When trying to add a network printer, you may receive the following error message: Windows cannot connect to the printer. Error 0x0000011b in Windows 11
If you can’t print to a network printer, or if you can’t install or connect to it due to the error “Error 0x0000011b,” or if you receive error 0x0000011b when trying to print to a network printer in Windows 10 and Windows 11, Fortricks shows you three ways to troubleshoot this problem.
How to Fix Windows Shared Printer Error 0x0000011b
When connecting or configure to a shared network printer, you may receive a ‘Windows can’t connect to the printer error with codes 0x0000011b or 0x00000002. If you encounter this problem, check out this article.
There are four possible solutions to error 0x0000011b. Try them one by one until the issue is resolved.
Solution 1: Install all pending updates
If your Windows 11/10 still has pending updates, it’s recommended to first make sure you’re using the latest patches. The steps are as follows:
Step 1: Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box. Type ms-settings:windowsupdate and press Enter to open the Windows Update page.
Step 2: Go to the right menu and click “Download now” if a new update is available. If there are no pending updates, click “Check for updates” to search.
Step 3: Wait for each pending update to install, then restart your computer and wait for the next startup to complete.
Afterward, you can check for error 0x0000011b.
Solution 2: Uninstall Problematic Windows Updates
If you start seeing error code 0x0000011b after installing the latest Windows updates, uninstall them and see if that works. Many Windows 11 users confirmed that uninstalling KBKB5005565 and KB5005568 fixed the problem. Here’s the guide:
Step 1: Open the Run dialog box, type appwiz.cpl, and press Enter to open the Programs and Features page.
Step 2: Click “View installed updates” in the left menu. If prompted again to grant administrator rights, click Yes.
Step 3: In the “Installed updates” tab, review all installed updates and locate update KB5005565. Then, right-click it and select “Uninstall.”
Step 4: On the next line, click Yes to confirm the uninstallation of the problematic security update.
Alternatively, you can use the command line to remove recently installed Windows updates.
Step 1: Click the search icon and type cmd in the search field.
Step 2: Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
Step 3: Type the command wusa /uninstall /kb: and press Enter. Type the KB number after the colon. For example, if you want to uninstall KB5004567, type the command line wusa /uninstall /kb:KB5004567.
After uninstalling the update, check if Windows could not connect to the printer (error 0x0000011b).
Solution 3: Disable CVE-2021-1678 mitigation
Disabling CVE-2021-1678 mitigation is the way to fix error 0x0000011b. Here’s the guide:
Step 1: Open the Run dialog box, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Step 2: Navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print
Step 3: Right-click Print and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Step 4: Name the new key RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled.
Step 5: Double-click the new key, set its value to 0, and click OK.
Step 6: Restart your computer and check if the 0x0000011b error persists.
Solution 4: Download and Merge the Registry File
If you try all the solutions above and the problem with the shared printer persists, download this registry key and fix the problem with one click.
Registry Key Contents
What’s Inside the Registry Key
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\RPC]
"RpcUseNamedPipeProtocol"=dword:00000001
"RpcProtocols"=dword:00000007
"ForceKerberosForRpc"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print]
"RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled"=dword:00000000
Windows Network Shared Printer Error 0x0000011b
Feel free to let us know the solution that helped you fix this issue in the comments below.