “driver updater” utilities from unknown sources.

Connecting a new printer at home

However you install the software, the printer first needs a connection:

• Wi-Fi from the control panel. On printers with a screen, open the wireless or network menu, choose your network and enter its password.
• WPS. On printers without a screen, many support Wi-Fi Protected Setup: press the printer’s wireless button, then the WPS button on your router within the time the manual states.
• Ethernet. Plug a network cable from the printer into the router.
• USB. Connect the cable when prompted; Windows normally detects the printer and installs a driver automatically.

Our step-by-step guide to connect a printer to Wi-Fi covers each wireless method in more detail, including what to do when the printer only supports one Wi-Fi band and how to keep its network address stable.

Then add the printer in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners on Windows 11 (Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners on Windows 10), or in System Settings > Printers & Scanners on a Mac. If the printer is not listed, you can add it by its IP address, which you can find on a network configuration page printed from the printer.

A quick test: does my printer work driverless?

You can find out in a few minutes, before downloading anything:

1. Connect the printer to your network or by USB.
2. Add it from the operating system (Printers & scanners on Windows or Mac) without running the maker’s installer.
3. Open the printer’s properties and look at the driver name. On Windows, a generic driver is listed as the Microsoft IPP Class Driver or similar; on a Mac, AirPrint or a generic PostScript/PCL entry.
4. Print a test page, then a real document with two-sided printing and colour options, to see if the features you need are available.
5. Try a scan if it is an all-in-one, using Windows Scan or Image Capture on a Mac.

If everything you need works, you can stop there. If a feature is missing, such as a specific paper tray or a borderless photo size, install the maker’s package for that feature and keep the generic driver as a fallback.

How to update a printer driver in Windows 10 or 11

1. Run Windows Update, and check Optional updates for driver updates.
2. If you use the maker’s driver, download the latest package for your model from the maker’s support site and run it.
3. Using Device Manager: right-click Start, open Device Manager, expand Print queues or Printers, right-click your printer and choose Update driver. Choose to search automatically, or browse to a driver you have downloaded.
4. Restart if prompted, then print a test page.

If printing broke after an update, remove the printer in Printers & scanners, restart, and add it again so Windows can choose a fresh driver.

A note on Windows 7

Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 in January 2020. It no longer receives security updates, and new printers may not include drivers for it. If you still use it, keep it off untrusted networks and plan an upgrade; any modern operating system will print driverlessly to most new printers.

What error 740 means

When adding a network printer, Windows may show error 740. That is the Windows code for “the requested operation requires elevation”: the step needs administrator rights. To fix it:

1. Sign in with an administrator account, or
2. Right-click the printer installer and choose Run as administrator, or
3. Ask the person who manages the computer to add the printer.

Do not turn off User Account Control to get round it. That weakens your computer’s protection for the sake of one installation.

When the computer cannot talk to the printer

If jobs sit in the queue or the printer shows as offline, check that the printer and computer are on the same network, restart both, and remove and re-add the printer. A printer that keeps going offline has often been given a new IP address by the router; reserving an address for it in the router settings usually stops that. Printer-specific error codes are best looked up in the maker’s documentation for your model; this site focuses on choosing and running a home printer rather than repairs.

The takeaway

Before installing anything, try adding the printer through your operating system. If it prints, you may need nothing more. When you next buy a printer, check for Mopria, IPP Everywhere and AirPrint support; the best printer for home use checklist includes it.