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Printer showing offline?
The fix usually takes under 4 minutes — restart the spooler, set the port, and print again.
Fix it now →The Canon troubleshooting desk
Your printer is offline. Let's fix it, gently.
No jargon, no sign-ups. Just the exact steps, in order, to get your Canon printing again.
(a) Start here
57 guidesWi-Fi
Get your Canon back online
4 min · Easy
Jams
Clear a paper jam safely
6 min · Medium
Codes
Resolve the B200 printhead error
8 min · Medium
Ink
Fix faint or streaky prints
7 min · Easy
Setup
Set up double-sided printing
5 min · Easy
Scan
Scan to computer stopped working
6 min · Easy
Care
Run a printhead cleaning the right way
8 min · Easy
Mobile
Print from an iPhone or iPad
4 min · Easy
Know your Canon
All models →PIXMA inkjet
Canon's most common home printers. Use liquid ink cartridges, great for photos and everyday documents. Watch for clogged print heads and ink-related error codes.
e.g. TS3522 · TR4720 · MG3620
PIXMA MegaTank
Inkjet printers with refillable ink tanks instead of cartridges — much cheaper per page. Refill carefully; air in the lines causes streaks and false 'low ink' warnings.
e.g. G3270 · G3420
MAXIFY
Fast document inkjets built for home offices and small teams. High-yield tanks, heavy-duty paper trays, and two-sided scanning on most models.
e.g. GX7020 · MB2720
imageCLASS laser
Mono and color laser printers that use toner powder, not ink. Sharp text, fast output, and they never clog — but toner and drum units need occasional replacement.
e.g. MF264dw
SELPHY photo
Small dye-sublimation printers made just for photos. Each print uses a ribbon and paper from the same cassette — replace both together when prints run out.
e.g. SELPHY CP1500
imageRUNNER
Full-size office copiers and multifunctions. Most of these guides target home models — office machines often need an admin password for the same settings.
e.g. imageRUNNER ADVANCE
(b) How it works
Identify what you're seeing
Diagnose the likely cause
Resolve it, step by step
(c) Featured fix
Easy · 4 minGet your Canon back online
- 1
Wake the printer. If the power light is off or dim, press the power button once and wait 30 seconds.
- 2
Check the Wi-Fi lamp on the printer. A steady blue light means it's connected; a blinking light means it's still searching for your router.
- 3
On your computer, open the print queue and cancel every pending job, then try a single test page.
Pro tip
If the Wi-Fi lamp stays solid orange, the printer can't find your router at all — restart the router before touching any printer setting.
(d) Every guide
Browse all →Wi-Fi
Get your Canon back online
Your computer says the printer is offline, but it's sitting right there. This is usually a stuck print queue or a dropped Wi-Fi link — both take minutes to fix.
Wi-Fi
Connect your Canon to Wi-Fi
First-time setup or a new router? Use the printer's Easy Wireless Connect mode to join your home network without a cable.
Jams
Clear a paper jam safely
A jam doesn't mean anything is broken. The trick is pulling the sheet out slowly, in the direction it was travelling, so no torn corners stay inside.
Codes
Resolve the B200 printhead error
B200 means the printer can't drive the print head correctly — often dried ink or a poorly seated cartridge, not a dead printer. Try this before replacing anything.
Codes
Fix error E03 (paper feed)
E03 means the printer tried to grab a sheet and missed. It's almost always loading, alignment, or a roller that needs a quick clean.
Ink
Fix faint or streaky prints
Washed-out pages and white lines usually mean clogged nozzles, not empty cartridges. A nozzle check tells you exactly which color is struggling.
Ink
Replace ink cartridges & clear warnings
Cartridge errors after a refill or swap usually come from a missed click, leftover tape, or the ink counter needing a reset.
Ink
Speed up slow printing
If every page crawls out, the printer is likely set to high quality or quiet mode — or it's re-rendering a heavy document. All easy wins.
Codes
Understand the 5B00 waste ink error
5B00 (also 5B01) means the internal waste ink counter is full. It is a counter, not a breakage — but it needs a service reset, not a home fix.
Codes
Clear the 1700 ink absorber warning
1700 is the early warning that comes before 5B00. You can usually keep printing for a while after acknowledging it.
Codes
Fix support code 6000
6000 means the printer cannot feed paper or detects an obstruction in the paper path. Usually debris or a mis-set tray.
Codes
Fix the 1403 print head not installed error
1403 (and 1401/1485) means the printer cannot read the print head. Reseating and cleaning the contacts fixes most cases.
Codes
Fix the 1682 ink cartridge error
1682 says a cartridge is not recognised. Reseating, cleaning the chip, and confirming the right cartridge number solves it.
Codes
Fix the 1660 cartridge not installed error
1660 means a slot is reading as empty. Usually the cartridge is in the wrong bay or not clicked down.
Codes
Fix the 1310 paper size mismatch
1310 appears when the paper size set on the printer does not match the size in the print dialog.
Codes
Understand the P07 service error
P07 is the older display form of the waste ink absorber full condition. It requires a service reset.
Codes
Fix the C000 general error
C000 is a catch-all fault that usually means something is physically blocking the carriage or a jam sensor is triggered.
Jams
Stop the printer pulling two sheets at once
Multiple sheets feeding together usually comes from static, humidity, or an overfilled tray rather than a mechanical fault.
Jams
Printer will not pick up paper at all
When the rollers spin but nothing moves, the rubber has usually gone glossy with paper dust and lost its grip.
Jams
Fix crooked or skewed printing
Skewed output means the sheet enters at an angle — nearly always a paper guide or loading issue.
Jams
Stop photo paper from jamming
Glossy paper is heavier and sticks together. Loading it one sheet at a time from the rear tray solves most jams.
Jams
Print envelopes without jams
Envelopes need the right orientation, the right media setting, and a light touch on the guides.
Jams
Print on cardstock and thick paper
Most Canon home printers handle card up to around 300 gsm from the rear tray only.
Setup
Set up double-sided printing
Many Canon models print both sides automatically; those that do not can still do it manually in two passes.
Setup
Print photos without white borders
Borderless printing needs both a supported paper size and the borderless checkbox in the driver.
Setup
Install a Canon printer on Windows
Windows finds most Canon printers automatically on the network; the full driver adds scanning and maintenance tools.
Setup
Add a Canon printer on a Mac
macOS uses AirPrint for most Canon models, so no driver download is usually needed.
Wi-Fi
Printer not found during setup
Setup tools fail to see the printer when the phone or PC is on a different band, a guest network, or a VPN.
Wi-Fi
Print with Wireless Direct, no router
Wireless Direct turns the printer into its own hotspot so you can print when the home network is down.
Wi-Fi
Reconnect after changing your Wi-Fi password
The printer keeps the old password and silently drops off. Re-running the wireless setup takes a few minutes.
Scan
Scan to computer stopped working
You press Scan on the printer and nothing arrives on the computer. Almost always the scan link between the two devices has dropped.
Scan
Scans look dark, blurry or streaky
A scanned page that looks worse than the original is usually a dirty glass strip or the wrong scan preset.
Scan
Scan several pages into one PDF
One file instead of ten separate images, using the tools already on the printer.
Scan
Copies come out blank or half printed
The scanner reads the page but the printed copy is empty or cut off — a placement or ink problem, not a scanner fault.
Scan
Document feeder will not pull pages
The top feeder grinds or reports no document even with a full stack loaded.
Care
Run a printhead cleaning the right way
Cleaning fixes most quality problems, but repeating it too often wastes a surprising amount of ink.
Care
Align the printhead for sharp lines
Text with a faint double edge or wavy ruled lines means the head alignment has drifted.
Care
Clean the paper feed rollers
Dusty rollers slip, so pages misfeed or come through smudged. A built-in routine cleans them.
Care
“Ink absorber almost full” warning
The pad that soaks up cleaning ink is filling. The printer keeps working for a while, then stops with a service code.
Care
Keep a rarely used printer healthy
Inkjets clog when they sit idle. A few habits keep a once-a-month printer working.
Mobile
Print from an iPhone or iPad
Most Canon printers print straight from iOS with no app at all, as long as both are on the same Wi-Fi.
Mobile
Print from an Android phone
Android needs a print service switched on before the printer shows up in the share menu.
Mobile
Print photos straight from a USB stick or card
Models with a screen and a port can print without any computer or phone involved.
Mobile
Get the best out of a SELPHY photo printer
SELPHY uses paper and a ribbon cassette as a matched set — most problems come from mixing them.
Setup
Stop the paper size mismatch message
The printer compares what you loaded with what the job asks for and stops when they differ.
Setup
Jobs take ages to start over Wi-Fi
The printing itself is fine; the delay is the job crossing a weak or busy network.
Setup
Make your Canon the default printer
Jobs quietly going to a PDF writer or an old printer is a default-printer problem.
Setup
Reset the printer's network settings
A clean start for Wi-Fi when the printer keeps dropping off and nothing else helped.
Ink
Toner low message on an imageCLASS laser
Laser printers warn early. You can usually get a few hundred more pages before quality actually drops.
Ink
MegaTank prints blank with full tanks
Full tanks but nothing on the page usually means air in the tubes or a clogged head after idle weeks.
Ink
Colours print wrong compared with the screen
Prints that look too warm, too dark or oddly tinted are usually a paper-type or colour-setting mismatch.
Ink
Ink smudges on the page
Smears on the front or back of the page point at wet ink, curled paper or a dirty roller.
Codes
Printhead errors 1401 and 1403
The printer cannot read the printhead at all (1401) or reads it as unsupported (1403).
Codes
Errors B203 and B204
Related to B200 — the printer detected an electrical fault around the printhead and stopped to protect itself.
Codes
Error 5100 — carriage cannot move
Something is physically stopping the carriage, or the strip it reads position from is dirty.
Codes
Error 2114 — paper settings do not match
A polite stop rather than a fault: the loaded paper is not what the job asked for.
Codes
Error 1000 — no paper in the rear tray
The rear tray sensor cannot see paper, even when a stack is sitting there.