Professional graphic artists and other creative minds are always looking for a way to share their freehand drawings online in the digital era. To this effect, Wacom is a company that offers a wide variety of products to help creators, such as styluses, pen displays, and pen tablets. The problem is that the platform frequently fails to launch. Why are Wacom drivers so bad?

Wacom drivers are so bad because the company releases many driver updates each year, and some of these updates fail to install properly. This can leave users in limbo between driver versions on some of their devices and unable to use their Wacom products.

Getting your Wacom drivers to function properly requires a little bit of work on the part of the user. You need to make sure that you are attuned to the driver update process on all of the devices with which you will use your Wacom products. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about Wacom drivers. 

Why Don’t Wacom Drivers Ever Seem To Work?

Wacom drivers fail at such a high rate largely because of the amount of driver updates released by the company.

For example, since the start of 2021, the company has released 6 driver updates for macOS.

While it is not uncommon for tech products to release frequent driver updates to fix hardware and software bugs, understand that Wacom products are not native to your device. Your device may not automatically download and install the latest Wacom driver update every time one is released.

As such, if the driver is not properly downloaded and installed, it could lead to compatibility issues that lead to the disheartening “No Device Connected” message when trying to launch Wacom.

Possible Causes of Wacom Drivers Not Working

There are several causes of your Wacom drivers not working.

You Missed the Latest Driver Update

This is the most straightforward and easy-to-fix cause of a bad Wacom driver.

If you missed or are simply ignoring (it can be easy to ignore update requests when it seems like you get them every day!) the latest update, it is possible that the old version contains bugs or has compatibility issues that are leaving it non-functional.

Be sure to check the Wacom site to see if you are current with the most recent driver download. 

The Driver Update Didn’t Install Properly

It is also possible that the driver downloaded but did not install properly on your computer.

Usually, you have to restart your device after performing a driver update in order for it to function.

You may also have to uninstall a previous version of Wacom before the new driver will work properly. Devices typically uninstall previous driver versions during an update but again, Wacom is not a native program to your device, so you may have to perform an uninstall manually in the settings. 

The Latest Update Isn’t Compatible With Another Driver On Your Device

The most problematic reason for Wacom driver failure is that it is not compatible with another driver update on your device.

If your Wacom software had been working but suddenly stops, it is possible that a recent update on your device is at the root of the issue.

Go into your device’s history and see when the last update occurred. If it happened around the time your Wacom product stopped working, try resetting your device to an earlier point (there is a list of dates for when updates were performed) and see if your Wacom starts working again.

What To Do If a Wacom Driver Doesn’t Work

If you are getting messages such as “No Device Connected” or “Your Device Is Not Responding,” try one of the following troubleshooting tips:

• Unplug and replug your Wacom device. If it still doesn’t work, try a different port.
• Restart your computer or tablet.
• Restart Wacom services. This blog offers an extremely helpful step-by-step guide for how to do this.
• Uninstall and reinstall the latest Wacom update.
• If all else fails, try reverting to an earlier Wacom version and see if it works for you.

The Bottom Line: Why Wacom Drivers Are So Bad

Although it can be a very useful tool for creators, there is no denying that driver issues result in inconsistent functionality for Wacom devices. 

Most of these issues stem from the sheer volume of updates the company puts out. As Wacom programs are not native to your device, there may be some issues in completing the driver update and ensuring compatibility with your other hardware and software.

Hopefully, the troubleshooting tips listed above can get you back to creating with Wacom.