Issues Printing .pdf Files from Edge

Question

Issues Printing .pdf Files from Edge

Bob Mattas 5

One of my Windows 11 laptops has problems printing .pdf documents when using MS Edge. The documents appear to be sent to the spooler but then hang. I have cleared the print queue on numerous occasions and the problem persists.

I have used the recommended process to repair Edge (Settings, Installed Apps, Edge, Modify, Repair) but the problem persists. If I open the .pdf document with a different program (Chrome, Adobe Acrobat), it prints with no issue.

The laptop in question has all current updates as of February, 2026, and none of my other Windows 11 computers have any issues printing .pdf documents.

I would be happy to perform a fresh install of Edge, but I have not found any guidance on how to do that. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Viorel 126.8K Reputation points

2026-02-05T01:36:40.3233333+00:00

Have you tried printing something else in Edge (a webpage or an image, for example)?
Bob Mattas 5 Reputation points

2026-02-05T06:14:33.2866667+00:00

All the other print functions in Edge work without problems. It's only .pdf documents that appear to hang in the Windows print spooler.
Zuniga, Mario 0 Reputation points

2026-02-06T17:17:44.15+00:00

I too am experiencing this issue.
Event viewer is pointing to Adobe.exe being the cause.

If I uninstall Adobe and use Edge as the default pdf viewer--the page will print without issue.

Once I reinstalled Adobe, the issue occurred again.
Even with Adobe installed and Edge set to default viewer, it still hangs and shows in the print queue as "spooling" but never prints.

I have made suggested changes in Adobe>Preferences but still no luck.

For now, I am saving the file then opening it up in Adobe to print from within the application.
Harry Stein 0 Reputation points

2026-02-26T21:12:13.5566667+00:00

Has this been fixed for you? What version of Edge are you running (for example, 145.0.3800.70)?
Bob Mattas 5 Reputation points

2026-02-28T00:54:36.93+00:00
Restoring Windows from a full backup that pre-dated the occurrence of the problem resolved the issue for me. I suspect the solution suggested by "Norah-L" might have also worked, but it would have created a new user profile with no saved bookmarks. She had suggested the following:

Clean reinstall (clean profile reset)

This method removes the local Edge profile and starts Edge fresh.

Close Edge

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc > end all Microsoft Edge / msedge.exe processes

Press Win + R, paste: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Edge

Rename User Data to User Data.old

Reopen Edge

Edge will recreate a new User Data folder and start like a fresh install.

Important note: *If you sign in and have Sync enabled, your old settings and extensions may return. Turn off Sync first if you want a truly clean test.*BTW, I can't confirm the version of Edge that was running at the time, but none of the Edge updates including Version 145.0.3800.70 (Official build) (64-bit) had any effect on the problem.
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This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

2 answers

Your answer

Viorel 126.8K Reputation points

2026-02-05T01:36:40.3233333+00:00

Have you tried printing something else in Edge (a webpage or an image, for example)?
Bob Mattas 5 Reputation points

2026-02-05T06:14:33.2866667+00:00

All the other print functions in Edge work without problems. It's only .pdf documents that appear to hang in the Windows print spooler.
Zuniga, Mario 0 Reputation points

2026-02-06T17:17:44.15+00:00

I too am experiencing this issue.
Event viewer is pointing to Adobe.exe being the cause.

If I uninstall Adobe and use Edge as the default pdf viewer--the page will print without issue.

Once I reinstalled Adobe, the issue occurred again.
Even with Adobe installed and Edge set to default viewer, it still hangs and shows in the print queue as "spooling" but never prints.

I have made suggested changes in Adobe>Preferences but still no luck.

For now, I am saving the file then opening it up in Adobe to print from within the application.
Harry Stein 0 Reputation points

2026-02-26T21:12:13.5566667+00:00

Has this been fixed for you? What version of Edge are you running (for example, 145.0.3800.70)?
Bob Mattas 5 Reputation points

2026-02-28T00:54:36.93+00:00

Restoring Windows from a full backup that pre-dated the occurrence of the problem resolved the issue for me. I suspect the solution suggested by "Norah-L" might have also worked, but it would have created a new user profile with no saved bookmarks. She had suggested the following:

Clean reinstall (clean profile reset)

This method removes the local Edge profile and starts Edge fresh.

Close Edge

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc > end all Microsoft Edge / msedge.exe processes

Press Win + R, paste: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Edge

Rename User Data to User Data.old

Reopen Edge

Edge will recreate a new User Data folder and start like a fresh install.

Important note: *If you sign in and have Sync enabled, your old settings and extensions may return. Turn off Sync first if you want a truly clean test.*BTW, I can't confirm the version of Edge that was running at the time, but none of the Edge updates including Version 145.0.3800.70 (Official build) (64-bit) had any effect on the problem.
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

Answer 1

Norah-L 5,350 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Welcome Bob Mattas to the Q&A forum!

I understand you’re experiencing issues when printing PDF files specifically from Microsoft Edge. Other applications print normally, but PDF print jobs from Edge reach the print spooler and then become stuck, even after clearing the print queue multiple times.

Before reinstalling Edge, please try the following additional steps first:

1. Turn off experimental flags

Disable flags related to PDFs (e.g., New PDF Viewer, PDF MIP Display Label...).

How to: Go to edge://flags > search for "PDF" > turn off Experimental Items > Reset All.

2. Temporarily disable extensions

Edge > Extensions > turn off all extensions > try to print the PDF again.

3. Workaround

Try using Ctrl + Shift + P (system print dialog) instead of Edge’s default print path. Then, end Microsoft Edge (msedge.exe) in Task Manager to check whether the stuck print jobs are released.

If the issue persists, you can reinstall Microsoft Edge using one of the methods below:

Method 1: This method reinstalls Edge without removing profiles, settings, or cache.

Close Microsoft Edge
Open Settings
Go to Apps > Installed apps
Find Microsoft Edge
Click ⋯ (three dots) > Modify
Click Repair

Windows will download and reinstall a fresh copy of Edge from Microsoft servers.

Method 2: Clean reinstall (clean profile reset)

This method removes the local Edge profile and starts Edge fresh.

Close Edge
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc > end all Microsoft Edge / msedge.exe processes
Press Win + R, paste: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Edge
Rename User Data to User Data.old
Reopen Edge

Edge will recreate a new User Data folder and start like a fresh install.

Important note: If you sign in and have Sync enabled, your old settings and extensions may return. Turn off Sync first if you want a truly clean test.

Hope this helps and let me know how it goes!

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Norah-L 5,350 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-12T07:53:27.46+00:00

Hello Bob Mattas,

May I know whether your issue has been solved or not?

If not, please share your updates here. We can work together to figure it out.
Bob Mattas 5 Reputation points

2026-02-12T19:02:15.76+00:00

Thank you for reaching out, Norah.

Your suggestions arrived after I decided to restore my computer from a backup image that predated the start of the printing problem. Prior to that, I had already tried "Method 1," but the problem persisted. I was unaware of the method you described to perform a "clean profile reset" (Method 2) before I restored the earlier image. I had also tried performing a Windows reset, but that did not solve the problem either.

It might benefit users who encounter similar problems if the method you described was documented in the "Reset Settings" option within Edge.
Norah-L 5,350 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-13T02:36:31.5166667+00:00

Good day Bob!

Thanks for clarifying the steps you tried. Sharing this could save other users a lot of time when they face the same issue.

Just to make sure I’ve understood correctly, after restoring your computer from the backup image, the PDF printing issue in Edge no longer occurs, right?
Bob Mattas 5 Reputation points

2026-02-13T19:18:05.7333333+00:00

You're correct, Norah.

After restoring from a backup that pre-dated the printing problem, everything is behaving normally!
Norah-L 5,350 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-22T04:44:48.4733333+00:00

Thanks for the update, Bob

I’m glad your issue was resolved after all the time and effort you put into it. Your confirmation may also help other users with the same problem.

Wishing you a great day!

Best regards.
Harry Stein 0 Reputation points

2026-02-28T04:47:27.96+00:00

See my comment earlier today regarding file handle not released by Edge.
Norah-L 5,350 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-01T07:18:51.88+00:00

Hello Harry Stein,

I’m sorry to hear you’re experiencing this issue as well. Could you please let me know whether you’ve already tried the clean reinstall (clean profile reset) method I mentioned earlier (back up your saved bookmarks first)?

I look forward to your response so we can determine the best next steps.

Sincerely.
Harry Stein 0 Reputation points

2026-03-03T07:05:36.16+00:00

Norah, I posted the following last week and Microsoft AI removed the post in violation of their policy. After reading it carefully, I have to assume it is because I gave seven supporting URLs showing suggestions mentioned above and elsewhere were futile and that behind the scenes, the problem seems to have been fixed by Microsoft hence making it difficult to reproduce with your profile suggestion.

As well, I prefer not to research what settings get tweaked from a profile reset, what settings get tweaked from sync being enabled, etc. Uninstalling properly and reinstalling is as far as I would go but even that is not necessary. So let me tell you what the workaround was and in the future it may be beneficial for people reading this message to understand how problematic and risky the two default settings I discuss and suggest being turned off are. I can back that up from having troubleshot 1,200 client Windows PCs in the last 12 years using advanced digital forensic tools, etc. This is the workaround and hopefully it will not be deleted by AI. Title: Edge may keep PDF/print handles open after you “close” it — causing stuck print jobs and occasional File Explorer hangs.

Issue seems to have been fixed in 145.0.3800.70. I had seen the same failure mode in two real-world scenarios:

1) Printing from Edge

·         Print jobs get stuck “Spooling/Printing” and won’t cancel.

·         Deleting the queue item / spool file may fail because Windows reports it’s still “open in Microsoft Edge.”

2) Opening PDFs from File Explorer (with Edge as the default PDF viewer)

·         Explorer can sit in a wait-cursor state, apparently waiting for Edge to release the PDF handle which it never does.

·         Even after closing Edge, the handle isn’t released until background Edge is truly stopped (or Explorer is killed and restarted).

Likely mechanism Edge can continue running in the background (Startup Boost / background apps). So “closing Edge” doesn’t necessarily stop the process that owns the file/print handle.

Workaround (fixes it on affected machines) Edge → Settings → System and performance:

1.       Turn OFF Startup boost

2.      Turn OFF Continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed – make sure you do not depend on this – I saw one computer in 1,200 depend on this and it wasn’t necessary and I consider it a security risk_.___

3.      Fully exit Edge and reboot once

After this, stuck print jobs clear normally and File Explorer stops hanging on PDF opens in the Edge viewer if it has previously been opened.

However, a week later when Edge updated to 145.0.3800.70 the problem seems to have cleared up and can no longer be reproduced. If you continue to have this issue with 145.0.3800.70 consider trying to turn off those two settings (and of course sync).

Why I’m posting The stuck-queue problem was, for a time, everywhere and burns hours — see the breadth of troubleshooting guidance and threads below (I was forced to exclude them) . Many people will never suspect “Edge still running in background” is (or “was” the trigger)

References [1],[2],[3],[4],[5],[6] and [7] omitted since AI will block this post if I include it but happy to provide.
Norah-L 5,350 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-05T08:31:15.14+00:00

Good day Harry Stein,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a detailed explanation and your real‑world observations. I appreciate you documenting both the symptoms and the workaround especially the insight around Edge behavior and background processes. That will be very helpful for others who may run into similar behavior.

The effort you put into explaining it here is truly appreciated and I’ll be sure to reference your workaround if other users run into the same issue.

Wish you all the best!

Warm regards.

Answer 2

If you are experiencing issues printing PDF documents from Microsoft Edge on your Windows 11 laptop, here are a few suggestions that may help resolve the problem:

Check Printer Settings: Ensure that the correct printer is set as the default printer. Sometimes, the issue can be related to the printer settings.
Print from Edge's Built-in PDF Reader: Since you mentioned that the documents print fine from other applications, ensure that you are using the built-in PDF reader in Edge. If you are facing issues with specific PDFs, try printing a different PDF to see if the problem persists.
Clear Print Queue: You mentioned clearing the print queue, but ensure that there are no pending jobs that might be causing the hang. Restarting the print spooler service can also help.
Update Edge: Make sure that Microsoft Edge is updated to the latest version. Sometimes, bugs are fixed in newer releases.
Reset Edge: If repairing Edge did not resolve the issue, consider resetting it. You can do this by going to Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their default values.
Reinstall Edge: If you want to perform a fresh install of Edge, you can uninstall it from the Settings > Apps > Apps & features section. After uninstalling, you can reinstall it from the Microsoft Store or through Windows updates.

If none of these solutions work, it may be beneficial to check for any known issues related to printing in Microsoft Edge or consult Microsoft support for further assistance.

References:

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Issues Printing .pdf Files from Edge

2 answers

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