HP printer driver is unavailable on Windows

The HP printer driver not being available is common issue users have encountered in the past few years. If your HP printer driver is unavailable, it'll cause problems while printing, scanning, copying, and other functions. We've mentioned the solutions to fix your "HP printer driver unavailable windows 10" issue. This guide will help you to resolve the HP driver issues. 

What is an HP printer driver?

Before you fix the driver unavailable printer HP error, you should know what an HP printer driver is and why it is important.

An HP printer driver helps your PC communicate with your HP printer. It translates and decodes the PC's commands and helps understand your HP printer. Therefore, when the HP printer driver not available, your printer doesn't understand the PC commands and stops you from printing. The outdated or corrupt drivers also result in low-quality printing results.

Why your HP printer says Driver unavailable? 

There are a few causes of the "driver unavailable printer HP" error. Once you find out the primary cause, you can easily fix the problem in your HP printer. We've mentioned the basic causes of the HP printer driver not available error below–

• HP printer driver is corrupt
• Drivers are outdated
• HP printer driver is unavailable
• Contents in the spooler are corrupt
• System or drivers are incompatible
• Drivers for the HP printer are missing.

You can fix these causes using an automatic driver fixer tool.

How to fix the "HP printer driver unavailable windows 10" issue?

When an HP printer says Driver unavailable, you have to take some actions to fix the error. Below, some reasonable solutions are mentioned to fix the "driver is unavailable printer hp" error. Read and follow these fixes to start printing again with your HP printer. 

Fix 1- Update Your Windows 10/11

HP printer driver unavailable windows 10 error message could result from outdated Windows updates. In this case, you should quickly install the available Windows updates.

• Open the start menu. 
• Enter Update. 
• Click on Check For Updates in the first result.

• If available, Windows will automatically install on your PC.
• Restart the PC after the installation completes.

• Start your HP printer and retry printing. If you still see Driver is unavailable printer HP error, then take another action.

Fix 2 – Reinstall HP Printer Drivers       

Reinstalling HP printer drivers means uninstalling older drivers and installing new ones on windows. So, when your Device says the HP printer driver is unavailable, try reinstallation. Here's how you can do it using the device manager.

• On your keyboard, press the Windows key + R, and it'll open the Run dialogue box.
• Carefully, enter this - devmgmt.msc.

• Then, press Enter or click OK.
• Your HP printer displays. Expand and right-click on the HP model and select the Uninstall device option. 

• Confirm the uninstallation of the HP printer driver.

• You can directly go to the HP manufacturer site and select your HP model.
• Then, enter your HP model name in the box and click Submit.

• Download the latest driver setup for your HP printer and install it.

You can otherwise use eSoftSafe Driver Updater Pro to reinstall the latest HP drivers.

Fix 3 - Update Your HP Printer Drivers       

If your printer driver is outdated, then updating it solves many issues. Updating the HP printer driver has two methods, the manual, and using Driver updated pro.

Method 1 – Update the HP driver manually

• Press the Windows key.
• Search and open Device Manager.
• Expand Printers.
• Right-click on your HP printer model.
• Select the Update Driver option.
• Select to search drivers automatically.
• If any older driver is detected, install it on your pc.

Method 2 – Using eSoftSafe driver updater pro

It's an automatic tool to keep your HP driver up-to-date every time.

• Download the eSoftSafe Driver Updater Pro tool.

• Install the tool by double-clicking on driverupdaterprosetup.exe and following instructions.
• Launch the eSoftSafe Driver Updater Pro.
• Scan for HP printer drivers and click Update to update the Driver.

Fix 4 - Start Spooler service

To fix HP printer driver unavailable windows 10 error, you should also restart the spooler service to make sure to add contents. If the spooler service stops, you cannot reinstall or uninstall an HP driver.  

• Click Start and right-click to MY COMPUTER.
• Click on Manage and double–click on SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS.
• Open services.
• Highlight the PRINT SPOOLER on Services.
• Hit on START THE SERVICE.

If starting the spooler service doesn't fix the driver unavailable printer HP error, it's not the spooler service issue but something else. 

Fix 5 – Remove and Reconnect Your HP Printer

Sometimes the HP printer doesn't recognize the PC connection and drivers, so "HP printer driver is unavailable" or "driver is unavailable printer hp" and other error messages. Try the below steps to get rid of such error messages.

• Open the control panel in your windows. 
• Open the devices and printers tab further.
• The connected HP printer should be displayed now.
• Select your HP model causing the issue and right-click on it.
• Select Remove Device.
• Now, press Windows + R, enter devmgmt.msc, and hit OK.
• Open Print queues and right-click on your printer model.
• Click Uninstall device.
• Again, press Windows + R, enter appwiz.cpl, and click OK.
• Right-click and again select uninstall.
• Now, your HP printer should be disconnected from all the above processes. Ensure to disconnect the USB or the wireless connection as well.
• Shut down all your devices, including the HP printer, computer, and router.
• Wait for at least 10 to 15 minutes, reconnect all devices to power, and restart.    
• Connect your HP model and the computer using the USB cable or wireless connection.
• Open Control Panel in your Windows 10 system and right-click to open Device.
• Then, click on your HP model and choose the option to select as the default printer.    

Now, you should try testing a print on your HP printer to see whether the "HP printer driver not available" error has been removed or not. 

Fix 6 - Scan and Fix Driver Issues

When your HP printer says Driver unavailable and you've tried all the above solutions, then maybe drivers themselves are creating problems. So follow the below steps to scan all driver issues. Here we'll use the eSoftSafe driver updater pro tool.

• Install eSoftSafe driver updater pro.
• Make sure you accept license terms while installing the tool.
• Click the Scan tab to scan your PC drivers
• When the result shows, you'll see problematic drivers enlisted.
• Click Fix Now to fix all driver issues.
• If any update requires, click update.

Can't install the Driver updater tool? Here's how to do it

We have mentioned the eSoftSafe Driver Updater tool above. If you couldn't install it correctly on your Windows 10, follow the below steps to install and run it –

Step 1 – Download the program below.  

Step 2 – Open the downloaded file location and double-click driverupdaterprosetup.exe.

Step 3 – If permission is asked, click Yes and next.

Step 4 – The license agreement appears. Read and accept to complete the installation.

Step 5 – Go to the Start menu, search eSoftSafe Driver Updater Pro, and open it.

Step 6 – Scan your Windows PC and fix all drivers' issues, including the "HP printer driver is unavailable" error.