How to Completely Remove Printers in Windows 11 (Even Stubborn Devices)

Printers that remain in Windows 11’s device list after being replaced or disconnected can create confusion and cause printing errors. You might see messages like “Driver is unavailable” or find that the device refuses to disappear, even after multiple attempts. Cleaning up these ghost printers not only reduces errors but also prevents Windows from defaulting to outdated hardware.

Below are several reliable methods to fully remove a printer and its drivers in Windows 11.

1. Remove a Printer Using Windows Settings

1- Press Windows + I to open the Settings app.

2- In the left sidebar, select Bluetooth & devices, then click Printers & scanners.

3- Find the printer you want to delete and click its name.

4- If available, select Remove.

This deletes the printer from the list and stops Windows from sending jobs to it.
👉 If the Remove button is missing or doesn’t work, try the next method.

2. Remove a Printer Using the Control Panel

1- Press Windows + R, type control panel, and press Enter.

2- Change the view to Large icons or Small icons, then select Devices and Printers.

3- Right-click the unwanted printer and choose Remove device.

⚠️ Note: On newer Windows 11 builds, Microsoft is phasing out Control Panel tools. If it doesn’t work, continue with the advanced methods below.

3. Remove a Printer with Print Management (Pro & Enterprise)

(Not available on Windows 11 Home)

1- Press Windows + R, type printmanagement.msc, and press Enter.

2- Expand Print Servers > [Your PC Name] > Printers.

3- Right-click the target printer and select Delete.

Print Management can also remove drivers, making it useful for stubborn or network-assigned printers.

4. Remove a Printer via Command Prompt or PowerShell

For devices that resist graphical tools, command-line removal works best.

1- Open Command Prompt (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin).

2- To list printers, enter: wmic printer get name

3- Then remove the printer with: printui.exe /dl /n "Printer_Name"

Or in PowerShell: Get-Printer | Where-Object {$_.Name -eq "Printer_Name"} | Remove-Printer

5. Remove Stubborn or Greyed-Out Printers

If the printer shows “Driver is unavailable”, is greyed out, or refuses to disappear:

In Settings > Bluetooth & devices, click View more devices, then use the … menu > Remove device.

Open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) → enable View > Show hidden devices → expand Print queues and Printers, then uninstall related entries.

For persistent network printers, open Registry Editor (regedit) and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers Delete the subkey for the unwanted printer. ⚠️ Back up your registry before making changes.

You can also identify inactive devices in PowerShell:

Get-PnpDevice -class SoftwareComponent | where {($_.Status -eq 'Unknown') -and ($_.FriendlyName -eq "Printer_Name")}

Use the InstanceId to remove the device registry entry, then restart.

6. Remove Printer Software and Drivers

Even after deleting the device, leftover drivers and apps can cause conflicts.

1- Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps and uninstall any manufacturer utilities.

2- In Print Management (Pro/Enterprise only), expand Drivers, right-click the driver, and select Remove Driver Package.

This ensures Windows won’t reinstall the old printer automatically.

✅ By combining these methods, you can completely remove printers from Windows 11—clearing out stuck entries, outdated drivers, and phantom devices for a smoother printing experience.