• Microsoft confirms the plans to deprecate and remove the Control Panel from Windows.
  • The Settings app is the experience that replaces the legacy Control Panel to change system settings.
  • The company still has a lot of work to do to complete the transfer of the remaining features to the Settings app.

UPDATED 8/14/2024: Although Microsoft has been transitioning system settings from the Control Panel to the Settings app for many years, the company has officially confirmed that the legacy experience of changing settings is being deprecated. This means that the end of the app is near, and it will eventually be removed from the operating system.

The Control Panel has been around for a long time. Microsoft first introduced the experience back in 1985 as part of the Windows 1.0 release, and since the app has gone through various interface changes to the layout you still see today, that was part of the Windows 7 design.

This is the original Control Panel interface design available on Windows 1.0.

Windows 1.0 Control Panel - 1

Windows 1.0 Control Panel / Image: Toasty Tech

This is the Control Panel layout that has been around since Windows 7, and we can still find it on Windows 11 .

Control Panel on Windows 11 - 2

Control Panel on Windows 11 / Image: Mauro Huculak

On Windows 8, back in 2012, the software giant introduced the Settings app, and since then, it has been porting the system settings from the Control Panel and adding new ones. Also, the Settings app itself has gone through various changes.

This is the first version of the Settings app, known as “PC settings” on Windows 8.

Windows 8 PC settings - 3

Windows 8 PC settings / Image: Mauro Huculak

This is the Settings app that Microsoft introduced on Windows 10.

Windows 10 Settings app - 4

Windows 10 Settings app / Image: Mauro Huculak

This is the Settings app interface available on Windows 11 and the experience that replaces the Control Panel.

Windows 11 Settings app - 5

Windows 11 Settings app / Image: Mauro Huculak

However, the company started the transition over a decade ago, and many of us thought it would never happen until the Control Panel was fully removed.

According to a new documentation page, the notes that the “Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.”

Since I reported this news, Microsoft has updated the documentation page, removing the statement about deprecating the Control Panel, and now notes that many “of the settings in the Control Panel are in the process of being migrated to the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience” indicating that the legacy app to control settings will continue to be available for a long time.

I’ve noticed that some headlines are suggesting that the end of the Control Panel is coming “soon,” but the company hasn’t officially said or hinted anything that would indicate that the experience will be deprecated immediately. If it has taken over ten years to get to this point, it would surely take another few years before it’s removed from the operating system.

Microsoft is also expected to release Windows 11 24H2 sometime in September or October, and while this feature update is more focused on implementing AI features , it also ships with an updated version of the Settings app that continues the work of transitioning settings from the Control Panel, such as Color management , options to rename a printer and pause printing.

In addition, the update also includes new settings to control Energy Saver , enable the Sudo command, control privacy settings, turn Windows Recall on or off (if it ever rolls out to users), new networking settings, and more.

If you’re wondering, the Control Panel still exists because, apparently, it takes a lot of patience to transfer all the system settings from one experience to another, and the legacy experience is needed for compatibility reasons.

Update August 26, 2024: This page has been updated to ensure accuracy and include the latest information.

  • To rename a printer on Windows 11, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, choose the printer, click “Printer properties,” and confirm the new name.
  • On Windows 11 24H2, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, choose the printer, click “Additional printer settings,” confirm the new name, and click “OK.”
  • To complete this configuration, you can also use the Print Management console, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.
  • The Control Panel method is no longer available as Microsoft ported the option to the Settings app.

On Windows 11 , there are multiple ways to rename a printer. In this guide, I’ll show you five ways and the new steps starting with version 24H2.

Although you can choose your printer’s name during its setup, nowadays, printing and scanning devices install automatically with default settings, including a default name, which can sometimes be long and not humanly descriptive.

If you want to change the name to share the printer with a friendly name or make it easier to identify if you have multiple printing devices, Windows 11 includes various methods to complete this configuration from the Settings app (depending on your version of the operating system), Print Management, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.

In this guide , I will outline the different ways to assign a different name for your printer on Windows 11.

Rename your printer on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you have at least five ways to change the printer settings, including its name, and here’s how.

Ensure the printer is online before proceeding with these methods to avoid issues.

1. From Settings on version 23H2

To change the printer name on Windows 11 23H2 and older versions, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings .
  2. Click on Bluetooth & devices .
  3. Click the Printers & scanners page.
  4. Choose the printer.
  5. Click the Printer properties setting.
  6. Confirm the new printer name. Quick tip: The page also includes the printer’s IP and port as the options to perform a print test and access the device preferences, among other advanced settings.
  7. Click the OK button.
  8. Click the Apply button.

The setting to change the printer properties is no longer available through the Control Panel. If you open “Hardware and Sound” and “Devices and Printers,” you will be directed to the Settings app. However, on version 23H2, you will access the legacy properties to rename a printer.

2. From Settings on version 24H2

To rename your printer from the Settings on Windows 11 24H2 , use these steps:

  1. Open Settings .
  2. Click on Bluetooth & devices .
  3. Click the Printers & scanners page.
  4. Choose the printer.
  5. Click on Additional printer settings .
  6. Click the Rename button for the “Rename your printer” setting.
  7. Confirm the new printer name.
  8. Click the Save button.

The “Rename your printer” setting is only available on Windows 11 24H2 and higher releases. You can check the version of your operating system with these instructions.

3. From Print Management

To assign a different name for your printer through the Print Management console, use these steps:

  1. Open Start .
  2. Search for Print Management and click the top result to open the app.
  3. Click on All Printers from the “Custom Filters” category.
  4. Right-click the printer on the right and choose the Rename option.
  5. Confirm the new name and press Enter .

The console is only available on Windows 11 Pro , so you cannot use these instructions in the Home edition of the operating system.

If you can access Print Management from this console, you can also completely remove a print driver on Windows 11.

4. From Command Prompt

To rename a printer through Command Prompt, use these steps:

  1. Open Start .
  2. Search for Command Prompt , right-click the top result, and choose the Run as administrator option.
  3. Type the following command to list the installed printers and press Enter : wmic printer get location,name Quick tip: This command will also reveal the printer’s IP address and port.
  4. Type the following command to change the printer name on Windows 11 and press Enter : cscript %WINDIR%\System32\Printing_Admin_Scripts\en-US\prncnfg.vbs -x -p “CURRENT-NAME” -z “NEW-NAME” In the command, update “CURRENT-NAME” and “NEW-NAME” with the old and new names. The “Prncnfg.vbs” file is actually a Visual Basic script designed to configure or display printer details, and in this case, you can use it to change the print device name.

The command will update the printer globally throughout the system.

5. From PowerShell

To change the printer name with PowerShell commands, use these steps:

  1. Open Start .
  2. Search for PowerShell , right-click the top result, and choose the Run as administrator option.
  3. Type the following command to view the installed printers and press Enter : Get-Printer | Select-Object -Property Name, DriverName Quick note: I’m also using the “Select-Object” option to list only the information needed to identify the printer. In addition, the “Get-Printer” command can also be used to query different printer details, as shown on this Microsoft documentation page .
  4. Type the following command to change the printer name on Windows 11 and press Enter : Rename-Printer -Name “CURRENT-NAME” -NewName “NEW-NAME” In the command, update “CURRENT-NAME” and “NEW-NAME” with the old and new names.

If you encounter problems renaming a printer, make sure you are running Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

While these instructions are specific to Windows 11, you can use the Command Prompt and PowerShell methods on Windows 10 .