Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

Using the scanner of my 3-in-1 network printer

Apr 11, 2017 4:46AM PDT

We have an ethernet network with two desktop computers and a number of mobile devices. So we bought a network printer, which is connected to one of the two desktops via usb. Until last week, I was always able to use the scanning function from the other desktop computer, but somehow that's no longer possible. I've tried removing and reinstalling the device, to no avail. Either the scanner is not even seen, or when the computer does see the scanner, selecting the Scan function does nothing.
I've posted a question on the Canon forum but got no response. Canon won't allow me to post a question to their support section via email because I'm not in the US. Lastly, the retailer where I bought the printer is out of ideas to try.
Can anyone here help me?
Thanks in advance!

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Answer
Re: scanner
Apr 11, 2017 5:41AM PDT

Two ideas:
- try your local Canon support, for example https://www.canon.com.au/ is their Australian support
- ask the companies IT-support to solve it (it's their job, not yours)

What happens if you connect a brand new third PC to the network, install the drivers on it and try scanning from it. Or connect it to the second PC and try to scan from the first.
That kind of experiments might show where the issue is located.

- Collapse -
Follow up:re scanner
Apr 14, 2017 12:54PM PDT

I am having issues posting a reply to Kees _B.
I tried twice and the post seems to just disappear.
There is no local Canon support. I live in a small country and it is just not available.
Also, this is a home situation. No IT department to solve problems.

I tried using my old laptop, following up the suggestion. It sees the printer as offline, and the scan function is not available, even with the printer turned on and ready.
But there are some other issues with the laptop, for example it was part of a Homegroup that is no longer available, and the computers on our network are also on a homegroup, which is of course a different one. I can't leave the homegroup with the laptop or join the new one. Not sure if this makes the printer unavailable to the laptop, or if there is another problem. But I have no other computers to try this with, so what are my options?
Thanks in advance...

- Collapse -
May have to use the last option.
Apr 14, 2017 12:56PM PDT

Just return it as defective. You can't get the scanner to work as advertised and the maker, seller can't fix it.

- Collapse -
Follow up:re scanner
Apr 14, 2017 1:19PM PDT

It did work for about a year - it just recently stopped working... I don't think the seller would accept a return?

- Collapse -
May have to replace it.
Apr 14, 2017 1:23PM PDT

I read what you tried so it sounds like something changed but what? It's not clear here so the next moves are to make more complaints to the maker.

Remember that many folk are not network gurus. That can be costly to sort out. Example, our average fee here is 150USD for a tech to go out and turn off a firewall in the homeowner's router. We offer advice like that for free but many just don't want to get into it. Some won't even try. So while it's a common setting, they want it done for them.

Here, you tried the drivers, setups and it failed. Time to complain to the maker and seller.

Post was last edited on April 14, 2017 1:30 PM PDT

- Collapse -
BTW. Canon MX870 here.
Apr 14, 2017 1:31PM PDT

And it's network scan doesn't work across the network. I know why, it's my router settings so I'm not changing that just to do network scans. When I need to scan I pop in some USB memory stick, scan to that and I'm done.

- Collapse -
the scanner, still
Apr 14, 2017 1:43PM PDT

Since Canon has not replied to my question I guess I will have to follow a similar remedy to you - do the scan from the other computer. It's not that that's not possible - it's that it's annoying that for about a year I could scan from this one and now I cannot, anymore.
It just bugs me. I want to know why something that was at first possible is no longer so, without me changing anything. But I guess maybe it's time to give up already.
Thanks for responding...