Could '24 Office HM (or W11 26H2) Update Cause File-Print to be Fax

Question

Could '24 Office HM (or W11 26H2) Update Cause File-Print to be Fax

Craig Stark 0

Canon 800-Sppt Confirmed ALL Correct Settings and could NOT solve WHY - all of a sudden - **File / Print defaults to FAX. .... '**24 Word & Excel - AND Notepad All fax default. NOT just Office

He mentioned Windows twice when explaining Troubleshooting difficulty after All Canon Settings/Default Print Driver Checked OK.

W11 Pro 26H2 and '24 Office Home are Up-to-Date. Canon MF465dw II (MFP).

Clk Print Test Page does Print

Let Windows Manage Printer is OFF

Restart Print Spooler = No Help

Pretty sure in Printer Properties of the Default Print Driver / Ports .. he had me DELETE the FAX Member

Any educated guesses for a solution are appreciated!!

0 comments

Answer recommended by moderator

Kai-H 30,565 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi, Craig Stark

Since Notepad also opens with Fax selected, Office isn't the cause. Windows itself is still treating a fax queue as your default printer. The test page works because it goes straight to the Canon queue, while apps use whatever Windows has saved as the default.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

Remove the fax printers if you don't fax from your PC. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. Click any entry with "Fax" in the name, like the Microsoft "Fax" printer or "Canon ... FAX", and choose Remove. Then go to Settings > System > Optional features, find Windows Fax and Scan, and uninstall it. Restart the PC afterward. If there's no fax printer left, Windows can't pick one as the default.

Make the default stick with a registry fix. Press Windows key + R, type regedit and press Enter. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows. Double-click LegacyDefaultPrinterMode and set it to 1 (if it's not there, create it as a DWORD (32-bit) Value). Also check the Device value in the same place. It should start with your Canon printer's name, not Fax. Close regedit, set the Canon as default again in Settings, and restart.

Disclaimer: Generally, modifying registry subkeys or work group is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT Professionals. It can help fix some problems, however, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For further protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click How to back up and restore the registry in Windows - Microsoft Support to view the article.

Double-check the Canon driver. Open the Canon's Printer properties and go to the Advanced tab. The driver should say "Generic Plus UFR II" or "PCL6", not "Generic FAX". If it shows a fax driver, that queue is really the fax, so remove it and add the printer again using the Canon MF465dw II driver package.

Craig Stark 0 Reputation points

2026-10-29T12:02:30.12+00:00

Thanks. As stated toward my post end Canon Sppt did have me find Fax via Printer Properties / Ports and Delete it. In Advance Tab there is nothing like that. I never saw Fax Driver in Control Panel Programs (only the Print & Scan Drivers) and don't recall seeing it anywhere else but Ports. Fax capability is likely an "Included in" feature of the Print Driver or something else.
Craig Stark 0 Reputation points

2026-10-29T12:05:38.2366667+00:00

With a Site generated Answer after my Thread I'm not sure if I post in Comment After You or Reply - Will Try Reply)

Thanks. As stated toward my post end Canon Sppt did have me find Fax via Printer Properties / Ports and Delete it. In Advance Tab there is nothing like that. I never saw Fax Driver in Control Panel Programs (only the Print & Scan Drivers) and don't recall seeing Fax anywhere else but Ports. Fax capability is likely an "Included in" feature of the Print Driver or something else as in the Original Setup I Did NOT Dnload a Fax Driver per 800-Sppt.

Nothing in Optional Features.

Hopefully a future Update fixes this.

Best to you!
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Craig Stark 0 Reputation points

2026-10-30T17:36:24.8533333+00:00

Back to Normal - I NEVER believed Driver Re-install would matter!
I Removed the Print Driver in Settings, Re-Start, Control Panel and Clk'd the Uninstaller for the Print Driver - Got Popup Could Not Uninstall - I had to Uninstall the Canon fax Driver First and then Uninstall the Print Drvr. THERE IS / WAS No Fax Driver showing ( New Canon Setup did NOT have a Dnloaded FAX driver - Canon Sppt had me DELETE the Fax Driver showing in Printer Properties-Ports and maybe THAT affected seeing Nothing in Con Panel.
Anyway I went back to Settings/Printers-Drivers and did - Add Printer - and used Local button which led me to being offered the Canon Generic UFR Driver.
Kept Clk'ing - Made it default - Tested File / Print and the Generic Series UFR showed.
I'm low tech and Stumbling your way to Success isn't as much fun as KNOWING - But Thankful things are Normal even without knowing what just happened..
Thanks again for the suggestion.
Stefan Blom 357.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-30T19:24:31.6966667+00:00

I'm not sure if I post in Comment After You or Reply [---]

Side-note: Usually, Comments are better if you want to follow up a specific Answer from a forum contributor.
Craig Stark 0 Reputation points

2026-10-30T22:21:08.2966667+00:00

Some of my posts have Vanished BUT I Imaged back to yesterday 10/29 and NOW FAX shows in Dev Mgr and Ports.

I'll revisit Canon 800-Sppt and go from there.

Thanks!!
Kai-H 30,565 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-11-01T08:55:12.9766667+00:00

Hi, Craig Stark

Glad to hear that your issue has been resolved.

Have a nice day!

2 additional answers

Your answer

Craig Stark 0 Reputation points

2026-10-29T12:02:30.12+00:00

Thanks. As stated toward my post end Canon Sppt did have me find Fax via Printer Properties / Ports and Delete it. In Advance Tab there is nothing like that. I never saw Fax Driver in Control Panel Programs (only the Print & Scan Drivers) and don't recall seeing it anywhere else but Ports. Fax capability is likely an "Included in" feature of the Print Driver or something else.
Craig Stark 0 Reputation points

2026-10-29T12:05:38.2366667+00:00

With a Site generated Answer after my Thread I'm not sure if I post in Comment After You or Reply - Will Try Reply)

Thanks. As stated toward my post end Canon Sppt did have me find Fax via Printer Properties / Ports and Delete it. In Advance Tab there is nothing like that. I never saw Fax Driver in Control Panel Programs (only the Print & Scan Drivers) and don't recall seeing Fax anywhere else but Ports. Fax capability is likely an "Included in" feature of the Print Driver or something else as in the Original Setup I Did NOT Dnload a Fax Driver per 800-Sppt.

Nothing in Optional Features.

Hopefully a future Update fixes this.

Best to you!
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Craig Stark 0 Reputation points

2026-10-30T17:36:24.8533333+00:00

Back to Normal - I NEVER believed Driver Re-install would matter!
I Removed the Print Driver in Settings, Re-Start, Control Panel and Clk'd the Uninstaller for the Print Driver - Got Popup Could Not Uninstall - I had to Uninstall the Canon fax Driver First and then Uninstall the Print Drvr. THERE IS / WAS No Fax Driver showing ( New Canon Setup did NOT have a Dnloaded FAX driver - Canon Sppt had me DELETE the Fax Driver showing in Printer Properties-Ports and maybe THAT affected seeing Nothing in Con Panel.
Anyway I went back to Settings/Printers-Drivers and did - Add Printer - and used Local button which led me to being offered the Canon Generic UFR Driver.
Kept Clk'ing - Made it default - Tested File / Print and the Generic Series UFR showed.
I'm low tech and Stumbling your way to Success isn't as much fun as KNOWING - But Thankful things are Normal even without knowing what just happened..
Thanks again for the suggestion.
Stefan Blom 357.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-30T19:24:31.6966667+00:00

I'm not sure if I post in Comment After You or Reply [---]

Side-note: Usually, Comments are better if you want to follow up a specific Answer from a forum contributor.
Craig Stark 0 Reputation points

2026-10-30T22:21:08.2966667+00:00

Some of my posts have Vanished BUT I Imaged back to yesterday 10/29 and NOW FAX shows in Dev Mgr and Ports.

I'll revisit Canon 800-Sppt and go from there.

Thanks!!
Kai-H 30,565 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-11-01T08:55:12.9766667+00:00

Hi, Craig Stark

Glad to hear that your issue has been resolved.

Have a nice day!

Answer 1

SOLVED 11/2/26 Not seeing any sign of a Fax Driver (I never installed one on Day 1 setup) since the Canon 800 guy had me Delete it in Settings / my Default Print Driver / Printer Properties / Ports --- an Image Back on 10/30/26 to 10/29 Restored the Fax member in Dev Mgr and Ports. I THEN found in Settings/ my Default Print Driver Hardware Properties / Settings Tab / Devices & Printers Folder ... the Green Chk'd FAX Printer Icon for Default.

Rt Clk / SET AS DEFAULT PRINTER allowed me to choose the Desired Print Driver and All is Well!!
My Canon 800-Sppt ran out a day or two ago (1-Yr since Purch) so I was lucky.

FIXED - FILE-PRINT NETS FAX 11-2-26

Answer 2

Turn off Windows automatic printer management and explicitly set the Canon MF465dw II—not its Fax queue—as the default printer.

Set the correct Windows default

Open Start → Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
Under Printer preferences, turn Let Windows manage my default printer Off.
- When enabled, Windows makes the last-used printer the default, which can cause Fax to become selected after it has been used.
Select the actual Canon MF465dw II printer queue.
Select Set as default.
Confirm its status changes to Default. ^1^
Close all Office applications, reopen Word, and check File → Print.

Be careful if Windows lists similarly named Canon entries: choose the normal printer queue, not one containing Fax.

Determine whether this is Office-only

Microsoft does not currently list “File → Print defaults to Fax” among the published Windows 11 26H2 known issues. ^2^ An update could have coincided with a changed printer selection, but there is no documented 26H2-wide regression matching this symptom.

Run these two tests:

Open Notepad, type a line, and select File → Print.
Open Word and select File → Print.
In each application, note which printer is initially selected.

Microsoft confirms that applications can select a different or unavailable printer and recommends comparing another application or document. ^3^

Fax appears in both applications: this points to Windows printer selection rather than Office.
Canon appears in Notepad but Fax appears only in Word: manually select the Canon in Word, print one document, close Word completely, and reopen it.
Canon is selected but does not print: in Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → Canon MF465dw II → Printer properties → General, select Print Test Page.

The Fax entry itself is legitimate: Office can use the Windows Fax Printer Driver or Fax Services as a print destination when Windows Fax support is installed. ^4^

If the selection still reverts

Since Canon already checked the device settings and driver, do not repeat that work initially. Instead, reset the Windows printing service:

Press Windows key+R.
Enter services.msc and press Enter.
Find Print Spooler.
Right-click it and select Restart.
Close and reopen Word, then test again. ^3^

If a Windows test page fails after that, the issue has moved beyond a default-selection problem. At that point, run the Windows 11 automated printer troubleshooter in the Get Help app; it performs diagnostics and attempts repairs. ^5^

Reinstalling the Canon queue should be reserved for that failed-test-page case, because it removes and rebuilds the Windows printer configuration—and Canon has already verified the existing driver.

References