There’s nothing worse than when your printer suddenly refuses to scan just when you desperately need to print some important documents. When a printer won’t scan, it prevents you from finishing a job efficiently. There are various reasons why a printer scanner is not working—some of which are quite easy to correct while others take a bit of troubleshooting. In this blog post, we will take you step by step to the top reasons why your printer is not scanning and step-by-step solutions on how to get it up and running.
1. Connection Issues
Honestly, there are too many reasons why your printer is not scanning. Major reasons for connection issues lie through connection to a USB cable or wireless connectivity. If it does not connect well or flow inadequately, then nothing works even with your scanner.
How to Fix
For USB, attach the cable at one end to your printer and at the other to your computer. For a dead cable, replace with a new one.
For Wi-Fi, the printer and the computer must be under the same Wi-Fi network. If otherwise, reconnect both devices again to the same network.
2. Stale or Flawed Print Drivers:
Outdated or corrupted printer drivers are the main cause of problems, and sometimes the most usual problem is that the printer’s scanner is not working. Sometimes the software of your printer fails to communicate to your computer if it is not updated, resulting in some scanning problems.
Solution
Go to the official website of your printer brand (HP, Canon, Epson, etc.).
Download the latest drivers available for your model of printer
After updating drivers, restart the computer and retry scanning
3. Faulty Scanner Settings
The other reason your printer won’t scan is faulty scanner settings. There are times wherein your printer or the software used to scan will have wrong settings and thus malfunction the scanner.
Solution:
Identify your printer’s software setting. If the printer’s software is set to “Scan” instead of “Print.”
-The appropriate scanning mode is chosen, such as color, grayscale, etc.
-The appropriate destination is chosen. This can be email, folder, or application.
4. Software Conflicts
There may be conflicting programs of software that can lead to your printer scanner not working in the correct way. For example, there may be other applications of scanning and printing running within your computer, which can lead to a change in the scanning process.
Troubleshooting:
Close all applications or programs not in use that may be employing the scanner.
– Try to disable the firewall or antivirus ttemporarilyin case it sometimes may interfere with some communications between the scanner and your computer.
– Reboot your computer and then try to scan again.
5. Scanner Is Turned Off Or In Standby Mode
The scanner will not scan if it is turned off or in standby mode. Your printer is bound to go to sleep mode from time to time if it hasn’t been used for a pretty long time; therefore, it may take some time before your scanner wakes up.
Troubleshooting
Look for an active power button on your printer.
Tapping on any button or using the control panel would help the printer come out of stand-by or sleep mode.
6. Hardware Fault
Perhaps the hardware is a problem regarding your “printer scanner not working.”. The scanner might have an issue, and perhaps some body part of the printer is damaged.
Solutions
– Clean the scanner glass. Prints and dust can destroy your scan.
Ensure all parts of the scanner are clean and free from any signs of damage. If they are damaged, you may need a call from a technician or manufacturer to correct a repair job.
7. Paper running out in the printer
This is a minor issue, however; some printers insist on paper to be mounted in the paper tray even to scan. If it does not have any, it will not scan or throw an error message.
Fix
Load a few sheets into the printer’s paper tray and try scanning again.
8. Incompatible Scan Settings
Sometimes, it could be the other way around with conflicting scan settings in your printer that make it not scan. For instance, attempting to scan a paper that is much bigger than what your scanner can take or scanning at a resolution too high.
How to Resolve
Ensure the resolution setting does not exceed what the scanner can capture. When scanning a very large document, one can shrink either the file or the resolution down to a workable size.
9.Outdated Firmware
If the printer firmware has already become outdated, then it is one of the possible causes why the printer’s scanner has stopped working. As was already mentioned with regard to drivers, this must update and bug-proof the scanner on the printer.
Fix:
Look in the setting of the printer or website of the manufacturer to see if firmware can be updated
Download and Install new firmware
10.Low Memory
Small memory printers will not scan large or high-resolution files if the papers consist of many complex components. When a faulty printer scanner cannot scan, then it may appear senseless until the fault has been corrected.
Solution
The scanners can only scan small papers that contain few elements.
Delete unwanted files and settings from the memory of the printer and scan again.
CONCLUSION
Panicking need not ensue if your printer will not scan. Simple troubleshooting steps can easily solve most of the issues that have occurred. The steps mentioned above will set right your printer scanner will not work problem almost instantly. Starting with simple connectivity problems, connectivity driver problems down to a dented, bruised scanner, which requires a lot of TLC before working.
If the above doesn’t work and your printer still cannot scan, it is time to seek professional assistance or reach out to the customer support team of your printer. For more steps and printer tips and advice, visit Printer Not Working
By knowing the common causes why your printer will not scan and by using the solutions mentioned above, you can easily go back to scanning your important documents without hassle!