JAWS – Accessibility driver error after update to Windows 11 24H2

JAWS – Accessibility driver error after update to Windows 11 24H2

Problem

A JAWS user encounters an error display indicating that the Accessibility Driver is not properly installed after updating to Windows 11 to 24H2.  Full error text below:

Quote
The Freedom Scientific Accessibility display driver is not properly installed. Please reboot the computer if you have not done so already. If this does not fix the issue, please run a repair on the JAWS installation to reinstall the display driver. To perform a repair, run the JAWS setup package with the command-line arguments "/Type Repair.

Applies to

  1. JAWS

 

Resolution

A problem with the Freedom Scientific video driver component has been identified after Windows 11 is updated to 24H2 which causes the Accessibility Driver to fail.  This is due to planned retirement by Microsoft of the Accessibility Driver technology. 



Customers with JAWS of Fusion 2025

Customers using either JAWS or Fusion 2025 with Windows 11 24H2 should be unaffected by the problem discussed in this document, no action is required. 

Customers with JAWS or Fusion 2024 or 2023

Please follow the steps here to resolve the problem.
  1. Press WINDOWS+I to open Settings.
  2. Type "remove programs" in the Search edit box and press ENTER.
  3. From the results, choose Add or remove programs.
  4. Press TAB until you reach the list of installed programs.
  5. Use the ARROW keys to select Freedom Scientific Video Accessibility.
  6. Press TAB to move to More options, press SPACEBAR to open the menu, and choose Uninstall.
  7. Follow the prompts to remove the Video Accessibility Driver. When asked if you want to Modify, Repair, or Remove the driver, make sure to choose the Remove option.

For customer who have not yet updated to 24H2

Please carry out the steps below if your Windows 11 is not yet updated to 24H2.  Some background information has also been provided by Freedom Scientific as technical explanation.

  1. Press INSERT+6 on the number row to open Settings Center.
  2. Press CTRL+SHIFT+D to load the default settings file.
  3. In the Search edit box, type "accessibility" without the quotes.
  4. Press
     
    DOWN ARROW
     
    to move to the
     
    Use JAWS Accessibility Driver For Screen Capture
     
    option in the search results.
    • If this option is either disabled or unchecked, you’re already using the new screen capture technique and do not need to do any further investigation.
    • If this option is checked, press SPACE to uncheck it and press ENTER a couple of times to save and exit Settings Center.
  5. Try your various apps to make sure they continue to work as expected.


Quote

Most apps created in the last several years were developed with accessibility in mind and do a good job of providing the information that JAWS requests. For older apps however, or those not written with any thought about accessibility, JAWS gathers information as it’s written to the screen. This can often make the difference between an app being usable or being completely inaccessible.

Historically, JAWS has used the Accessibility driver to gather this information, which was the default up through Windows 10. Starting with Windows 11, JAWS uses a newer technique for capturing data as it’s written to the screen. In most cases, this provides equivalent information to that from the Accessibility driver, but there have been a small number of situations where the accessibility driver provided essential information which the new technique did not. In those cases, we suggested that users go back to using the accessibility driver so they could get their work done,, but also did our best to ensure that the newer technique for gathering data was fixed to handle any problematic cases.

With the introduction of Windows 11 24H2, Microsoft has removed support for Accessibility driver technology. This means it can no longer be used in situations where the new data gathering technique is insufficient. If you only use mainstream applications, it’s highly unlikely you will be impacted. But if you use workplace specific or other specialized apps, before upgrading to Windows 11 24H2, it’s worth checking to see if you’re using the Accessibility Driver, and if you are, try disabling it to make sure things continue to work as expected.


Reference