How to Install and Update Drivers on Windows 11

Without device drivers, or simply drivers as they are more commonly known, Windows 11 would not work.

They contain all the code necessary for the operating system to communicate and control both the hardware of the device and any external accessories you connect.

But with so many things done automatically in the background, that might not be something you thought of. Although Windows 11 installs and updates drivers for you, it’s not perfect.

Drivers can easily disappear or become outdated, so it’s important to know how to install them yourself. In this article, we will walk through the automatic and manual methods.

How to Automatically Install Windows 11 Drivers

By default, Windows 11 will automatically download and update the necessary drivers. But it’s worth making sure this always happens, or disabling it if you prefer:

1. Head to Settings > System > About

2. In the “Related links” section, click on “Advanced system settings”

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3. In the window that appears, choose the ‘Hardware’ tab

4. Click “Device Installation Settings”

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5. If not already selected, click “Yes” to ensure automatic downloads and updates. To switch to manual, click ‘No’ followed by ‘Save changes’ and ‘OK’

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When manual mode is enabled, your device will immediately stop installing and updating drivers: there is no need to restart your device.

This allows you to be more selective about the drivers you install, but you’ll need to keep up to date with updates to make sure everything is working properly.

How to Manually Install Windows 11 Drivers

There are several ways to manually install drivers in Windows 11. The first is through Settings, which is the only one you’ll need to check if automatic updates are still on, unless you notice something isn’t working. properly :

1. Head to Settings > Windows Update > Advanced Options

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2. Under “Additional options”, click on “Optional updates”

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3. If driver updates are available, a section should be displayed here. Click on it to expand

4. Check the box next to the updates you want, then click “Download and Install”

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These updates will now be installed like any new version of Windows 11. If you’re not prompted to do so, it’s worth restarting your device at this point.

But not all driver updates that would usually be installed automatically will appear in the settings. If you have disabled automatic updates, you will need to download them manually from the respective company websites.

For most devices, you will need the device manufacturer’s drivers and the processor it uses. For each of the most popular below, search using your hardware model and serial number:

Once downloaded, you will need to install the drivers through Device Manager:

1. In the search bar next to the start menu, search for “device manager” and open the corresponding option

2. For each driver, expand the appropriate category and find the driver you want to replace

3. Right-click on it and choose “Update Driver”

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4. In the window that appears, click “Browse my computer for drivers”

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5. On the next screen, click “Browse…”

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6. Select the folder where the driver installation files are located

7. Make sure the box next to “Include subfolders” is checked, then click “Next”

8. Click ‘Close’

Repeat this process for any other driver you wish to install.

But for graphics cards, the links above will not necessarily work. Your best bet for these is to get the control panel app for the GPU manufacturer, which can act as a hub for downloading and installing driver updates.

Here are the three most common:

Once installed, simply follow the on-screen instructions and check for updates. You can also download them individually, but the dedicated software is much simpler.

How to check if Windows 11 drivers have been installed

There’s usually no confirmation message, so how do you know the drivers were installed successfully? Fortunately, it is easy to check:

1. In the search bar next to the start menu, search for “device manager” and open the corresponding option

2. Make sure there are no yellow warning signs indicating something is wrong. If so, double click on this option and check its status

3. Right-click on the driver you want to check and choose “Properties”

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4. Select the ‘Driver’ tab

5. Check if the ‘Driver Date’ and ‘Driver Version’ match the one you tried to install

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