DriverIdentifier v6.1

This free, portable driver updater works even when you're offline

By
Tim Fisher
Photo of Tim Fisher, Lifewire GM and Writer
Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Updated on January 2, 2023

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DriverIdentifier is a simple and easy to use free driver updater tool that gives you access to over 27 million device driver downloads.

Among other features, the program can be run from a portable location and even works without an internet connection.

DriverIdentifier start page

This review is of DriverIdentifier version 6.1. Please let us know if there's a newer version to review.

DriverIdentifier Pros & Cons

This isn't my favorite program to use for driver updates, but it does work and has some unique features.

What We Like

  • Very simple and easy to use.

  • Provides useful details about the driver updates.

  • Works even without an internet connection.

  • Available as a portable program.

  • Though common with similar software, this one doesn't try to install unrelated programs during setup.

What We Don't Like

  • Doesn't automatically check for outdated drivers.

  • Must visit a download page to get driver updates.

  • Downloading updates can be confusing.

  • Must register for a free account before you can get the drivers.

More About DriverIdentifier

DriverIdentifier supports all versions of Windows and is very clear about what you have, and what you're getting:

  • Finds driver for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP
  • DriverIdentifier works by showing you download links to driver updates that are compatible with your computer, where you must then download these updates and run them on your computer manually
  • The release date and version number of the driver that's currently installed as well as that of the new, updated driver version are shown on the download page
  • Some, if not all, of the drivers you download from DriverIdentifier are direct links from the manufacturer's website

My Thoughts on DriverIdentifier

It's probably one of the simplest driver updater programs out there. There's similar software that's also pretty simple to use, but definitely not this easy.

The program is very lightweight and has zero settings. You just need to open it and click one button to get started.

Aside from the lack of relatively common features like scheduled scans and the requirement of a user account to get the drivers, DriverIdentifier also makes you take a few additional steps to get a download started than you would have to take if you used similar, more advanced software, like Driver Booster.

To download drivers, you're taken to a web page that has a list of download links. If you're not 100 percent sure what you're looking for, you could very easily download the wrong driver and possibly cause problems with your computer.

DriverIdentifier scan results

However, a feature you'll find with DriverIdentifier that is not present in most other driver updater tools is an offline scanner. Just tick the checkmark called I do not have internet connection to force the program to save the results to a file that you can then open on a computer that does have access to the internet.

This is a very useful feature that could help you out a lot if you're in a situation where the computer you need the drivers installed on doesn't have access to the internet.

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