Windows 10 update breaks USB printers functionality because of course it did

Another Windows 10 update, another bug

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Windows 10still has its share of bugs and breaks with each new update, with the latest update released on June 28, 2022, breaking USB printer functionality.

According toMicrosoft, there are two main symptoms of thisWindows 10bug: “Windows might show duplicate copies of printers installed on a device, commonly with a similar name and the suffix ‘Copy1’” and “Applications that refer to the printer by a specific name cannot print.”

The problem is being worked on for a future update, so for now the company has provided users with several workarounds until then, as well as a way to report the problem toMicrosoftto help speed up a fix for the issue. If you’re one of the many Windows 10 holdouts and your printer has suddenly stopped working after an update, you can submit your issue to the company by doing the following:

There are also these workarounds thatmighthelp resolve the issue:

And if the above doesn’t work, then the following steps can be taken instead:

Analysis: Windows 11 isn’t the only OS plagued with issues

Though this latest problem is annoying, it isn’t Windows 10’s first rodeo into update bugs breaking basic features. In May, Microsoft had torelease a patchto fix a bug that was caused by a previous patch fixing a whole different issue. A sort of patch inception it would seem.

There was also an update released in May thatfixed a Bluetooth bugcausing the dreaded Blue Screen of Death on some PCs. And there was also a string ofransomware attacksdisguised as Windows 10 updates, which spread the Magniberransomwarestrain. And these are only the most recent issues.

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Even thoughWindows 11 problemsget a lot of press,Windows 10 problemshave a long history full of bugs, weaknesses, and feature breaking updates. So before you berate Microsoft’s latest OS, remember that its problems are a legacy issue.

Named by the CTA as a CES 2023 Media Trailblazer, Allisa is a Computing Staff Writer who covers breaking news and rumors in the computing industry, as well as reviews, hands-on previews, featured articles, and the latest deals and trends. In her spare time you can find her chatting it up on her two podcasts, Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, as well as playing any JRPGs she can get her hands on.

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