How to Open Devices and Printers in Windows 11

Open Devices and Printers Using the Settings App

The Settings ⚙️ app has a direct path to the classic window. It takes a few clicks, but it is handy if you don’t remember any commands. You go to Bluetooth 🔷 & devices, open the Devices page, and follow a link under Related settings. The steps below are in order. The Settings pages in Windows 11 have been reworked a few times, so if a label on your PC looks slightly different, use the Run method instead.

1. Open the Settings ⚙️ app. You can do it either of two ways:

   • Click the Start button, then click Settings. If Settings isn’t pinned to the Start menu ⊞, click All apps and find it in the list.
   • Or press Win+I on your keyboard to open Settings ⚙️ quickly. This works from almost anywhere in Windows.

   Either way, the Settings window should now be open, with a list of categories down the left side.
2. In Settings, click Bluetooth 🔷 & devices on the left side. The right side now shows your connected devices and a set of tiles for Devices, Printers & scanners, and more. If the Settings ⚙️ window is narrow, the category list may shrink to an icon strip. Widen the window or click the menu icon at the top left to see the names.

3. On the right side, find and click the Devices section to open it. The page that opens lists your paired Bluetooth 🔷 and other connected devices. Don’t confuse it with the Printers & scanners tile. That page is the newer Settings view of your printers, and it does not have the link we need.

4. Scroll down to the Related settings area near the bottom of the page, then click More devices and printers settings. If you don’t see it right away, keep scrolling, because the link sits below the device list. The longer your list of paired devices, the further down it is.

The classic Devices and Printers folder now opens in its own window. Connected devices and printers appear as icons inside it. Your default printer has a green check mark on its icon.

Depending on the device, the menu offers options such as See what's printing, Printer properties, and Remove device. Use Remove device with care. It takes the device out of the list, and you may have to add it again later. How much status information you get, ink levels included, depends on the printer's driver. Some makers only show ink levels in their own app. Close the window when you're done. Nothing was changed by opening it, so there is nothing to undo.

Open Devices and Printers Using the Run Box

This second method uses a longer command that points straight at the Devices and Printers folder. Because it contains braces and several colons, paste it rather than typing it by hand. One wrong character and Windows will say it can't find the file. Run works the same on Home and Pro, and no restart is needed.

1. Press Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run box. A small Run window appears at the bottom left of the screen. If the shortcut doesn't work, right-click the Start button and click Run instead.
2. Copy and paste this command into the box:
   
   shell:::{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}
   
3. Press Enter or click OK. The Devices and Printers window opens right away.

That's all there is to it. The folder stays open on screen until you close it, and you can use it the same way as in the Settings method above. If the window doesn't appear, or Windows says it can't find the file, open the Run box again and check that the command was pasted in full, with nothing missing at the start or end. Pasting it again from this page is usually quicker than fixing it by hand.

Summary

The Devices and Printers folder in Windows 11 is a central place for managing the hardware connected to your computer, including printers, scanners, and external devices. You can open it from the Settings app or with a command in the Run dialog box. Both ways end at the same window.

• The Devices and Printers folder lets you see and manage all devices and printers connected to your PC.
• You can open it from the Windows Settings app by going to Bluetooth & devices › Devices › More devices and printers settings. The last link is under Related settings, near the bottom of the page.
• Or open it faster using the Run box with this command: shell:::{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}. The shorter control printers command, typed into the same box, does the same job.
• Try both ways and use whichever one is easier for you. Neither needs a restart, and both work on Home and Pro.