Windows 11 upgrade version 25H1 to 25H2. It lost printer driver after upgrading.

Question

After we checked a few laptops. We found Windows 11 upgrade version 25H1 to 25H2. It lost printer driver after upgrading. Over temporary solution is we need to install new printer driver on our user's laptops. We have hundred laptops to fix. How can we fix it without fix one by one??? For other do you face this issue the same to us or not?

Answer 1

The described behavior matches a known issue some users have seen with Windows 11 25H2 where existing printer drivers (especially some HP V4 drivers) break or disappear after the feature update.

From the available information, there is no single built‑in Windows setting that will retroactively restore all removed drivers across many devices. The supported approaches in the documentation focus on:

1. Verifying and updating/reinstalling printer drivers.
2. Rolling back problematic printer driver versions.
3. In some reported 25H2 cases, rolling back the specific feature update and then reapplying it.

For an environment with hundreds of laptops, the following approaches are supported by the context and can be automated via management tools (for example, Intune, Configuration Manager, or scripts), so they do not need to be done manually on each device:

1. Update or reinstall printer drivers at scale
   • The documented method to fix recognition/driver issues is to update or reinstall the printer driver:
     1. Use Device Manager automation (e.g., script) to:
        • Expand Printers.
        • For each affected printer, run the equivalent of Update driver.
        • If no update is available or the driver is broken, run the equivalent of Uninstall device, then reboot so Windows reinstalls the driver automatically.
     2. Where Windows Update cannot supply a working driver, deploy the correct vendor driver package centrally and install it via script or management tool on all affected machines.
   • This follows the documented guidance in “Fix printer not found and printer not recognized errors in Windows” and “Download and install the latest printer drivers”.
2. Use Windows mechanisms to install compatible drivers
   • For Windows 11, the recommended path is:
     1. Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners → select the printer → Manage → Update driver.
     2. If that fails, remove and re‑add the printer so Windows applies the recommended driver:
        • Remove: Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners → select printer → Remove.
        • Reinstall: Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners → Add device and let Windows install the recommended driver.
   • These steps can be scripted or driven via management tools to avoid manual work on each device.
3. Deploy manufacturer drivers centrally
   • If Windows cannot provide a compatible driver, the documented guidance is to:
     1. Download a driver from the printer manufacturer that matches Windows 11 and the correct system type (32‑bit or 64‑bit).
     2. Install it and restart the PC.
   • In an enterprise, this driver package can be pushed to all affected laptops using software distribution tools, rather than installing manually.
4. Roll back and reapply the 25H2 update in specific HP V4 driver cases
   • A reported workaround for HP V4 driver failures after 25H2 is:
     1. Remove the specific 25H2 feature update (for example, uninstalling KB5054156), which effectively returns the system to 24H2.
     2. Manually update to 25H2 again using the official Windows 11 installation source.
     3. After this, reinstall the V4 printer driver.
   • One system in that report could not uninstall the KB and had to be wiped and rebuilt, so this approach has risk and should be tested on a small pilot group before any broad rollout.
5. Roll back printer drivers if the issue started after a driver update
   • If the problem is tied to a specific printer driver update (rather than the OS itself), the documented fix is to roll back the driver:
     1. Open Device Manager.
     2. Expand Printers or Print queues.
     3. Right‑click the printer → Properties → Driver tab → Roll Back Driver (if available).
     4. Restart the PC.
   • This can also be automated via driver/package management tools if the problematic driver version is known.
6. General remediation pattern for many devices Based on the documentation and the reported 25H2 case, a scalable remediation plan would be:
   1. Identify affected models and printer driver types (e.g., HP V4) across all laptops.
   2. For each affected group, decide on one of:
      • Centrally deploy a known‑good printer driver package and reinstall printers.
      • If specifically hit by the HP V4/25H2 issue, pilot the “remove 25H2 KB → reapply 25H2 → reinstall driver” flow on a small set of machines.
   3. Use management tooling (Intune, Configuration Manager, or scripts) to:
      • Remove and re‑add printers.
      • Install or update drivers.
      • Optionally roll back or re‑deploy the 25H2 update where needed.

The context does not provide a single one‑click fix for all devices, but it supports the pattern of centrally updating/reinstalling drivers and, in the specific HP V4/25H2 scenario, rolling back and reapplying the feature update as a workaround.

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References:

• Fix printer driver compatibility issues in Windows
• Fix printer not found and printer not recognized errors in Windows
• Download and install the latest printer drivers
• Printer driver was not installed Element not found. After installing windows 11 25H2 with a HP V4 driver - Microsoft Q&A
• Printing error on windows 11 laptop - Microsoft Q&A