3 Methods to Set Default Printer in Windows 11

December 21, 2021 updated by Admin Leave a reply »

When you right-click a document in File Explorer and select Print, it may prompt you to choose a printer instead of printing immediately. This problem happens when you don’t have a default printer set up.

In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 methods to change or set default printer in Windows 11.

Method 1: Set Default Printer in Windows 11 via Control Panel

  1. Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run dialog box. Type shell:PrintersFolder and click OK.

  2. You can then access the Printers folder from the Control Panel. Right-click on your desired printer and choose “Set as Default Printer” from the context menu.

  3. When done, you will see a green tick on your new default printer.

Method 2: Set Default Printer in Windows 11 via Settings App

  1. Press the Windows key + I to launch the Settings app, and then click on Bluetooth & devices category. On the right side, click on Printers & scanners.

  2. Click on a printer you want to set as the default printer.

  3. Just click the “Set as default” button at the top, and your selected printer will become the new default printer on your computer.

Method 3: Set Default Printer in Windows 11 via Command Prompt

  1. To get started, open Windows Terminal as admin. If Windows Terminal opens PowerShell by default, click the down-arrow button located in the title bar and select “Command Prompt“.

  2. Enter the following command into the Command Prompt window, and press Enter.
    wmic printer get name,default

    It will display a list of printers added to your computer. You can identify the current default printer which has TRUE showing in the “Default” column.

  3. To change or set a new default printer, run the following command. Remember to substitute printer_name with the actual name of your desired printer.
    wmic printer where name="printer_name" call setdefaultprinter

  4. Close Windows Terminal. Now you’ve successfully set a new default printer on Windows 11.