Windows 10 October 2018 Update no longer includes basic external printer drivers

Microsoft will no longer bundle printer drivers with Windows 10 by default starting with the October Update 2018. The company stated that its reason is due to the OS’s ever-growing size, and that users who wish to get them can download them from Windows Update.

While new installations won’t include the drivers by default, users who upgraded to Windows 10 October Update 2018 from an older version will still be able to use the drivers that are still installed. For users who started with the new update, Windows 10 will install the appropriate printer drivers automatically upon hitting print on a document or web page, or fall back to the Mopria printer service if the printer is Mopria-compatible.

For those unfamiliar, Mopria is a wireless printing service that that allows computers and mobile devices to communicate with printers using a single universally-compatible service. Microsoft says that the majority of modern Wi-Fi printers are compatible with the Mopria standard.

Microsoft’s recent October 2018 Update has been pulled from Windows Update amid a number of consumers saying that the update deleted files from their systems. Later, Microsoft said that it was working on a fix.