How to update drivers in Windows 11 and 10 (roll back, reinstall)

Steps written for Windows 11 24H2 and later.

1. 1

   Open Device Manager

   Right-click Start and select Device Manager.

   

2. 2

   Open the device's Driver tab

   Expand the category (for example Display adapters), right-click the device, select Properties and open the Driver tab. Driver Date and Driver Version show what is installed now.

   

3. 3

   Update the driver

   Select Update Driver and let Windows search automatically. To use a driver you downloaded from the device maker, select Browse my computer for drivers instead and point to the unpacked folder.

4. 4

   Or roll back the driver

   If the problem started after a driver update, select Roll Back Driver, choose a reason and select Yes. The button is greyed out when Windows has no earlier driver to return to.

   

5. 5

   Or reinstall the driver

   Select Uninstall Device. Tick Attempt to remove the driver for this device only if you want Windows to delete the driver package too, then select Uninstall.

   

6. 6

   Restart

   Restart the PC. Windows detects the device again and installs a driver for it.

7. 7

   Check optional driver updates

   Open Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates. If driver updates are listed, tick the ones you need and select Download & install.

   

Steps written for Windows 10 22H2.

Device Manager works the same as on Windows 11; only the optional driver updates in Windows Update are in a different place.

1. 1

   Open Device Manager

   Right-click Start and select Device Manager.

2. 2

   Open the device's Driver tab

   Expand the category (for example Display adapters), right-click the device, select Properties and open the Driver tab. Driver Date and Driver Version show what is installed now.

3. 3

   Update the driver

   Select Update Driver and let Windows search automatically. To use a driver you downloaded from the device maker, select Browse my computer for drivers instead and point to the unpacked folder.

4. 4

   Or roll back the driver

   If the problem started after a driver update, select Roll Back Driver, choose a reason and select Yes. The button is greyed out when Windows has no earlier driver to return to.

5. 5

   Or reinstall the driver

   Select Uninstall Device. Tick Attempt to remove the driver for this device only if you want Windows to delete the driver package too, then select Uninstall.

6. 6

   Restart

   Restart the PC. Windows detects the device again and installs a driver for it.

7. 7

   Check optional driver updates

   Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and select Check for updates. If View optional updates appears, select it, tick the driver updates you need and select Download and install.