This post will show you how to rename a printer in Windows 11/10. By default, whenever you install a printer, Windows 11/10 automatically sets its name based on the printer series, model number, and manufacturer.
If you ever feel the need to change the printer name, you can do it using built-in options available in Windows 11/10. This post covers all those options with step-by-step instructions to rename a printer including the built-in virtual printer known as Microsoft Print to PDF. You can change the name of a Printer in Windows 11/10 using Settings, Control Panel, PowerShell, or Command Prompt.
How to rename a Printer in Windows 11
In this post, we have shown you four ways you can change the name of the printer in Windows 11/10:
- Using the Settings app
- Control Panel
- Windows PowerShell
- Command Prompt
1] Rename a Printer using the Settings app
Here are the steps for Windows 11 users:
- Press Win+I hotkey to open the Settings app
- Click on the Bluetooth & devices category
- Click on Printers & scanners. The list of available printers and scanners will be visible to you
- Select a printer
- Click on the Printer properties option present under the Printer settings section
- In the Printer Properties window, go to the General tab
- Click on the Change Properties button available on the bottom left part
- Again, go to the General tab
- Add printer name in the field available just next to the printer icon
- Click on the OK button.
That’s it! Now when you will access Printers & scanners page or the Devices and Printers section, you will see the new name of that particular printer. In the same way, you can use the above steps to change the name of other added printers.
In Windows 11 24H2 and later, to rename the printer, take these steps:
Open Windows Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and then ppen the Printer’s Properties. Next, click on Additional printer settings, and then on Rename your printer > Rename button. Write the name and click on Save.
Here are the steps for Windows 10 users.
The settings app contains a separate page for Printers & scanners. You can access that page and then proceed further to rename a printer.
To Rename a Printer using the Settings app:
- Open the Settings app using Win+I shortcut key
- Access the Devices menu
- Select the Printers & scanners page.
- On the right-hand side, you will see the list of available printers and scanners.
- Select a printer of your choice and then press the Manage button.
- Under Manage your device section, use the Printer properties option.
This will open the Properties window of that printer with General tab.
There you will see the name field.
Now you can enter any name you prefer and Apply and save the changes using OK button.
2] Rename Printer name using the Control Panel in Windows 11/10
To Rename a Printer using the Control Panel:
- Type control panel in Windows Search box and press Enter.
- Under Control Panel, change View by mode to Small icons or Large icons.
- Select the Devices and Printers option.
- All the installed printers will be visible to you.
- Right-click on a printer and use Printer properties option.
The Printer Properties box will open with General tab. In the name field, enter the desired name, and save it.
Your printer’s name will be changed successfully.
3] Change the name of a Printer using PowerShell in Windows 11/10
Windows PowerShell lets you rename a printer using two simple commands.
First of all, you need to open an elevated PowerShell.
Now, get the list of installed printers using the following command:
Get-printer | Format-List name
The name of all printers will be visible to you. Copy or remember the name of the printer you want to rename.
Now, you need to run a command that will contain the new name and the old/current name of your printer, just like the second command highlighted in the image above. The command is:
Rename-printer -NewName “New Name of Printer” -Name “Current or Old Name of Printer”
This will change the name of that printer immediately.
4] Change Printer name using Command Prompt in Windows 11/10
Command Prompt also helps you rename a printer with two simple commands. In the first command, you can see the names of all available printers. And, the second command uses a VBS script to rename a printer.
In the first step, you have to run the Command Prompt as an administrator.
After that, open the list of printers using this command:
wmic printer list brief
Now you know the printer name that you want to rename. Move to the second step.
Execute the following command to rename your printer:
Cscript C:\Windows\System32\Printing_Admin_Scripts\en-US\prncnfg.vbs -z “New Name of Printer” -x -p “Current Name of Printer”
Just add a new name and existing name of your printer in the command and it will rename that printer.
This is how you can rename a printer in Windows 11/10.
All the options and steps are pretty simple. Use any option you like and change the default printer name to the custom name of your choice.
How do I rename my printer?
Whether you want to rename your printer in a Windows 11 or Windows 10 computer, both Windows OSs have some built-in options. Among those options, the Settings app option is pretty easy. We have also covered all the steps in this post to rename a printer using the Settings app for Windows 11/10.
You can also use other options, such as CMD, Control Panel, and Windows PowerShell, to rename a printer. This post covers all these options.
Can’t rename Printer in Windows 11
If you are unable to rename printers in Windows 11, make sure you have installed Microsoft’s Printer Metadata Remediation Tool (KB5034510), which restores proper printer settings and removes unwanted HP Smart app installations. Download it from Microsoft.com and then run it via Command Prompt (Admin) using the command:
PrintMetadataTroubleshooterXYZ.exe.
How do I rename a printer on the print server?
If you want to rename a network printer, you can also do it easily on Windows 11/10 computers. You simply need to access the Devices and Printers section under Control Panel. After that, you will see a list of all the available printers. Right-click on your network printer and click on the Printer properties option. When the Properties window is opened, use the General tab, add the printer name in the required field, and save the changes.
Now read: How to rename a Bluetooth device.
