Scanner dead on your all-in-one? Check this first

EP
Erropedia Team
📅 June 15, 2026 📅 Updated Sep 12, 2026 👁 32 views Hardware – Printers Intermediate
Your all-in-one printer's scanner stopped working? It's usually not a hardware failure. The fix is often driver-related or a USB power quirk.

Quick answer

For advanced users: uninstall the printer software completely, reboot, then reinstall the latest full driver package from the manufacturer's site — not the built-in Windows driver. If that doesn't work, disable USB selective suspend in Windows power settings. Now the details.

Why this happens

Scanners on all-in-one printers die silently for two main reasons. First, Windows often installs a generic driver (WIA — Windows Image Acquisition) that handles basic printing but half-asses the scanner. You get a functional printer, but the scanner appears as missing or throws error 0x80070490 in Device Manager when you try to scan. Second, modern PCs aggressively save power on USB ports — the USB selective suspend feature. When your printer sits idle for a few minutes, the OS cuts power to its USB interface to save a few milliwatts. Your scanner then can't wake up when you try to use it.

On Windows 10 version 22H2 and Windows 11 version 23H2, I've seen this most often with HP Envy 6000 series, Canon Pixma MG3620, and Epson WorkForce WF-2830. The fix isn't to buy a new printer. It's almost always software or power management.

Step-by-step fix

  1. Completely remove existing printer software. Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features. Find your printer's software entry (e.g., "HP Printer Drivers" or "Canon MF Driver"). Right-click and uninstall. Don't skip this step — leaving old drivers behind causes conflicts with new ones.
  2. Reboot your computer. Not a restart, a full shutdown and power-up. This clears the driver cache and resets the USB controller. I know it sounds basic, but it matters here.
  3. Download the full driver package from the manufacturer's support site. Not from Windows Update. Go to HP.com, Canon.com, or Brother.com. Search for your exact model number. Download the full driver suite — not a lite installer. For example, HP offers "HP Easy Start" for some models — avoid it. Get the full standalone package. On Canon's site, look under Software & Drivers, then select the full driver bundle (not the Starter Kit).
  4. Install the driver while the printer is disconnected. Run the installer. It'll ask you to connect the printer when prompted. Follow the on-screen instructions. The installer will also set up the WIA driver specifically for scanning.
  5. Test scanning using the manufacturer's scanning app — not Windows Scan. On HP, that's HP Scan. On Canon, it's Canon IJ Scan Utility. If the app detects the scanner, you're good. If not, move to the alternative fix below.

Alternative fixes if the main one fails

Disable USB selective suspend

Open Control Panel > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings. In the list, find USB Settings > USB selective suspend setting. Set it to Disabled for both Plugged in and On Battery. Apply. Reboot. This stops your PC from cutting power to the printer's USB port after idle time.

Restart the Image Acquisition service

Open Services.msc as Administrator. Find Windows Image Acquisition (WIA). If it's not running, right-click and start it. Set its Startup type to Automatic. Also, check the Shell Hardware Detection service — set it to Automatic and start it too. Some scanners depend on Shell Hardware Detection for autoplay and device enumeration.

Check Device Manager for hidden devices

Open Device Manager. Click View > Show hidden devices. Expand Imaging devices. If you see a grayed-out entry for your scanner, right-click it and Uninstall device. Then reboot. Windows will re-enumerate the scanner on reboot. This clears a stale driver cache that's stuck on a failed initialization.

Prevention tip

Don't let Windows Update manage your printer drivers. Set Windows to not automatically download driver updates for devices. Go to System Properties > Hardware > Device Installation Settings, and choose No (your device might not work properly if you do this). It sounds counterintuitive, but Windows Update often delivers outdated or generic drivers that break scanning. Always get drivers directly from the manufacturer's site.

Also, if you use a USB hub, connect your printer directly to a USB port on the motherboard — not a front-panel port or hub. Scanners are sensitive to voltage drops from long cable runs or cheap hubs. Keep the USB cable under 3 meters (10 feet). Longer cables introduce signal degradation that kills scanning reliability.

Final note: In my experience, about 80% of all-in-one scanner failures are driver-related, not hardware. If you've tried everything and the scanner still doesn't work, check your printer's control panel — some models let you disable scanning from the front menu for security. On Canon Pixma printers, it's under Settings > Device Settings > Scanner Function. Make sure it's set to Enable.
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EP
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The Erropedia editorial team researches and documents real-world tech errors from across Windows, Linux, macOS, networking, databases, cloud platforms, and more. Every solution is reviewed for accuracy and updated as software and systems evolve.