# USB receipt printers on Windows: install a Generic/Text driver

**Symptom:** the printer is listed, but the test page never arrives — or a page of stray letters, brackets and symbols comes out instead of a receipt.

## Why it happens[​](#why-it-happens "Direct link to Why it happens")

On Windows, whichever driver you installed with the printer takes ownership of the USB port. The app can't reach the printer directly past it, so it prints through the printer's **installed Windows queue**. That works — as long as the queue passes the receipt commands through untouched. A queue bound to the manufacturer's own driver often re-renders or discards them, which is where the page of symbols comes from.

## Do this[​](#do-this "Direct link to Do this")

1. Open **Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners**.
2. Choose **Add device**, then **Add manually** when Windows fails to find it.
3. Select **Add a local printer**, and pick the printer's **USB** port from the list.
4. For the driver, choose the manufacturer **Generic** and the model **Generic / Text Only**.
5. Give the queue a name you'll recognise, and finish.
6. Back in the POS, open **Settings → Printing → Add printer**, scan again, and pick that queue. Print a test page.

If a page of symbols still comes out, the app is still finding the vendor-driver queue. Delete it, or make sure you pick the Generic/Text one by name.

## Still stuck?[​](#still-stuck "Direct link to Still stuck?")

Use **Copy setup report** on the trouble screen and paste it into your message — it names the queue the app used.

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