I'm having a tough time getting my HP OfficeJet Pro 6978 printer to work on Windows 11. After a recent Windows Update, both my wife's and my PCs are showing a 'Driver unavailable' message. I can print just fine from my Android phone, so it's a PC issue. I've tried everything: removing the printer, uninstalling drivers, reinstalling HP Smart with the installer run as an administrator, and even disabling the Windows firewall. The printer's firmware is all up to date and it connects via Wi-Fi. I read that running HP Print and Scan Doctor used to help, but it's not available for download anymore. Does anyone have suggestions? I'm really hoping to avoid having to buy a new printer!
5 Answers
Consider using a universal driver or setting up a print server. Both of these methods might give you more flexibility and stability when connecting your printer to Windows 11.
You could check your printer's IP address using a network tool or command prompt. Then go through Control Panel to add a new printer manually using that IP. This skips over some potential issues with automatic detection.
Have you tried connecting your printer to your PC with a USB cable? Remove all drivers and software first, then install the drivers while it's connected via USB to see if that solves the problem. It can help with establishing that initial connection.
I have an ancient HP printer that's been working fine with Windows 10 using the original install disk. You might want to hunt down an original install disk on eBay for your printer. It could be worth a shot since I know older drivers sometimes resolve these compatibility issues.
Try uninstalling all the printer drivers completely, and let HP Smart fetch the latest drivers via Wi-Fi. Also, check the PC's network settings to ensure they're set to Home/Office instead of Public, as that can block the printer from showing up. It might help to restart your router too before trying to detect the printer again. If things still don't work, reaching out to HP Support could be a good next step.
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