How to Solve a Printer Not Recognized Error

When connecting the printer to a PC, if you are struggling with the Printer not recognized or USB not recognized error, you are reading the right post. This post explains how to fix the printer USB port not detected.

USB not recognized

Compared to older printers, newer devices and printers automatically install the drivers when connected to the PC. However, sometimes this process does not work, and you’ve to install the printer driver independently. This can be done through the manufacturer’s website, Device Manager, or a third-party driver updater like Advanced Driver Updater.

The following troubleshooting guide explains how you can fix the printer USB ports not detected using these different ways and install the missing, corrupt, problematic, or outdated driver on Windows.

Must Read : How To Download & Update Lexmark Printer Drivers

What to do if the Printer is not recognized?

If the USB printer is not detected on Windows 10 or you face a USB driver not recognized on Windows 7 or Windows 10, follow these steps:

Check Cable Connection
Check Printer USB Ports

If both the cable connection and USB ports are working fine, try to narrow down the reason for the USB not recognizing the device.

Reasons for USB Failing to Detect Device

The most common way to connect a device to a PC is via USB. Earlier, this used to be a tedious process as the computer needed to be restarted every time. The device can be easily connected and disconnected by releasing the Plug and Play device without rebooting the PC. The USB not recognized issue still exists.

When a device is attached to the USB port or you connect a cable, the computer first resets the port and then reads the connected device. However, during this process, if the port is not reset, the PC fails to assign an address, and you face an unknown error. To fix it, you need to follow the steps below:

Detach the faulty device and try connecting it to a different port.
Ensure the connected device is powered on.
Update USB driver.
Uninstall and reinstall the USB driver through Device Manager.
Install the latest Windows Updates.

Must Read: How to Get Samsung Printer Drivers for Windows

Update Printer Driver

Before updating the printer driver, you need to know the printer’s model number. You can either use “Add Printer Wizard” or “Add New Hardware Wizard.” This will allow you to look for the driver online or find the device driver that came with the printer.

printers & scanners

However, if the printer driver is installed, it might be outdated, corrupt, or broken. To fix you can visit the manufacturer’s website and install the latest driver update. To fix such issues, from time to time, printer manufacturers keep releasing driver updates, which can be obtained by visiting the website, through Device Manager, installing Windows Update, or using a driver updating tool for Windows.

Keep reading to learn how to update printer drivers in these different ways.

Note : When Windows fail to find the correct driver update in its database, it installs a generic driver; this also causes Printer Not Recognized error. Therefore, use Advanced Driver Updater to save time and avoid facing such issues. It is the best and most recommended way to update drivers on Windows.

How to Use Advanced Driver Updater and Driver Updated?

Visit the official website to get the driver updater, or can click the Download Now button below:

Install the tool, open it to scan the PC for broken drivers, and update the printer driver.

Advanced Driver Updater

After scanning the PC go through the scan results and update the problematic drivers.

Advanced Driver Updater scan

If you don’t want to pay for the product, you can update the driver by clicking the Update driver link against each driver. However, if you are a registered user, you can save yourself from this hassle and update all outdated drivers be it 5,10, or 20, by clicking the Update All button.

update all outdated driver

After this, restart the PC, which will help apply changes and run the latest driver update.

Now try to run the printer; the USB device not recognized on Windows 10 error should be fixed. Give Advanced Driver Updater a try if you want to update the drivers easily. However, if you want to update the driver through Device Manager, right-click the Start button > select Device Manager > Printer > double click > select printer to update > Update driver.

In addition, check for Windows Updates press Windows + I > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.

FAQ-Printer Not Recognized

How do I fix the printer not detected?

To fix printer not detected error, restart the printer by unpluggin it from the outlet and plug it back to see if it works. Check for printer connection. If everything is just fine, install the printer driver and update it.

How do I fix Word cannot print. There is no printer installed, error.

To fix the error and install a printer, go to Windows Settings. Press Windows + I > click Printers > double-click on it and click Add Printer. Follow the on-screen instructions and try to print the document. If this doesn't work check for problematic add-in and diable it. Launch Microsoft Word > Open the document or create the blank document > click File > Options > select Add-Ins > select COM Add-ins from the Manage drop-down and click Go button > de select the add-in you think is creating problem and click Ok.

Final Words

Once you use this professional driver updater to update drivers, you will experience a performance boost. Moreover, the PC will now be more secure than ever as the vulnerability due to outdated drivers will now be fixed. Let’s keep our computer running at its best by updating drivers with Advanced Driver Updater.

How to Solve a Printer Not Recognized Error