4 Ways to Uninstall Drivers From Windows 11

Quick Tips

• The easiest way to uninstall a driver from Windows is via the Device Manager.
• Windows 11 also allows you to uninstall drivers using the Settings app, Control Panel, or Command Prompt.
• Uninstalling critical drivers without proper knowledge could cause your Windows 11 PC to malfunction.

Method 1: Uninstall Drivers Using Device Manager

Device Manager is a handy utility for managing various hardware devices installed on your system. It can also be used to easily uninstall a driver from your computer. Here’s how.

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon > select Device Manager from the list.

Step 2: In the Device Manager window, locate the driver you want to remove. Right-click on it and select Uninstall device.

Step 3: Select Uninstall when prompted.

Method 2: Uninstall Drivers via Settings

Another option for uninstalling drivers in Windows 11 is to use the Settings app. It’s similar to how you uninstall an app from Windows. Here are the steps you can follow.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app and head to Apps > Installed apps.

Step 2: Scroll down or use the search bar at the top to locate the driver you want to get rid of. Click the three-dot menu icon next to it and select Uninstall.

Step 4: Select Uninstall again to confirm.

Method 3: Uninstall Drivers With Control Panel

Although Microsoft intends to retire the Control Panel soon, it is still a popular option for making system-level changes on Windows. If you’re a veteran Windows user who prefers the Control Panel, employ the following steps to remove a device driver.

Step 1: Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog > type control in the box > press Enter.

Step 2: Use the drop-down menu at the top right to change the view type to Large icons > click on Programs and Features.

Step 3: Locate and select the unwanted driver from the list. Then, click Uninstall at the top > follow the on-screen prompts to remove the driver.

Method 4: Uninstall Drivers With Command Prompt

If you’re a terminal geek, you may already be using Command Prompt to run batch files, troubleshoot system issues, and perform various other tasks. But did you know you can also use it to uninstall a driver from your Windows PC? We’ll show you how.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type cmd in the search box, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Paste the following command and press Enter to view a list of your PC’s available drivers.

Dism /online /Get-Drivers /Format:Table

Step 3: Note down the Published Name of the driver you want to uninstall.

Step 4: Run the following command to remove the driver.

pnputil /delete-driver [Published Name] /uninstall /force

Replace [Published Name] in the above command with the name noted in the last step.

In the following example, we try removing the Samsung Electronics Modem driver. So, this is the command we used:

pnputil /delete-driver oem52.inf /uninstall /force