Your home or office network might be working correctly, and you had some awesome print out last night but suddenly in the morning, you see the following error message when you tried to print something on your network printer.
In this guide, I will try to explain the cause and solution to this problem.
What is causing the printer error 0x0000011B on Windows 10 & 11?
We are talking about the network printing mechanism where more than two computers are involved. So, in terms of network printing, there are two different mechanisms that work, client computer and host computer.
A client computer sends a printing request to the host computer, and the host computer which has a printer installed locally receives a printing request from the client computer and forwards that request to the installed printer.
If the printer has network capabilities then it directly receives the request from the local computer and prints it.
Before going to resolve this issue, you must find out the problematic computer otherwise you will lose your valuable time by fixing the wrong computer in the network.
Analyzing the Problematic Area
Go to the Host computer where the printer is installed and print something directly using the host computer.
- If the host computer is unable to print, it means your network configuration is good and the problem is with the host computer and printer connectivity.
- If the host computer can print, it means everything is fine in the host computer and the problem is with network connectivity between client computers and host computers.
You must test the network connectivity between your client computer and the host computer. If the client computer can talk to the host computer then you are good to go for further fixing. You can check the communication between two network computers as follows:
ipconfig
.Ping 192.168.1.4
- Restart Modem, Router, and Switches.
- Check the loose RJ45 cable connectivity.
- Disable Firewall & Network protection to see if computers can talk to each other.
- Run Network Troubleshooter, etc.
How to Fix cannot connect to the printer Error 0x0000011B on Win 10 & 11
Well, we talked too much about this printer error and now the time is to remove it from your PC. There are some common fixes are there that will help you in resolving this issue.
Method 1: Fix using the Advanced System Repair Tool
No one knows the exact reason behind the printer error 0x0000011B, and it can appear due to various reasons like missing/corrupted system files, corrupted registry files, outdated windows updates, and drivers, malware/virus/trojan attacks, etc.
So, it is recommended that use Advanced System Repair Tool fixes all the system errors with just in one click.
Method 2: Restore your PC using System Restore Point
This is the easy and best way to remove any unwanted trouble on a Windows-based PC. If your computer was working fine and suddenly it starts showing its attitude, just restore it with an earlier restore point and done! You will notice that the recent trouble along with printer error 0x0000011B has been gone forever.
Method 3: Uninstall Recent Updates
However, installing updates is a wise choice as it fixes various bugs and security issues but sometimes it creates a harder security wall for computers to communicate with other computers on the network. Some KB files are listed below that usually cause the network connectivity problem and stop LAN PC to use the printer.
Some Faulty KB’s are:
KB5005569 (Build 10240.19060) for version 1507.
KB5005573 (Build 14393.4651) for version 1607.
KB5005568 (Build 17763.2183) for version 1809.
KB5005566 (Build 18363.1801) for version 1909.
KB5005565 (Build 19041.1237, 19042.1237, and 19043.1237) for v2004, 20H2, v21H1.
KB5006674
These update files fix vulnerabilities in the network and sometimes creates a harder rule for network printer too. Either you can remove this KB file or install the latest Microsoft patches, updates, and hotfixes to remove printer error 0x0000011B.
How to Uninstall/Remove Windows 10 Updates
Method 4: Disable RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled in Registry
In order to overcome from security bypass vulnerability, which is also known as the Nightmare vulnerability, Microsoft has released the Nightmare update to resolve it. However, this update had been released to fix the vulnerability issue in the network printer, but it gave birth to a new issue that stopped network printer to work properly and causing the error code 0x0000011B.
So, to fix this problem, you need to set the DWord value to 0 for the RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled key in the registry file. You can do this as follows:
regedit
and press Enter to open it.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print
RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled
.Method 5: Run Printer Troubleshooter
I generally don’t believe in Troubleshooting features in Windows OS. I don’t know whether it is only me or someone is out there, but the troubleshooting doesn’t work for me most of the time. However, if you are lucky enough, then it may repair your printer settings and make it functional again.
These are the steps to open and run Printer troubleshooting to fix printer error code 0x0000011B.
Summary
Fixing Printer Error 0x0000011B is not a big job if you have proper computer skills and you have administrative access to the PC. Just follow the methods explained in this article and you will be able to resolve cannot connect to the printer Error 0x0000011B on Win 10 & 11.