How to enable or disable Windows Protected Print Mode (WPP) in Windows 11

This article explains how to enable or disable Windows Protected Print Mode (WPP) in Windows 11.

Windows Protected Print Mode (WPP) is a feature in Windows that provides enhanced protection for printing processes.

Microsoft has added support for WPP starting with Windows 11 build 26016 (Canary) using the existing IPP print stack where only Mopria-certified printers are supported and disables the ability to load third-party drivers.

By default, the Windows-protected print mode feature is disabled, allowing users to use existing print drivers and revert to legacy (driver-based) printing anytime.

This WPP feature is particularly useful for organizations like banks, hospitals, and government agencies dealing with sensitive information. By enabling WPP, users can rest assured that their confidential documents are handled with the utmost security.

Enable or disable Windows Protected Print Mode

As mentioned above, users can enable or disable WPP to provide enhanced print-process protection in their environments.

Here’s how to do it.

First, open the Local Group Policy Editor. (Search for ‘Edit group policy’) on the Start menu.

Then, navigate the folders below:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Printers

Then, locate and double-click the setting “Configure Windows protected print” in the Printers details pane on the right. “

On the Require Encryption window, set the option to Not Configure, Enabled, or Disabled.

• Not Configured (default)
• Enabled  – The computer will operate in Windows protected print mode which only allows printing to printers that support a subset of inbox Windows print drivers.
• Disabled – Same as Not Configured – There are no restrictions on the print drivers that can be installed or print functionality.

Click OK to save your changes and restart.

Enable or disable Windows Protected Print mode using Windows Registry Editor

Another way to enable or disable Windows Protected Print mode is to use the Windows Registry Editor.

First, open Windows Registry Editor.

Then, navigate to the registry key below.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\WPP

Next, double-click each of the (REG_DWORD) items on the Explorer key’s right pane to open it.

• EnabledBy
• WindowsProtectedPrintGroupPolicyState
• WindowsProtectedPrintMode
• WindowsProtectedPrintOobeConfigComplete

Enable WPP for all users

Then, enter a value next to each to enable WPP for all users.

• EnabledBy = 2
• WindowsProtectedPrintGroupPolicyState = 1
• WindowsProtectedPrintMode = 1
• WindowsProtectedPrintOobeConfigComplete =1

If you do not see the (REG_DWORD) items above, right-click a blank area and create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value. Then, enter the names of each of the items listed below:

• EnabledBy
• WindowsProtectedPrintGroupPolicyState
• WindowsProtectedPrintMode
• WindowsProtectedPrintOobeConfigComplete

Update the values above for each line. An example of EnabledBy is shown below.

Disable WPP for all users

To disable WPP for all users, delete the ‘EnabledBy,’ ‘WindowsProtectedPrintGroupPolicyState,’ and ‘WindowsProtectedPrintOobeConfigComplete‘ lines, and change ‘WindowsProtectedPrintMode‘ to 0.

• EnabledBy = delete this.
• WindowsProtectedPrintGroupPolicyState = delete this.
• WindowsProtectedPrintMode = 0
• WindowsProtectedPrintOobeConfigComplete = delete this.

You may have to restart your computer for the changes to apply.

Reference:

Microsoft

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to enable or disable Windows Protected Print mode (WPP) in Windows 11. Please use the comments form below if you find errors or have something to add.