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Canon Pixma MG5220: Scan Without Ink

Canon Pixma MG5220: Scan Without Ink

January 9, 2023 by Mitch Bartlett 83 Comments

Users have complained about not being able to scan documents when the Canon Pixma MG5220 is out of ink. However, there is a way around this issue. All you have to do is reset the ink detection, and the scanner will work again.

  • To reset the ink detection, simply press and hold “Stop” (button with orange circle and triangle) for 5 seconds. The Alarm should clear, and the printer will allow you to scan once again.

This trick works with many Canon Pixma models including the MX340.

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Filed Under: Hardware Tagged With: canon pixma

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julianto says

    December 26, 2022 at 3:04 pm

    works on my MG5150, thank you so much from 2022!

  2. Tom says

    November 16, 2022 at 2:21 pm

    I have an MG3250which wouldn’t scan when it ran out of ink. I managed to scan using Windows10 Fax and Scan app rather than the Canon app. However, I saw ,above, that someone had scanned with output and input trays closed and I had mine closed when I used the Windows app, so that might have been the solution. If you are stuck, try both.

  3. Robert The Engineer says

    September 27, 2022 at 2:27 pm

    Is there any solution for the MG2540 or MG2540S ? I would throw mine off the window it’s really useless…

  4. Philip Fulman says

    May 24, 2022 at 1:56 am

    I hate the people at Canon more than words can ever describe. I hate these people so unbelievably much.

  5. kenzo_gal says

    February 25, 2022 at 9:10 am

    Yay! Thank you so much. Worked with my MG3600 Printer.

  6. Luke says

    February 14, 2022 at 10:54 pm

    Nope. This trick does NOT work on every MX340.
    It did not work on the one I found on the sidewalk a few days ago.
    I had hoped to use it for just the scanner.
    But no trick I’ve seen on the web works to make it scan.
    I suspect the firmware had been updated, wherein Canon disabled all possible hacks.

  7. Duncan says

    December 29, 2021 at 2:24 am

    Thank you so much, you saved me having to buy a dedicated scanner :-) My printer is the Canon Pixma MG7160

  8. Diane Hawkins says

    October 8, 2021 at 11:22 am

    I spent one whole day trying to get my Canon scanner working with a new laptop. As soon as I read your comment, I pushed that Stop button and everything was OK! Thank you so much. I was tearing my hair out!

  9. Laura says

    April 13, 2021 at 5:34 pm

    Thanks a lot! It worked!

  10. Jay S says

    November 14, 2020 at 6:08 pm

    My Canon Pixma MP970 suddenly stopped functioning-‘Error U052 incorrect print head”. Tried everyone’s suggestions with no luck. Not sure what else to do.
    Any new ideas? Thanks

  11. Clive Jackson says

    August 17, 2020 at 4:37 am

    Brilliant, thank you so much. I spent hours reading other peoples contributions on other websites when all i had to do is press a button!

  12. Steve says

    June 6, 2020 at 9:47 am

    Great tip. Thanks – works on MG7150. A truly idiotic feature to not scan by default when ink has run out / is missing.

  13. JT2K says

    April 22, 2020 at 11:56 pm

    Thank you! Works with MG5220

  14. ton says

    March 4, 2020 at 3:57 am

    wont work with my mg-3600 series

  15. Linda says

    March 2, 2020 at 3:28 pm

    THANK YOU!!!! YOU LITTLE BEAUTY!!!

  16. Manoj says

    February 29, 2020 at 1:05 am

    I used mg 2570 printer .I scan my document how to scan without ink cartridge . Ink error show

  17. Louis Charpentier says

    November 17, 2019 at 8:47 am

    What to do with my PIXMA MG5220 printer. I have a B200 error on my printer screen and it tells me to unplug the power cord and contact the service ash.

  18. MsD says

    October 19, 2019 at 11:49 am

    Thank you thank you thank you! was so stressed by my printer not scanning due to ink
    This worked for my Canon TS3100

  19. Leanne says

    May 16, 2019 at 7:26 pm

    Didnt work on mine. Any other clues?

  20. Bonnie Austin says

    May 16, 2019 at 2:30 pm

    Tried it with my MG6620, but no luck.

  21. Jeff says

    April 22, 2019 at 5:57 pm

    Saved me from spending $60 on ink I did not need to spend simply to scan. Thank you

  22. Luciano says

    April 21, 2019 at 4:53 pm

    Thanks! Worked fine on my MG2400..

  23. Scott Bogash says

    March 20, 2019 at 10:45 am

    This worked on my MG 6320, thank you so much!

  24. Luiz says

    February 18, 2019 at 4:38 pm

    Hi,
    I have a MG 5220, but I’m not sure it is still working (I’ve got it a long time ago and I haven’t used it in the last year). I want to use it again, but I need to buy new inks, I want to know if it is possible using the printer just with the black ink. I don’t want to buy the color ink before make sure it is really working. Thanks

  25. Oly says

    December 18, 2018 at 12:18 pm

    When I closed both the input and output trays of the printer, then I could scan even with the ink cartridges removed. Holding down the orange circle+triangle did not work on my Canon MX320.

  26. Tamas says

    November 3, 2018 at 4:04 am

    I do have PIXMA 5450, and the printer part (ink) completely gave up, the printer head is wrong.

    Is it possible to COMPLETELY switch off the printer functionality and use only the scanner?

  27. Mark says

    October 29, 2018 at 5:44 am

    Nope with the MG2540. Tried absolutely everything. Just going to open the window to throw the Canon out….

  28. Howard says

    August 29, 2018 at 3:08 pm

    Oh gee – THANKYOU! Yes your fix worked on my new MG3650, with iMac High Sierra. More than can be said for the pdf manual. Can scan and print/copy in black and white even though colour is totally empty. Why are printer makers so user-hostile?

  29. Ami Kelly says

    August 27, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    I’ve had nothing but problems with my Canon Pixma MG6821. Won’t connect to WiFi 90% of the time, won’t scan with no ink. Pressing and holding stop didn’t work.

  30. Mystica says

    August 9, 2018 at 11:37 am

    To reset the ink detection, simply press and hold “Stop” (button with orange circle and triangle) for 5 seconds. The Alarm should clear and the printer will allow you to scan once again.
    This trick works with many Canon Pixma models including the MX340.

    YES, it works for me. But I have to try at least couple times before it actually worked. Power off and power it back on, as soon as you press the power back on, keep pushing the STOP button for at least 10 seconds, then press Scan and it will work magically. Thank you!

  31. Ian says

    August 7, 2018 at 2:54 am

    Pressing Stop for any amount of time does NOT allow to scan on Pixma 5650. Never buying one of these products again.

  32. Sharon J Thomas says

    July 10, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    I removed my cartridges some time back in order to buy the right ones. The damned cartridges cost as much as the printer/scanner. What???? I just want to scan some hospital records to my son’s P.O. so they don’t arrest him for having an EMERGENCY GALLBLADDER SURGERY!! Blasted thing DOESN’T NEED INK TO SCAN TO MY COMPUTER. I will NEVER buy a Canon product again.

  33. John Robertson says

    June 11, 2018 at 5:34 pm

    My MG6800 also wouldn’t scan while it displayed the low ink ‘stopping’. I first tried holding the STOP button for around ten seconds, but nothing happened, then I noticed there was an “OK” button on the touchscreen – pressed that and the error message went away and I could then scan and even print B&W docs (two colours were low).
    Not sure if the problem was I jus tdidn’t notice the “OK” button prior to pressing the STOP button, so if you see the “OK” touch that first and then try.

  34. Nor Parn says

    June 7, 2018 at 5:39 am

    I want to use my scanner without color cartridges installed. Finds no work around on this problem. Canon MG6350 wireless on Windows 10.
    Get Error 1688 & Conde 2,140,21. How to fix this? Stop bying Canon seems to bee the best sollution!

  35. Gerrit says

    May 9, 2018 at 9:51 am

    Doesn’t work for me. It removes the ink alarm but still cannot scan

  36. Deb says

    May 8, 2018 at 12:38 pm

    Sadly, Canon must have seen this and updated software b/c this method is not working for me either. I will be purchasing a new printer NOT from Canon SMH why is everybody so greedy???

  37. Samantha Hovey says

    May 1, 2018 at 2:36 pm

    For some reason my alarm light is not responding to holding down the cancel button, no matter how long I hold it for.

  38. Dan says

    April 21, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    Thanks so much!!! I was about to take a hammer to this printer for trying to make me buy new ink cartridges just to scan…

  39. childofrao says

    April 8, 2018 at 2:50 pm

    THANK YOU LORD, MY SAVIOR!!! THIS SAVED MY LIFE

  40. jilani says

    April 2, 2018 at 4:09 am

    very thankfull works for me pixma mp287

  41. Tracy says

    March 29, 2018 at 8:14 am

    Yes :-) thanks that did the trick

  42. David Johnson says

    March 22, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    Saved my day, made me happy; the 5 second stop hold did the trick; allowed me use my scanner even with a ink cartridge error message

  43. Andrew says

    March 5, 2018 at 1:32 am

    Awesome – thanks – worked on Canon MG 5350

  44. David Palmer says

    March 4, 2018 at 12:10 am

    Many thanks for sharing that! Worked great on my MX-922.

  45. Daniel B. says

    March 3, 2018 at 10:13 pm

    I have a Canon MG2520 and this trick did not work for me, however, I’m wondering if it is because I only have one ink cartridge. I have tried holding down the Stop button for 5 seconds (and longer), as well as the Power button for 5 seconds (and longer) and neither option helped. I really do feel like this is a terrible operational error on Canon’s part. I shouldn’t have to go out and buy ink just to scan a document. Definitely never buying a Canon printer/scanner again.

  46. Mark says

    March 3, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    For my MP 560, in the case where more than one ink cartridges were dry, I had to hold Stop and OK at the same time to reach a “cleared” condition. Then I could scan.

  47. David B. says

    January 14, 2018 at 2:55 pm

    Thanks a million! Holding down the Stop button didn’t work for me, but holding down the Power button did. I have ink but it’s refilled cartridges, so the printer thinks they are empty. I have the MG3620. The software on this printer is very poor. I will not buy another Canon printer for that reason. The printer works well mechanically, but is a pain to use.

  48. regina casimiro says

    January 5, 2018 at 1:23 pm

    Have you experienced the same issue with canon MP610 ?
    I didn’t sorted the issue…

  49. Nina says

    December 27, 2017 at 1:11 pm

    Currently fist pumping because you saved the day! Thank you!

  50. Ciulee Smith says

    November 19, 2017 at 1:12 pm

    Thank you, thank you, thank you. Worked for Pixma 6120!

  51. Alex3 says

    October 14, 2017 at 11:58 pm

    Thanks very much! :D

  52. Sherri says

    October 4, 2017 at 6:33 pm

    It worked! Was able to scan a document that I really needed – good when you always have to order your ink by mail.
    This was a Canon MP560

  53. Adam S says

    September 6, 2017 at 8:57 pm

    This is super helpful. Super helpful.
    Thank you.

  54. David says

    August 10, 2017 at 10:25 pm

    thanks for this helpful tip Mitch

  55. Hitesh says

    August 1, 2017 at 4:13 am

    Mitch Bartlett – Thanks for support , Problem solve

  56. Barnegat Pollyanna says

    July 7, 2017 at 4:51 pm

    Didn’t work for me. AAAH! This is so frustrating!
    I have a Canon PIXMA printer/scanner. A piece bent where the ink cartridge goes in and it can’t read that the ink cartridge has been replaced.
    Now nothing works on this pain in the butt thing! Ready to trash it.

  57. Faizel says

    April 21, 2017 at 9:02 am

    Hi i got a canon mx394 but thats not working is there something els i can try

  58. Chinny Perez says

    April 15, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Thanks for the tip it works

  59. phiri says

    April 9, 2017 at 2:00 pm

    thanks guys it worked for me

  60. V Saxena says

    March 27, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    Dude, HAH. I’ve stopped using my scanner for like TWO YEARS because of the ink problem. And now, finally, after two years, I can use it again. You’re DA MAN!

  61. SooperOoser says

    February 22, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    I read somewhere if the STOP button trick doesn’t work for your model, try holding down the POWER button for 5 seconds or more instead. I hope it helps.

  62. Jaroslav VYdra says

    February 6, 2017 at 9:44 am

    Thanks for your pages! I have a Canon MG6250 printer/scanner, and want to use it as a scanner only, since I do not have all the ink cartridges. But your hint for mg5220 does not work, the scanner says error U043 “Can’t recognise ink cartridge…”.
    Is there some way to use the Canon 6250 as a scanner only?
    Thank you for your help.

  63. Shamshuddin says

    February 5, 2017 at 2:02 am

    Thanks a lot, It worked on MG2470 printer, although there was no beep sound after a long press of stop button. was trying for so long…

  64. Rushikesh says

    January 4, 2017 at 11:16 pm

    Thanks a Lot, It’s working.

  65. zenka says

    December 21, 2016 at 11:17 am

    thanks alot.. works on canon PIXMA MG3650

  66. LAURA says

    November 18, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    Awesome, I only need my MX492 for scanning. Simply help STOP for about 5 seconds+ and it overwrote it. Thank you!!

  67. Almost Convicted Fellon says

    November 1, 2016 at 3:51 am

    NICE !!! Worked…and it was very important. Have to scan and e-mail some last min. documents for my lawyer. It’s about 5 am and court is in a couple hours. Really, thank you.

    *** I have the Canon MX922 also ***

  68. Gilman says

    October 29, 2016 at 1:05 pm

    It doesn’t work for MG5420. Never buying canon again!

  69. Renata says

    October 17, 2016 at 11:54 am

    Thanks, It worked for MG5650

  70. Ren says

    September 19, 2016 at 5:08 am

    Thank you. It worked for the MG5340.
    Will never buy Canon again.

  71. shazki says

    August 26, 2016 at 12:58 am

    it worked for me! MG7100 pixma

  72. Virtual Dragon says

    August 12, 2016 at 12:21 am

    Did not work for my Canon MG 5350.

    What a scam! It is a completely ridiculously expensive and very slow printer – and now this. Never Canon again!

  73. Regina says

    August 11, 2016 at 9:38 am

    Doesn’t work for MX479
    :(

  74. Adrian Haar says

    August 7, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    Didn’t work on my MG6150. Got as far as “scan” and then the original message – that the grey ink cartridge needed replacing. From Canon – “buy some more of our ink and we will let you scan”. Thanks Canon.

  75. MG5550 says

    July 25, 2016 at 6:39 pm

    Worked for MG5550.
    Thank you so much!

  76. auntie says

    May 23, 2016 at 1:30 pm

    I found a video on YouTube to reset the ink error for a canon mg5220 ,first turn printer off then press the stop button then while pressing the stop button press the power button for two seconds then let go of stop button while still pressing the power button. then while still holding power press the stop button 5 times should reset the printer. A blank screen will show up but that’s fine he said you might have to turn off then back on.

  77. Virtual Gaz says

    May 17, 2016 at 1:05 am

    nice one – mg 3260 scanning again!
    Naughty Canon – Epson next time because of this.

  78. Michelle says

    May 16, 2016 at 9:44 am

    THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!! it worked!!!! PIXMA MP280

  79. B says

    May 6, 2016 at 3:36 pm

    Worked on MG2922

  80. Laurence says

    March 5, 2016 at 9:37 am

    Works for Pixma MX410.

  81. WC says

    February 11, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    Worked on the MX922, thanks! So sneaky of Canon.

  82. ben says

    February 8, 2016 at 10:10 am

    Thanks, Its working for the MG5300 series..

  83. Mr G says

    January 31, 2016 at 7:31 pm

    Didnt work on my printer – PIXMA MG5220 with the U043 error message (The following ink tank cannot be recognized)

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