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If your printer has suddenly started spewing gibberish, it isn’t a ghost. A bug in a recent Windows 11 update is causing some USB printers to produce random, programming-related text.
Microsoft traced the problem to a Windows 11 preview update, KB5050092, that began rolling out on Jan. 29. The error affects printers that connect via USB cables. Microsoft says people "might observe that the printer unexpectedly prints random text and data, including network commands and unusual characters."
In some cases, Microsoft says the printed text can include the term "POST /ipp/print HTTP/1.1,” along with the headers used on the Internet Printing Protocol. The company adds: “This issue tends to occur more often when the printer is either powered on or reconnected to the device after being disconnected.”
Microsoft didn't say what’s causing the problem. But the company has isolated the issue to the installed printer drivers on Windows and the print spooler, a software component that sends print jobs to the printer. When the Windows computer sends internet printing protocol messages to the printer, it’ll cause the hardware to churn out unexpected text.
Microsoft is working on a “final resolution that will be part of a future Windows update.”
The problem does not affect the latest Windows 11 24H2 release. It only impacts users running the KB5050092 preview or later updates, including Windows 11 version 23H2, version 22H2, and the final version of Windows 10 22H2.
As an interim fix, Microsoft is telling IT administrators at businesses that they can use the “Known Issue Rollback” tool to reverse the affected Windows machines to a previous state. Microsoft’s support page has more details, including downloads for the rollback tool, which can "temporarily disable the change causing the printing issue" once it's installed.
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