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Redirected Printer Not Printing - Issues Checklist

Editorial Team Editorial Team Jan 14, 2025

Resolving problems with Windows printing can be very challenging. When faced with redirected printers not printing under the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), multiple items need to be checked to identify the issue.

This article discusses some of the most common reasons Remote Desktop printer redirection is not working in Remote Desktop Services (RDS).

If you are using a Windows computer and your installed printer is not visible in your Remote Desktop session, it could be for a variety of reasons. These are the most likely causes of RDP printer redirection not working.

Table of Contents:
  1. Checking printer recognition by the server
  2. Verifying the remote computer’s print server configuration
  3. Ensuring printer redirection is enabled on both client and server
  4. Troubleshooting Group Policy settings related to printer redirection
  5. Conclusion

The Printer Is Not Recognized by the Server

If a local printer is not showing in Remote Desktop, you need to verify that the server recognizes the printer.

Verify Printer in Print Management: On the remote server, open the Print Management console and then expand the Printers section in the print server. The printer you want to use should be listed here.

Print management

Check Printer Drivers: Look into the Drivers container to ensure you are using the right driver for the printer. In some cases, the absence of the correct drivers can prevent printers from appearing in the remote session. Installing the latest drivers compatible with the server’s operating system can resolve this issue.

Inspect Ports for Redirection: The Ports container should also be checked. It should verify printer redirection is active from the client. In the example below, a client is redirecting printer activity to a remote print server using port TS005. If your printer is not recognized, you may have a driver or port issue.

Check print management

Install Necessary Printer Drivers: Ensure that the appropriate printer drivers are installed on the server. In some cases, the absence of the correct drivers can prevent printers from appearing in the remote session. Installing the latest drivers compatible with the server’s operating system can resolve this issue.

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The Remote Computer Is Not Configured as a Print Server

If printing over RDP is not working, it could be that the remote computer is not correctly configured to be a print server. The machine needs to be set up as a print server even when the printers are not directly connected to it. By default, a Windows Server system is configured to be a print server, but this function may have been disabled and be the cause of your problem. You can check the status of the Print Spooler service through the Services Management Console and start it if necessary:
1
To check if the Print Spooler service is running, open the Run app and type in SERVICES.MSC to open the Service Control Manager.
Print Spooler service is running
2
Open Server Manager and choose Print Management from the Tools menu. Verify that the server’s name you want to print from is listed in the Print Servers section.
Open Server Manager and choose Print Management

Printer Redirection Is Not Enabled

The Microsoft RDP client rather than terminal services is used to control printer redirection. If a Remote Desktop redirected printer is not printing, it may be due to the client setting used to facilitate hardware redirection. If print redirection has been disabled by a system administrator, print jobs will not be sent to the remote printer over RDP. Instead, the jobs will be sent to a locally mapped printer.

The procedure for verifying the state of printer redirection is simple and varied based on the RDP client version. When using Windows 10, use the following steps to see if device redirection has been turned off on your system.

  1. Open the RDP client and click the Show options located in the bottom-left corner.
  2. Click the Local Resources tab to view connected devices.
  3. Ensure that the Printers checkbox is checked for the printers you want to use.
Local Resources tab

Ensure Printer Redirection is Enabled

Verify that printer redirection is enabled on both the client and server sides:

  • On the client, in the Remote Desktop Connection settings, navigate to the "Local Resources" tab and ensure the "Printers" option is checked.
  • On the server, confirm that Group Policy settings permit printer redirection. Specifically, the policy "Do not allow client printer redirection" should be disabled or not configured.

Group Policy Is Misconfigured and Blocking Printer Redirection

Review Group Policy Settings

A misconfigured Group Policy can be the reason that Remote Desktop connection printer redirection is not working. A setting within the Group Policy controls whether printer redirection is permitted or not.

Navigate to the printer-related settings which are located at: Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Printer Redirection.

Group Policy settings

If the “Do not allow client printer redirection” setting is enabled, it will result in RDP not printing to a local printer. Disable this setting to allow printer redirection and ensure your other redirection settings are configured correctly.

Conclusion

Be aware of common issues such as print jobs disappearing, printers not showing up in the session, garbled text output, and long printing delays. These problems can often be traced back to driver issues, network connectivity problems, or misconfigurations in the RDP settings. Regularly updating drivers and ensuring stable network connections can mitigate these issues.

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