Sharing printer Windows 11 error 0x00011b

Sharing printer is quite common for both working and home environments. However, there are many issue reports on shared printers from the year 2021, and the error goes Operation Failed with Error 0x0000011b. By this article posts, Microsoft hasn't released an overall fix for this issue. This article introduces some proven effective fixes. 

What the 0x0000011b error code means?

This issue is about a printer connecting error. And it happens when a PC connects to a shared printer on another PC, which stops the printing needs. However, the shared printer shows up on the remote PC and seems OK to be connected. It may also appear when trying to download the printer driver. And both Windows 10 and 11 have such an issue. 

Causes of the 0x0000011b error code 

The security patches Microsoft released to protect Windows 10 and 11 from Windows Print Spooler Spoofing caused vulnerability in remote code. And the involved patches are KB5005565 and KB5005568. These patches affected the remote connection to a printer via a shared network and asked for an admin right. 

How to fix the 0x0000011b error code?

For the spotted root reason, there are several temporary fixes approved effective to settle this problem. A quick solution is to allow administrative users to install the printer driver. Or you can reverse the Windows Print Spooler Spoofing patch default setting by disabling them. Below are the detailed steps for these two methods. 

Method 1: Install the printer driver again without admin
As mentioned above, when the 0x0000011b error occurred, printing is only allowed with admin rights connection to the target printer. To change this registry key needs to be edited. Follow the steps below for this: 

• Open the Registry Editor by pressing the Windows key + R;

• Search “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\PointAndPrint”at the top

• Edit the default value to 0.
• Click OK

Method 2: Reverse the settings brought by the update patches

Check below for a step-by-step guide. 

• Open Registry editor 
• Enter the Print section by this route - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print, or you can search directly in the top 
• Open the Default file and make the Value 0

Method 3: Uninstall updates

Another method is to remove the newly updated patches and eliminate the change but leave with the vulnerability these patches mean to cover. However, this can be the worry-free fix for this issue until Microsoft release an official solution. 

And it's pretty simple to follow this method. Just go to the Settings KB updates section and uninstall KB5005565. 

• Open Settings from the Windows Start button
• Enter into Windows Updates
• Check View Update History>Uninstall updates
• Search BKB5005565 here

Both Windows 10 and 11 can apply the above methods. And with knowledge about how this happened, it’s effortless to follow any solutions. The first two are temporary fixes, and the problem may appear again. The KB removal way brings risk and is not the most suggested, but it will solve this issue from the root. 

If when you were trying to take a printout from your Network-shared printer or add a new Printer and end up seeing the following error message, then this post will be able to help you:

Windows cannot connect to the printer, Error Operation failed with error 0x0000011b

Fix Network Printer Error 0x0000011b

If you are seeing Network Printer Error 0x0000011B, then the first thing you should do is update your computer. This issue is persistent in some of the Windows updates, so, if Microsoft has issued an update to fix the bug then installing it is what you need. To update Windows, open Run (Win + R), type “ms-settings:windowsupdate”, and click Ok. Now, click Check for Updates or Download, depending on the button that you are seeing.

These are the things you need to do to resolve the error.

1. Uninstall Windows Update
2. Tweak the Registry
3. Run Printer Troubleshooter

Let us talk about them in detail.

1] Uninstall Windows Update

This might sound a bit contradictory to some of you, but this issue can be solved by uninstalling Windows Update. If you are on Update KB5005565, KB5005573, etc, you may experience this issue as it is a problematic update and if you want, you can come to this solution after trying all the other fixes mentioned in this article, but if you want to resolve the error straight away, then uninstalling is what you need.

To uninstall Windows Update, follow the given steps.

1. Open Control Panel from the Start Menu.
2. Make sure that View by is set to Large icons.
3. Click Program and Features > View installed updates.
4. Now, look for the latest Windows Update, right-click on it and select Uninstall.

Now, restart your computer and check if the issue persists. If it does, then Hide that update for some time and see.

2] Tweak the Registry

CVE-2021-1678 mitigation is one of the reasons why you could be seeing Error Code 0x0000011B, this is not a permanent solution but while you are waiting for Windows to release a fix for this problem, you can try this.

Open Registry Editor from the Start Menu. Go to the following location.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print

Right-click on Print and select New > DWORD(32-bit) value. Name the newly created value “RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled”, and set the Value data to 0, and click Ok.

Now, you restart the computer and check if the issue persists.

Read: Fix Printer Error 0x00000bcb, Cannot connect to printer

3] Run Printer Troubleshooter

Printer Troubleshooter is a built-in feature in Windows 11 and 10 and running it can resolve the issue.

To run Printer Troubleshooter in Windows 11 follow the given steps.

1. Open Settings from the Start Menu.
2. Go to System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
3. Look for the Printer troubleshooter, and click on the Run button.

To run Printer Troubleshooter in Windows 10 follow the given steps.

1. Open Settings by Win + I.
2. Click Update & Troubleshooter  > Troubleshoot > Additional troubleshooter.
3. Click Printer and then Run the troubleshooter.

Let the troubleshooter do its job and check if the persists.

How to reset a Printer?

Sometimes, just resetting Printer can resolve some of your issues. Just turn off your Printer, unplug the power cables, wait for 15-30 seconds, plug it back in, and see if your issue persists.

Read Next: Fix Wireless Printer not responding on Windows 11/10.

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