Windows error 0x0000011b when connecting to a shared printer
Windows blocked the connection to a printer shared from another computer because the print server could not prove its identity to the client's satisfaction. The security update KB5005565 tightened how the Windows Print Spooler authenticates remote print connections, and any print server that has not been patched to match will be refused. The failure happens at connect time, so you never even reach the point of sending a job.
What causes it
- The client PC has the hardened RPC authentication update but the sharing PC or print server does not
- The shared printer is hosted on an old or unmanaged machine that no longer receives updates
- The print server is a NAS, router or Linux box that does not implement the newer authentication level
- The shared queue was created before the security change and still carries the old connection settings
- A third-party or vendor point-and-print driver is being pulled from the server in a way Windows now blocks
How to fix it, in order
Work down the list and stop when the printer recovers. The steps are ordered from most likely and least invasive to last resort.
Confirm it is the share, not the printer
Try printing to the same printer from the computer that shares it. If that machine prints fine, the printer and driver are healthy and the problem is purely the network share handshake. Also try browsing to \\servername in File Explorer. If the share itself opens but the printer refuses, you are looking at the RPC authentication change rather than a general network fault.
Update the computer that shares the printer
On the sharing PC or print server, go to Settings › Windows Update and install every pending update, including optional ones, then restart. Bringing the server to the same patch level as the client is the fix Microsoft intends, and it resolves 0x0000011b without weakening anything. Repeat until Windows Update reports no further updates.
Install the printer by IP address instead of by share name
On the client, open Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners › Add device, wait for the search to fail, then choose Add manually › Add a printer using an IP address or hostname. Set Device type to TCP/IP Device and enter the printer's own IP, not the server's. This creates a direct queue that never touches the shared-printer handshake, so the error cannot occur. You will need the printer's driver installed locally.
Find the printer's IP address
Print a network configuration or status page from the printer's own control panel; most models put this under Settings, Network, or Reports. The IPv4 address is usually shown as 192.168.x.x. If your router hands out addresses by DHCP, reserve that address in the router so the queue does not break the next time the printer reboots.
Remove and re-add the shared queue
In Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners, select the failing shared printer and choose Remove. Then open printmanagement.msc, expand Print Servers › your PC › Drivers, and delete the leftover driver package for that model. Restart, then try adding the share again. A stale half-installed queue can keep throwing 0x0000011b even after the server has been patched.
Restart the Print Spooler on both machines
Press Windows+R, type services.msc and press Enter. Find Print Spooler, right-click and choose Restart. Do this on the client and on the sharing PC. The spooler caches connection state, and a restart forces both ends to renegotiate cleanly after an update.
Check the driver architecture on the server
If the server only hosts a 32-bit or mismatched driver, point-and-print will fail in ways that surface as this code. On the sharing PC open printmanagement.msc › Print Servers › Drivers and confirm an x64 driver is listed for the model. Install the manufacturer's current 64-bit driver on the server if it is missing.
Consider a driverless connection
If the printer supports IPP or Mopria, adding it by IP with the Windows built-in class driver avoids vendor driver distribution entirely. In Windows 11 this is what the newer Windows Ready Print path does by default. You may lose some vendor-specific finishing options, but the queue becomes far more resilient to update-driven breakage.
Stopping it happening again
When it is not worth fixing yourself
If you would rather not work through this alone, a printer specialist can take a look with you on a screen-share and tell you honestly whether the machine is worth saving.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a registry fix for 0x0000011b?
There is a widely shared RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled value that relaxes the authentication requirement, but it undoes a security fix and should be treated as a last resort on isolated networks only. Patching the print server or connecting by IP achieves the same result without lowering protection.
Why did this start after a Windows update?
The update changed how the spooler authenticates remote print connections. Nothing on your printer changed; the client simply became stricter than the server it was talking to.
Will connecting by IP lose any features?
You keep normal printing, and usually duplex and tray selection too, as long as you install the full vendor driver locally. What you lose is any server-side setting the administrator had baked into the shared queue.
Questions & comments (0)
No comments yet. Describe your printer model, operating system and the exact message you see; comments appear after review.
Ask about this page
Your comment appears after our team approves it. Or sign in to post faster.