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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 guides

Know your Canon

All models →
Home & photo

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

Refillable tank

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

Small business

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

Laser

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

Compact photo

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

Office copier

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

1

Identify what you're seeing

2

Diagnose the likely cause

3

Resolve it, step by step

(c) Featured fix

Easy · 4 min

Get your Canon back online

  1. 1

    Wake the printer. If the power light is off or dim, press the power button once and wait 30 seconds.

  2. 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. 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.

PIXMA G3420PIXMA TR8620aPIXMA TS6420
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(d) Every guide

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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.

4 min

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.

6 min

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.

6 min

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.

8 min

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.

5 min

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.

7 min

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.

5 min

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.

4 min

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.

6 min

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.

3 min

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.

5 min

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.

7 min

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.

4 min

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.

3 min

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.

4 min

Codes

Understand the P07 service error

P07 is the older display form of the waste ink absorber full condition. It requires a service reset.

4 min

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.

6 min

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.

5 min

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.

7 min

Jams

Fix crooked or skewed printing

Skewed output means the sheet enters at an angle — nearly always a paper guide or loading issue.

4 min

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.

5 min

Jams

Print envelopes without jams

Envelopes need the right orientation, the right media setting, and a light touch on the guides.

6 min

Jams

Print on cardstock and thick paper

Most Canon home printers handle card up to around 300 gsm from the rear tray only.

5 min

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.

5 min

Setup

Print photos without white borders

Borderless printing needs both a supported paper size and the borderless checkbox in the driver.

4 min

Setup

Install a Canon printer on Windows

Windows finds most Canon printers automatically on the network; the full driver adds scanning and maintenance tools.

8 min

Setup

Add a Canon printer on a Mac

macOS uses AirPrint for most Canon models, so no driver download is usually needed.

7 min

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.

8 min

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.

5 min

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.

5 min

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.

6 min

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.

5 min

Scan

Scan several pages into one PDF

One file instead of ten separate images, using the tools already on the printer.

5 min

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.

5 min

Scan

Document feeder will not pull pages

The top feeder grinds or reports no document even with a full stack loaded.

6 min

Care

Run a printhead cleaning the right way

Cleaning fixes most quality problems, but repeating it too often wastes a surprising amount of ink.

8 min

Care

Align the printhead for sharp lines

Text with a faint double edge or wavy ruled lines means the head alignment has drifted.

7 min

Care

Clean the paper feed rollers

Dusty rollers slip, so pages misfeed or come through smudged. A built-in routine cleans them.

8 min

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.

4 min

Care

Keep a rarely used printer healthy

Inkjets clog when they sit idle. A few habits keep a once-a-month printer working.

4 min

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.

4 min

Mobile

Print from an Android phone

Android needs a print service switched on before the printer shows up in the share menu.

5 min

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.

5 min

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.

5 min

Setup

Stop the paper size mismatch message

The printer compares what you loaded with what the job asks for and stops when they differ.

4 min

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.

6 min

Setup

Make your Canon the default printer

Jobs quietly going to a PDF writer or an old printer is a default-printer problem.

3 min

Setup

Reset the printer's network settings

A clean start for Wi-Fi when the printer keeps dropping off and nothing else helped.

6 min

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.

5 min

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.

8 min

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.

6 min

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.

6 min

Codes

Printhead errors 1401 and 1403

The printer cannot read the printhead at all (1401) or reads it as unsupported (1403).

7 min

Codes

Errors B203 and B204

Related to B200 — the printer detected an electrical fault around the printhead and stopped to protect itself.

5 min

Codes

Error 5100 — carriage cannot move

Something is physically stopping the carriage, or the strip it reads position from is dirty.

8 min

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.

4 min

Codes

Error 1000 — no paper in the rear tray

The rear tray sensor cannot see paper, even when a stack is sitting there.

4 min