HP Envy Inspire Printer no longer visible on HP Smart App

[bridgetasker]

Following an Windows 11 update I was no longer able to see my HP Envy Inspire printer on the HP Smart App. After searching for the reason I found that the HP Smart App was unable to 'access my location' on Windows settings. The toggle switches in the 'access my location' settings were 'greyed out' and could not be changed despite me having 'administrator' rights.

After quite a bit of research I came across a solution which to my surprise worked! Since making the change described below the HP Smart App was able to 'add' the printer and the problem has been resolved. If you have the same issue it is well worth trying the following - Good Luck

Edit the Registry (Advanced)

• Warning: Back up your registry first!.
• Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
• Navigate to: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\LocationAndSensors.
• In the right pane, find DisableLocation. If it exists and is 1, double-click it and change the value to 0, then click OK. If it doesn't exist, you're good. If the LocationAndSensors folder is missing, create it.
• Restart your PC. 

PS  - I didn't know how to 'back up my registry' before making this change (as instructed) so didn't but it was easy to do and worked first time.

[Jerry_57]

Hi @bridgetasker,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

Thank you for sharing this! Your detailed steps will definitely help others facing the same frustrating issue with the HP Smart App and location permissions after a Windows 11 update. That “greyed out toggle” problem is surprisingly common because Windows location services can be disabled by a policy setting, often after updates or enterprise configurations.

Your Steps Summarized
 

1. Open Registry Editor
   Win + R → regedit → Enter
2. Navigate to:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\LocationAndSensors
3. Find DisableLocation:
   • If value = 1, change to 0.
   • If missing, no change needed.
4. Restart PC.

⚠️ Important Reminder

Always back up your registry before making changes:

• In Registry Editor, click File > Export, choose All, and save the backup.
  
  
  I hope this helps.

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

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Jerry_57

HP Support