Scanapp Lei Canon

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Francisca Noggles

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Aug 3, 2024, 5:00:53 PM8/3/24

to esaculak

Dispite tons of videos showing people installing the LiDE 300 on youtube on Chrome early in 2023, it doesn't seem to work any longer always identifying the units but asking for additional software to function or a .ppd file I learned canon doesn't usually provide. I bought the 400 seeing it was newer but no luck and found a lot of youtube videos installing the 300 without any issue but it doesn't work that way, any more at least since I bought a 300 assuming it would work and the 400 didn't. Nope, same issues.

I'm an IT person by trade, I have never failed to install a printer so this isn't just an idiot issue (yes the unlock buttons were in the unlock position under both units), they do detect when plugged in initially and going into advanced settings you can see the device and a "Save" button but doing so pops up the prompt to find the "printer" in the list (no LiDE models listed) or to provide a .ppd file.

I was about to assume these do not work and post an article recommending people find scanners elsewhere since these don't seem to support Chrome, but then I found a page that specifically lists BOTH these models with native support for ChromeOS.

This is a decent Chromebook from Xmas, it is not old but the menus are very different from the ones on youtube videos showing how to add so clearly I have a newer version but I will not be the last person with this issue.

I can confirm this problem on an updated Chromebook and LiDE 400. I chose the LiDE 400 because it seemed most likely to work on any device. In October 2023 the scanner was recognized by ChromeOS. I was able to scan documents without any issues using the Scan app. Now in January 2024 ChromeOS recognizes the canner via USB-A connection but refuses to scan. When using USB-C port, the scanner is recognized as a printer and can not be used to scan.

You have to plug it into the USB-A port. The Chromebook will think it's a printer. Then, in Settings, save the printer and edit it. Don't bother with Manufacturer and Model since those options are all printers. Select "View printer PPD" instead. By opening it in Chrome it should automatically save as a PPD file. Rename the file to what it says you should (eg, line 23 of my ppd file says "*% You may save this file as 'Canon-BJ-300-lq850.ppd'"). Then in Settings, edit your so-called printer, click Browse for PPD, and choose your file. That fixed it for me, now every time I plug in the 300 I can just click the Scan application, and it sees the scanner, and I can scan right away. I did this in 2023 so it definitely works with older Chrome OS.

When you want to scan something the scanner says I need to set my computer to scan. When I do that my computer can't find the scanner even though the connection is fine and sometimes it asks me to connect it with a USB cable which I don't have and it didn't follow the printer.

Scanning is definitely possible over WiFi using the Pixma iOS app for iPhone/iPad, I use it often this way. To scan wirelessly from a Mac you need to use the Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector to install the scanner. Then you can scan using the Canon IJ Scan Utility 2 or any other scanning application. Note that the manual describes only the locations for Windows, but the utility is also there in Mac OS X if you installed the driver package or can be downloaded separately from the Canon website.

I was having the same problem with Canon Pixma E560, can print but can't scan. The solution I found was in firewall settings. Go to firewall options in security & privacy in system preferences. Allow incoming connections for all canon utilities.

I was just having the same problem - I can't just walk to my scanner and press "scan." I just keep getting an error message saying "set the PC to start scanning." Finally figured out I have to control my scanner through my computer! It's a simple solution. I'm on a Mac, so I hit the magnifying glass "search" in the upper right corner, started searching for "Canon," and since I'd loaded the software previously, "Canon IJ Scan Utility" auto-filled in the search bar, along with a list of applications below the search bar. I double-clicked on the application that said "Canon IJ Scan Utility2" and my scanner options appeared. I wanted to scan a document, so I hit "document." The message "searching for scanners" appeared, and my Canon started scanning immediately.Of course, if "Canon IJ Scan Utility" doesn't auto-fill in your search bar, you may need to load the software driver. Good luck!

The packaging for the Pixma printers is misleading. It's a wireless printer, but for scanning, you need to either tether to your computer, or plug a USB drive into the printer. When conducting the scan, you'll be prompted to choose the USB drive, and after scans are complete, you can walk the USB to your computer.