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A driver is a small piece of software that helps your PC communicate with a certain piece of hardware, like your mouse, keyboard, or printer. Every once in a while, though, those drivers may require updates to fix certain issues, introduce new features, or improve performance.
In general, you shouldn't need to update your drivers very often. If your hardware is working as intended, it's best to let it be, since new drivers can also introduce problems as well as fix them. If, however, you're having issues with a specific piece of hardware—or you know a driver has a security flaw that needs fixing—it might be a good idea to update it. Updating a driver should be simple. You don't need those "driver updater" utilities; instead, I recommend doing it yourself with just a few clicks.
Update Drivers With Windows Update
By far, the simplest way to update your drivers is through Windows itself. If the device manufacturer sends out a driver update, you should get it through an official Windows Update. Windows 11 users can head to Settings > Windows Update. Click Check for updates, then choose Download & install next to any updates that are available. The screen may also check for updates automatically, or already have an update ready and waiting.
For those still on Windows 10, official support ended in October 2025, but you can still enroll in Extended Security Updates program for security support. To find any updates, go to Settings > Update & Security, then click the big Check for Updates button. Hit the Install now button to download any available updates.
(Credit: Microsoft / PCMag)Download Drivers From the Manufacturer
In the vast majority of cases, this should be all you need. However, these drivers can often take a long time to get to Windows Update. Sometimes, Windows will only distribute a "generic" version from Microsoft that eschews extra features. For example, generic mouse drivers will let you use your mouse, but may not allow you to adjust its DPI settings or customize buttons in as fine-grained a manner as software from Logitech. (Microsoft's generic drivers tend to be very reliable, though, so it's not bad to keep what Microsoft gives you.)
To download a driver directly from the manufacturer, navigate to the product page for the device in question. Most websites will have a Support or Downloads page from which to grab the appropriate driver. For example, here's the download page for Logitech's StreamCam. Download the installer, and install it like you would any other program.
(Credit: PCMag / Logitech)If you have a laptop, you can often get drivers from the laptop manufacturer's website—they're more guaranteed to work, though they may be out of date compared to drivers that come directly from the manufacturer of the specific peripheral in question. If you already have the manufacturer's driver software installed, you may be able to update right from Windows.
You'll need to do a quick search for the brand name in Windows to find the installer software. In some cases, it'll already be open in your system tray in the right-hand corner of the taskbar. For example, to update the drivers for my AMD Radeon graphics card, I would right-click on the Radeon Settings icon and choose Open Radeon Settings. Within the application, there's an Updates tab that can search for and install new updates.
(Credit: PCMag / Lenovo)In very rare cases, the driver will come as a single file you need to install manually through Windows' Device Manager. To do this, open the Start menu, type "Device Manager," and press Enter. Find your hardware in the list, right-click on it, and choose Update Driver. Then click Browse My Computer for Driver Software, and navigate to the file you downloaded to install it. Once the driver has been successfully installed, you should have all the latest features and bug fixes.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)