Microsoft has acknowledged two separate problems affecting Windows printing and its Universal Print cloud service. The issues were reported on November 2 and can produce different symptoms: some Konica Minolta devices may stop retrieving jobs from Universal Print, while a separate Windows 11 regression can prevent certain previously installed printers from working after an operating-system update.
Issue one: jobs remain pending in Universal Print
The first problem concerns intermittent communication between some Konica Minolta printers and Microsoft Universal Print. When a device stops communicating with the cloud service, it may remain powered on and connected to the local network but fail to retrieve new print jobs. Those jobs can remain in a Pending state and may later be marked Aborted if the printer does not retrieve them within three days.
This can be confusing for users because the printer may appear normal. The control panel may be ready, the network cable or wireless connection may be active and the device may still respond locally. The failure is in the communication path between the printer and the cloud printing service, rather than necessarily in the print engine itself.
Administrators can examine the printer’s Last Seen timestamp in the Azure portal. If the timestamp has stopped updating, that may indicate the device is no longer communicating with Universal Print. Microsoft has been working with Konica Minolta on the issue, but the information available at the time of the report did not identify a confirmed root cause or permanent resolution timetable. Affected customers should contact the equipment supplier for guidance.
Issue two: Windows 11 regression after an update
The second issue affects certain Universal Print printers that were originally installed under Windows 10 and then used with Windows 11 update KB5083769 or later. Affected users may encounter error 0x80004005 when attempting to print, and the Print button may appear disabled in the Windows print dialog. A test page can also produce error 0x000003e3.
This is not described as a problem affecting every Windows 11 printer. It concerns a specific group of previously installed devices and should be diagnosed against the installation history and error messages. Reinstalling every printer in an organization without first checking the affected configuration could create unnecessary work.
Microsoft’s suggested recovery path
For an affected individual installation, Microsoft recommends removing and reinstalling the printer through Windows Settings. Larger organizations can use a PowerShell script to detect affected installations and convert them to the supported per-user configuration. The script can be deployed through Microsoft Intune or another device-management tool, but administrators should test it on a limited group before using it across the full fleet.
There is an operational trade-off: after conversion, the printers can no longer be installed system-wide. IT teams should therefore review how shared devices are deployed and whether the per-user configuration fits their support model before rolling out the change.
A better troubleshooting sequence
When printing stops, users should first identify whether the problem affects one computer, one printer or many users. Check the printer’s local status, the Windows queue, network connectivity and any cloud service status indicators. Record the exact error code and the time the problem began. Administrators should compare those details with the known issues rather than immediately replacing hardware or reinstalling unrelated drivers.
What businesses should do now
Organizations using Universal Print should review their device inventory, monitor cloud connectivity and test Windows updates before broad deployment. Support teams should document which models are affected and provide a clear escalation route between Microsoft, the printer manufacturer and the managed print provider. These incidents underline that cloud printing depends on several systems working together: the operating system, device firmware, local network and cloud service.
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