Sooner or later we are always going to face some kind of error when using Windows. Microsoft’s operating system is too comfortable, simple and useful for different tasks, both work and leisure. However, errors can always appear (in any system or application) and in this case we are going to see how to solve the annoying error 0x800f0214 when we try to install a printer in Windows.
Solve error 0x800f0214 when installing printer in Windows
Run the printer troubleshooter to fix error 0x800f0214
The first thing we will have to try is the simplest, use the printer troubleshooter. Windows has a function that allows you to automatically solve connection problems.
- We click on the Start menu.
- We choose Settings. Alternatively, we can press Windows + i.
- We go to the Troubleshoot option.
- We chose Other problem solvers.
- Now we are going to click on Run, next to the printer.
We wait for the process to finish and in theory, you should be able to fix the 0x800f0214 error. In case it is not, we can try the following method.
Temporarily disable antivirus or Windows Firewall
We recommend doing this temporarily to verify that our security software is not causing any kind of problems. However, it is not recommended to keep the software responsible for the security of our system permanently disabled.
The problem with this kind of software is that it can sometimes block the communication between the computer and the printer on a given network. So by disabling it we can verify if this is the case.
Reinstall the printer driver in compatibility mode
Another option is to uninstall and reinstall the printer driver in compatibility mode. It may happen that the driver we have is not compatible with Windows 11/10, even it is corrupted. The most advisable thing would be to verify that we do not have any pending Windows updates and then reinstall the driver.
We recommend checking the printer manufacturer’s website to download the latest driver. Once we have it available, we will reinstall the driver in compatibility mode by following these steps:
- We go to the location of the downloaded file.
- We right click on the Driver Configuration and we are going to choose Properties.
- We switch to the Compatibility tab.
- Here we will have to choose Run this program in compatibility mode for and then we will choose the version of the operating system from the drop-down menu (we can change it as many times as we want).
- Finally, we click Apply.
Check if Network Discovery and Printer Sharing are enabled
This solution is valid only in case we have an error when trying to install the printer driver on a shared network. Printer sharing is an excellent function of the operating system that allows us to use a printer that is not directly connected to our computer, but that is on the same network. To install a printer driver on a shared network, we will need to enable network discovery and file and printer sharing in Windows.
