Troubleshooting guide: Why can’t I print from an ARM64 laptop?

If you can’t print from a Windows ARM64 laptop, the problem might not be your printer at all. It’s more likely an incompatible driver.

Traditional printer drivers were built for x86 or x64 processors, and that means they won’t run natively on ARM64. But it’s not a total disaster. Lots of printers can now use driverless IPP/Mopria printing, while PaperCut Mobility Print can help organizations connect ARM64 devices to existing printer fleets.

So if you’re looking for a quick fix, try these three things first:

1. Check whether your printer has an ARM64 printer driver.
2. If it doesn’t, add it through Windows and look for IPP/Mopria support.
3. If you’re managing multiple ARM64 devices, consider a print management solution designed to manage mixed architectures.

Why can’t my ARM64 laptop use my existing printer driver?

The most common reason an ARM64 laptop won’t print is that its printer driver wasn’t designed for ARM64. This is an issue because most traditional Windows printer drivers were developed for x86 or x64 PCs using Intel or AMD processors. ARM64 devices, including Snapdragon-powered Windows laptops, use a different processor architecture and that means different drivers.

Now while Windows 11 on ARM can emulate many x86 and x64 applications, that unfortunately doesn’t extend to traditional print drivers. Which means if your printer is not compatible with an ARM64 print driver, it won’t match the required architecture, which is a problem if you want to print from your new device.

That’s why you might find that your apps work perfectly on a new Snapdragon laptop, while an older printer has no idea what’s going on.

This issue is becoming more common as organizations adopt Copilot+ PCs and other Windows 11 ARM64 devices. At the same time, Microsoft is moving Windows towards modern, standards-based printing using IPP, the Microsoft IPP Class Driver and Print Support Apps (PSAs). See our blog on WRP/WPP printing for more info on that one.

In other words, ARM64 printing isn’t just a temporary compatibility problem. It’s part of a much broader change in how Windows handles printers.

Is your printer ARM64-compatible? How to check

Before installing another driver (or replacing your printer altogether), check whether you actually need a native ARM64 driver.

1. Check your laptop

1. In Windows 11, go to: Settings > System > About
2. Under Device specifications, check the system type. An ARM-based Windows PC will identify its ARM-based processor. If you see an x64-based processor, you’re not using ARM64.

2. Check the printer manufacturer’s website

1. Search for your exact printer model online. You’re looking for:
   • Windows 11 ARM64 support
   • ARM64 printer drivers
     • Windows on ARM support
     • IPP or Mopria support
     • Print Support App support
2. If you see any of that you should be in the clear. But don’t just assume a driver labeled ‘Windows 11’ will work on ARM64. Windows 11 runs on both x64 and ARM64 hardware, so the actual architecture still matters.

3. Check for Mopria or IPP support

If the printer supports Mopria and IPP, you probably don’t need a manufacturer-specific ARM64 driver at all.

The new Windows printing architecture is designed around IPP and the built-in Microsoft IPP Class Driver. This allows compatible printers to communicate with Windows without a traditional manufacturer-specific print driver. Print Support Apps can also provide additional printer-specific features where supported. So effectively if your printer supports IPP you might not need a separate ARM64 printer driver at all.

Step-by-step: how to fix ARM64 printing

If your printer isn’t working, and you’ve tried turning things off and on and using some strong language to no avail, work through these options in order.

1. Look for a native ARM64 driver

Start with the printer manufacturer’s support page and search for an ARM64-specific driver. If one exists, install it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

2. Try a Windows Update

Microsoft recommends Windows Update as the preferred way to find and install printer drivers.

To do this, just go to: Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates

Also check Advanced options > Optional updates for any relevant driver updates. Install what you need, so your Windows system is 100% up to date.

3. Add the printer through Windows

If the manufacturer’s installer doesn’t work on your ARM64 PC, try adding the printer directly through Windows. Go to: Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > Add device

This gives Windows a chance to use its built-in printing support, rather than relying on a traditional manufacturer installer. Can often be a smoother run.

4. Try IPP/Mopria printing

If the printer is network-connected and supports IPP or Mopria, Windows may be able to communicate with it anyway, no printer-specific driver required.

This is particularly useful when the manufacturer hasn’t released an ARM64 driver. Again, check your printer manufacturer’s website for more details on this one.

5. Test the features you need

Getting a page to print doesn’t necessarily mean every printer feature is supported.

To figure out the limits of ARM64 printing, you need to test:

• Color and black-and-white printing
• Duplex printing
• Paper trays and paper sizes
• Stapling and finishing
• Printer authentication
• Department or accounting codes

Modern driverless printing can support most of these common functions, but manufacturer-specific features may require additional support. It’s all down to your individual printer model.

What if there is no ARM64 printer driver?

If your printer manufacturer doesn’t provide an ARM64 driver, don’t assume the printer is now a giant gray paperweight. You have three main alternatives.

1. Use driverless printing

If your printer supports IPP/Mopria, this is usually the cleanest option. Your ARM64 laptop communicates with the printer using a standard protocol, instead of a native manufacturer driver.

2. Use a print server

A print server can provide another route to an existing printer fleet. Unfortunately, simply moving a printer queue onto a server doesn’t automatically solve every ARM64 driver problem. The complete client-to-server workflow still needs to be compatible with the ARM64 device.

3. Use print management software

For a single laptop, driverless printing may be enough. For an organization deploying hundreds or thousands of ARM64 devices, manually solving printer compatibility one device at a time isn’t really practical. That’s where print management (like PaperCut) comes in.

PaperCut and ARM64 devices

If you’re only managing a few ARM64 laptops, we suggest starting with Windows’ built-in IPP/Mopria printing as above.

For organizations rolling out ARM64 devices at scale, PaperCut Mobility Print provides an IPP-based way to keep users printing without relying on native printer drivers. While PaperCut Print Deploy can manage print queues across mixed x64 and ARM64 environments by identifying the end-user client’s architecture and automatically deploying and installing a compatible print queue and driver.

ARM64 devices can use the PaperCut Global Print Driver while x64 devices continue using a manufacturer driver. Job done!

The long-term solution: Print Support Apps and Mopria

You may have already realized that Microsoft is heading in one direction when it comes to Windows printing, and that direction is driverless.

Windows Ready Print, Microsoft’s modern print platform, uses IPP and the Microsoft IPP Class Driver to communicate, while Print Support Apps can provide additional printer-specific stuff (without requiring traditional third-party printer drivers).

So instead of asking ‘Does this printer have an ARM64 driver?’ a better question could be ‘Does this printer support IPP/Mopria printing?’

Considering it this way, it means you don’t need to maintain separate x64 and ARM64 driver packages (not to mention making future device rollouts way easier).

Mopria and IPP support basically help futureproof your printer fleet, especially as more and more organizations move towards ARM64 Windows devices.

What if the printer still won’t work?

If you’ve tried a native ARM64 driver, Windows’ built-in printing support, and IPP/Mopria, and the printer still doesn’t work, the device may genuinely be incompatible with your ARM64 environment (or you’ve been cursed).

Your options are to:

1. Use a compatible printer for the ARM64 user.
2. Connect through an appropriate print server or print management solution (hello there).
3. Keep the printer in service and just use it for x64 devices.
4. Flag it for replacement during the next hardware refresh.

You don’t necessarily need to replace an entire fleet right now. In many cases, a modern print-management or driverless printing approach can keep existing hardware working side-by-side, while new ARM64 devices are slowly introduced.

TL;DR

If your ARM64 laptop can’t print, check the driver before you blame the printer. Look for a native ARM64 driver, then try Windows’ built-in printer installation and check whether the printer supports IPP/Mopria.

For individual users, driverless printing is probably all you need to get going. For organizations rolling out ARM64 devices at scale, PaperCut Mobility Print provides an IPP-based way to keep users printing without relying on native printer drivers, while Print Deploy helps IT teams manage printer deployments across mixed x64 and ARM64 environments.

Learn how PaperCut solves the ARM64 printing problem