The Settings app on Windows 10 includes a Devices section, which is the place you’ll use to manage all your peripherals connected to your computer, including printers, keyboard, Bluetooth devices, and more.
When you open the Settings app (Windows key + I), Devices is located between System and Network & Internet. If you don’t know where the feature you want to customize is located, you can always use the search box that also features a drop-down list of suggestions as you start typing.
In this guide, you’ll get an overview of the settings you can manage in the Devices section.
Devices settings
Devices is the second section listed in the Settings app, and it’s the place to manage all your connected devices, including printers, Bluetooth, mice, and keyboards.
Printers & scanners
On the Printers & scanners page, you’ll find a number of sections with options to add a new printer or scanner to your computer. You can also see the devices currently installed, and when selecting each item a few options will appear to manage or remove the device.
In addition, this page includes a feature called “Let Windows manage my default printer”, which allows the operating system to automatically set the printer you use the most as you default. This is a handy feature for users on an environment with multiple printers or for those mobile users who need to use a different printer everywhere they go.
If you need to keep your internet usage to the minimum, you can turn on the “Download over metered connections” feature to prevent Windows 10 from downloading drivers, information, and apps for new devices when you’re using a capped internet connection.
Connected devices
On the Connected devices page, you can manage additional peripherals connected to your computer. You have the option to add new devices, and there is a listing of you current connected devices, which you can select and remove as needed.
Like in Printers & scanners, you get the “Download over metered connections” feature to prevent Windows 10 from downloading drivers, information, and apps for new devices when you’re using a capped internet connection.
Bluetooth
On the Bluetooth page, you can quickly add and remove wireless devices, such as speakers, headphones, fitness trackers, phones, mice, keyboards, and many others.
In order to connect new devices, make sure to turn on the Bluetooth toggle switch. Then make sure the device you’re trying to connect is in discovery mode, select the device from the list, and click Pair.
If you need more help, then follow this guide to pair wireless devices to your computer.
This page is only available if your computer includes a Bluetooth adapter.
Mouse & touchpad
On the Mouse & touchpad page, includes two sections with limited settings to configure your mouse and touchpad settings.
In the Mouse section, you can configure two features, including:
- Select your primary button: Adjusts the mouse depending if you’re a left-handed or right-handed person.
- Roll the mouse wheel to scroll: Controls scroll lines or screen using the mouse wheel, and you can control whether to scroll inactive windows when hovering over them.
The Touchpad section is very limited, and it only includes an option to change the delay to prevent the cursor from automatically moving while you type.
Typing
On the Typing page, there three sections, including Spelling, Typing, and Touch keyboard.
In the Spelling section, you can turn on or off grammar related features, including:
- Autocorrect misspelled words
- Highlight misspelled words
In the Typing section, you have three options to configure, including:
- Show text suggestions as I type
- Add a space after I choose a text suggestion
- Add a period after I double-tap the Spacebar
In the Touch keyboard section, there are a number of options to change the functionality of the on-screen keyboard.
Options you can turn on or off include:
- Pay key sounds as I type
- Capitalize the first letter of each sentence
- Use all uppercase letter when I double-tap Shift
- Add the standard keyboard layout as a touch keyboard option
- Show the touch keyboard when not in table mode and there’s no keyboard attached
Pen & Windows Ink
The Pen & Windows Ink page is only available if your Windows 10 device includes support for active pen.
In the Settings app, the page is divided into three sections allowing you to configure a group of options to use a pen with Windows Ink.
The Pen section adds a few options to configure your active pen, including:
- Choose which hand you write with: Adjusts the experience depending if you’re a left-handed or right-handed person.
- Show Visual Effects: Turns off ripple effect visual effects for some active pens.
- Show cursor: When using an active pen by default a cursor always appears as the pen gets closer to the display. This option disables the cursor making the experience more like pen and paper.
- Ignore touch input when I’m using my pen: Stops responding to touch gestures while using the pen.
- Show the handwriting panel when not in tablet mode and there’s no keyboard attached: Opens the handwriting experience instead of the touch keyboard when opening the keyboard from the Taskbar.
The Windows Ink Workspace section allows you to turn on or off recommended app suggestion that appear in the taskbar Windows Ink Workspace experience.
The Pen Shortcuts section is where you can customize the action when pressing your active pen button, such as the Surface Pen.
There three available actions, including “Click once,” “Double-click,” and “Press and hold” only supported on some pens.
For each action, you can select to do “Nothing,” or open “Windows Ink Workspace,” “OneNote,” “Launch a classic app,” “Launch a universal app,” or “OneNote 2016”.
When customizing the “Click once” button to open Windows Ink Workspace, you can select additional options, including the ability to open the experience while your device is locked.
AutoPlay
On the AutoPlay page, you can choose what the operating system should do when it detects a new storage device is connected to your computer.
You can configure autoplay for removable drives, such as USB hard drives, and memory cards like SD cards.
Among the options available, you can select to take no action, open files using File Explorer, and ask every time.
If you don’t want Windows 10 to use this feature, you must turn off the “Use AutoPlay for all media and devices” toggle switch.
USB
On the USB page, you can only turn on or off notifications when there is an issue connecting USB devices.
Windows 10 Settings
Wrapping things up
Microsoft will be introducing new changes to the Settings app with the Windows 10 Creators Update. This means that these settings are compatible until the Windows 10 Anniversary Update (version 1607).
Some of these changes will be happening to the Devices section where the Connected devices and Bluetooth will be combined into a single page, and Mouse & touchpad page will be split in two sections, with a new Touchpad page will include a number of new options for precision touchpads.
Editor’s Note: In this guide, we looked at the System settings on Windows 10. In future guides, I’ll be also writing about the other remaining sections to uncover all the features in the Settings app. These articles will also be updated as Microsoft releases new versions of Windows 10.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].