• To uninstall drivers on Windows 11, open Device Manager , right-click the driver, and choose “Uninstall device.”
  • Alternatively, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps , select the device driver, and click “Uninstall.”
  • You can also open Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program, select the component to remove, and click “Uninstall.”
  • Finally, you can also remove some drivers using the PnPutil tool from Command Prompt or PowerShell.

UPDATED 1/21/2025: On Windows 11 , you can uninstall device drivers in several ways without relying on third-party tools, and in this guide, I will explain how to complete this process.

What’s a driver on Windows 11?

A device driver is a critical component that enables the operating system to detect and control the hardware installed on your computer. Think of it as a translator that bridges the communication between the hardware (such as a graphics card, printer, or sound card) and the operating system.

While the system typically handles driver installation automatically for your hardware, there are situations where you might need to uninstall a driver manually — perhaps due to performance issues or because the hardware is no longer in use.

Whatever the case, Windows 11 provides at least four built-in methods to remove drivers, including using the Settings app, Control Panel, Device Manager, and Command Prompt.

In this guide , I will teach you how to remove device drivers from Windows 11.

  • Uninstall drivers on Windows 11 from Device Manager
  • Uninstall drivers on Windows 11 from Settings
  • Uninstall drivers on Windows 11 from Control Panel
  • Uninstall drivers on Windows 11 from Command Prompt

Uninstall drivers on Windows 11 from Device Manager

To uninstall a driver from Device Manager, use these steps:

  1. Open Start on Windows 11.
  2. Search for Device Manager and click the top result to open the app.
  3. Expand the category with the device driver to remove.
  4. Right-click the device and select the Uninstall device option.
  5. (Optional) Check the “ Delete the driver software for this device” option (if applicable). Quick note: If you don’t check this option, the system will uninstall the device, but it’ll keep the driver files if you need to reinstall it. However, removing and downloading it again is best if the driver has problems.
  6. Click the Uninstall button.

Once you complete the steps, the driver will be removed from your computer entirely.

Uninstall drivers on Windows 11 from Settings

To uninstall drivers on Windows 11 from the Settings app, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings .
  2. Click on Apps .
  3. Click the Installed apps tab.
  4. Select the driver, click the menu (three-dotted) button on the right side, and select the Uninstall option to remove it.
  5. Click the Uninstall option.

Once you complete the steps, the device will be removed from the computer. However, the computer may keep some driver components depending on the uninstaller instructions.

Uninstall drivers on Windows 11 from Control Panel

Alternatively, you can also delete drivers using Command Prompt,

To remove a driver through the Control Panel on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open Control Panel .
  2. Click the Uninstall a program option under the “Programs” section.
  3. Select the driver package.
  4. Click the Uninstall button.
  5. Click the Yes button to remove the driver.

After you complete the steps, the driver will no longer be available on Windows 11. Similar to using the Settings app, the computer may keep some components depending on the uninstaller instructions.

Uninstall drivers on Windows 11 from Command Prompt

To uninstall device drivers through Command Prompt, use these these steps:

  1. Open Start .
  2. Search for Command Prompt (or PowerShell), right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
  3. Type the following command to generate a list of the drivers installed on your computer and press Enter : pnputil /enum-drivers
  4. Confirm the driver you want to uninstall by its publisher name (such as HP). For example, oem10.inf .
  5. Type the following command to uninstall the device driver from Windows 11 and press Enter : pnputil /delete-driver PUBLISHER-NAME /uninstall /force In the command, replace PUBLISHER-NAME with the actual name of the driver.

Once you complete the steps, the driver will be removed from the driver store, preventing future installations.

Other ways to uninstall hardware drivers

Although these instructions will work in most cases, some devices may have different instructions. For example, uninstalling a printer on Windows 11 is a two-step process. You first have to use the “Printers & scanners” settings in the Settings app to uninstall the printer and then the “Print Management” app or PowerShell (depending on whether you use Windows 11 Pro or Home) to delete the driver package from the device.

If you encounter a problem after an update, try rolling back to the previous version instead of deleting the driver to see if that fixes the issue.

If you recently installed a driver update and Windows 11 no longer boots correctly, you can use these instructions to uninstall the driver from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

Finally, when you want to remove a graphic driver from Nvidia or AMD completely, it’s best to use the Display Driver Uninstaller (DDR) tool .

Update January 21, 2025: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.

UPDATED 4/3/2024: On Windows 11 , when you no longer connect to a printer, the peripheral will remain available on the computer even if you remove it since the process doesn’t delete the driver. Print drivers will be kept on the computer if they are ever needed again.

Although this might be a great approach for reinstalling a printer without providing the controllers again, keeping them on the computer will only waste space on the hard drive. Also, if a problem occurs and the drivers get corrupted, it may cause other issues since the system will try to use drivers that don’t work.

However, if you no longer need or want to remove a corrupted print driver, Windows 11 provides a way to completely uninstall it from the computer.

This guide will teach you the steps to remove a printer driver from Windows 11.

Uninstall printer driver on Windows 11

Removing a printer and driver on Windows 11 is a two-step process. You first need to use the Settings app to uninstall the printer and then the Print Management app or PowerShell (depending on whether you use Windows 11 Pro or Home) to delete the driver package from the computer.

1. Remove printer in Settings

To remove a printer on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings on Windows 11
  2. Click on Bluetooth & devices .
  3. Click the Printers & scanners page on the right side.
  4. Select the printer to open its properties.
  5. Click the Remove button.
  6. Click the Yes button.

Once you complete the steps, you can delete the driver from Windows 11.

2. Delete printer driver in Print Management

To completely remove the printer driver from the device, use these steps:

  1. Open Start .
  2. Search for Control Panel and click the top result to open the console.
  3. Click on System and Security .
  4. Click on Windows Tools .
  5. Double-click the Print Management option.
  6. Expand the Custom Filters branch.
  7. Click on All Drivers from the left navigation pane.
  8. Right-click the printer driver on the right side and select the Delete option.
  9. Click the Yes button.

After you complete the steps, the printer driver will no longer be available on the device. If you need to reinstall the peripherals, Windows 11 will need to download the driver again, or you will need to provide them manually.

I recently changed my printer to another brand, and I noticed that some printers may not use custom drivers. After removing the device from the Settings app, you may not find drivers from specific vendors. You don’t need to do anything else if this is the case.

3. Delete printer driver with PowerShell

If you use the Home edition of Windows 11, you won’t have access to the Print Management app, but you can still use PowerShell commands to uninstall the driver.

To remove a print driver with PowerShell, use these steps:

  1. Open Start .
  2. Search for PowerShell , right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
  3. Type the following command to list all the print drivers installed on Windows 11 and press Enter : Get-PrinterDriver | Format-List Name
  4. Type the following command to remove the print driver and press Enter : Remove-PrinterDriver -Name “Your-Printer-Name” In the command, update the printer name with the name that appears in step No. 3. The quotation marks are required if the name includes spaces. For example, this command removes the “HP Officejet Pro 8620” from Windows 11: Remove-PrinterDriver -Name “HP Officejet Pro 8620”

Once you complete the steps, the printer driver will be removed entirely from the system. You may need to repeat the steps to uninstall other printers.