How to Set Your Default Printer in Windows 11 or 10

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Plus, how to keep Windows from changing it back

Co-authored by Megaera Lorenz, PhD Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: February 9, 2026 Fact Checked

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Setting Your Default Printer

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Troubleshooting

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It’s not always obvious how to set a default printer in Windows. Even worse, Windows has a tendency to keep changing the default printer automatically. Luckily, this annoying issue is usually pretty easy to fix. In this article, we’ll explain how to manually set your default printer and prevent Windows from changing it back. We’ll also cover common troubleshooting issues.

Set the Default Printer in Windows: Quick Steps

Open the Start menu and select Settings.
Go to Bluetooth & devices (or Devices) > Printers & scanners.
Make sure “Let Windows manage my default printer” is turned off.
Click the printer you want to set as your default.
In Windows 10, click Manage after selecting the printer.
Click the Set as default button.

Section 1 of 2:

Setting Your Default Printer

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Open the Settings menu. Click the Windows Start icon, then select Settings.
- You can also open your settings by pressing the Windows key + i.
If you’re using Windows 10, this is just called Devices.

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Make sure the “Let Windows manage my default printer” setting is turned off. This option allows Windows to automatically assign a default printer. Typically, it will default to the last printer you used.^{[1]
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- In Windows 11, this setting is under the Printer preferences header. In Windows 10, it’s under the list of printers and scanners.
- If you’re using Windows 10, uncheck the box next to this option. In Windows 11, toggle it off.
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Click the printer you want to set as the default. A new window will open.
- In Windows 10, click the printer, then click Manage.
- Don’t see the printer you want? You might need to manually add or install it.
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Click Set as default. You should see this button next to the printer’s name.
- In Windows 10, you’ll see this button under Printer status: in the Manage your device window.
- Once you click Set as default, you should see your printer’s status change to Default.

Section 2 of 2:

Troubleshooting

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Why does my default printer keep changing? The most common reason is having the “Let Windows manage my default printer” setting enabled. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices (or Devices) > Printers & scanners and make sure that setting is toggled off (Windows 11) or unchecked (Windows 10). If the “Let Windows manage my default printer” setting re-enables itself whenever you restart or log in, you can make some changes to the registry to keep that from happening (just make sure you back up the registry first in case something goes wrong):
- Press Win + R and type regedit, then hit Enter.
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows.
- Look for a DWORD called LegacyDefaultPrinterMode.
  - If you don’t see it, create it by right-clicking the registry key in the left menu pane and selecting New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Enter the name LegacyDefaultPrinterMode.
- Set the value of the DWORD to 1.
- Create another DWORD in the same key called MaintainDefaultPrinter. Set that value to 1 as well.
This probably means the “Let Windows manage my default printer” setting is turned on. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices (or Devices) > Printers & scanners and toggle it off or uncheck it.
Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices (or Devices) > Printers & scanners. Your default printer should say “Default” under its name. You can also click an individual printer (or click the printer and then select Manage in Windows 10) to see its status.