Question :

My Canon CanoScan 5600F is scanning great, even after all those years. The only problem I’m encountering with my new Mac is that I get a “Scanner reported an error” message when I try to start it from the shortlink (alias) I have in my Dock.

The exact error message is : “Scanner reported an error Cannot communicate with scanner for these reasons: – Scanner is turned off. – USB cable is disconnected. Please check and try again.” But the USB cable is connected properly and the scanner is turned on, so that can’t be the problem.

What can I do to fix this ?

Answer :

This problem was introduced some years ago, possibly somewhere within the shift from OSX to macOS. It seems to have to to with the start-up sequence of macOS’s build-in scanning software or the scanner going into some sleep mode. The solution is simple, even though it is more of a workaround than an actual fix. So if you run into this problem, do this :

• turn the scanner off using the ON/OFF-switch on the outside of the scanner (the physical hardware button)
• then, click the blue OK-button in the “Scanner reported an error” window
• then, close the “Scanner” window by clicking the red dot button top-left
• then, open the Scanner software again…
  • …either by clicking on the scanner’s alias (shortlink) on your Desktop or in your Dock
  • …or by going to Apple-menu (top-left) –> System Preferences –> grid-icon (top-center) –> Printers & Scanners –> Scanners –> CanoScan 5600F (or whatever your scanner is called) –> Open Scanner
• now, turn the scanner back on using the ON/OFF-switch on the outside of the scanner (the physical hardware button)
• now the scanner should load the scan preview automatically (as if you had clicked the Overview-button)
• just make sure the scan area hasn’t been reset, so…
  • …either uncheck “Use Custom Size” and make sure “size” is “A4” (or anything suitable)
  • …or manually line out the scan area in the preview

That’s it !

enjoy 😉