Are you not using a printer any longer? Here is how to remove a printer in Windows 10 and Windows 11 via the Settings app or using commands.
For a good number of Windows users, a printer is an essential part of their daily life. This is especially true in office, professional, or commercial environments. Even regular home users use printers from time to time. Unlike the older Windows versions, Windows 10 and Windows 11 make it easy to install a printer. Often, plugging in the printer to your computer is enough for it to work. No need for manual driver installation unless you need printer-specific or manufacturer-specific features.
As good as the current printing experience is, the world is moving towards a paperless future. This means most things no longer require you to print documents. In that case, it is only natural you don’t need a printer any longer and want to remove it from Windows. On the other hand, if you are troubleshooting the printer or changing to another printer, removing the unnecessary or unused printer from Windows will help.
Thankfully, Windows 10 and Windows 11 make it easy to remove a printer. You can use the Settings app or specific commands to delete a printer from Windows. Here is how to do it.
Use one of the below methods to remove a printer from Windows 10 or Windows 11.
- Remove printer using Settings
- Use command prompt to remove a printer
- PowerShell command to remove a printer
Note: After removing the printer, you might have to manually remove any additional printer software from the “Settings > Apps > Apps & features” page.
Remove printer using Windows Settings
You can remove a printer from the Settings app in Windows 10. Here is how.
- Right-click on the Start menu.
- Select “Settings” from the menu.
- Go to the “Devices > Printers & scanners” page.
- Click on the printer you want to remove.
- Click the “Remove device” button.
- Press the “Yes” button in the confirmation pop-up.
- The printer is removed instantly.
- Close the Settings app.
Detailed steps:
Open the Settings app with the “Start key + I” shortcut. After opening it, go to the “Devices > Printers and scanners” page. This is where you will see all the printers added to your computer. Click on the printer you want to remove and press the “Remove device” button.
Click “Yes” in the confirmation pop-up. As soon as you do that, the printer is instantly removed from your computer.
With that, you have deleted a printer in Windows using the Settings app.
Use command prompt to remove printer
To delete a printer using the Command Prompt, follow the steps below.
Open the Command Prompt as admin. You can do that by searching for it in the Start menu, right-click on the result, and selecting the “Run as administrator” option.
In the Command Prompt window, the first thing we need to do is get the printer name. Use the below command to get the printer names.
wmic printer get name
Select the name of the printer you want to remove and copy it. You can copy the selected text with right-click.
Next, execute the below command while replacing the dummy printer name with the actual printer name.
printui.exe /dl /n "Dummy-Printer-Name"
As soon as you execute the command, the printer is removed from your system.
PowerShell command to remove a printer
To delete a printer using PowerShell, follow the below steps.
Right-click on the Start menu and select the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” option to open PowerShell with admin rights.
Get the printer name using the following command.
Get-Printer | Format-List Name
Copy the name of the printer you want to remove.
Next, use the below command to remove the target printer. Don’t forget to replace the dummy printer name with the actual printer name.
Remove-Printer -Name "Dummy-Printer-Name"
After executing the command successfully, you can close the PowerShell window.
That is it. It is that simple to remove a printer in Windows operating system.
I hope that helps.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.
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