Call to Arms for the dreaded U052 Wrong Printhead Error

[macnicol]

This is a "call to arms" for all of you Canon customers who have had this problem and have had their printers disabled because of it.  Please respond with the model of your printer and if you were able to fix it, what you did to fix it. 

We need to put pressure on Canon to respond this product defect.  It appears to be bad firmware that does not allow the user to override the problem and to continue to use the printer even in a degraded mode.  From my investigations the problem is NOT a printhead issue - no way one can be printing fine and then have this error alert without having changed the printhead or ink cartridges!

Canon, PLEASE take this issue seriously and provide a solution across the affected models.  If nothing else there should be a trade-in allowance for those printers that have been affected by this product defect.

I have had many Canon printers because they have superior functional specifications. I want to be able to continue using Canon products but only if I can have confidence that this product defect will not destroy my investment.

If Canon is unresponsive our next step should be to aggressively publisize this product defect on social media and on major product vendor outlet sites as negatives reviews.

Forum Users, please reply with your affected model number(s) and with details of any succdessful fix procedure.

[realfoneguy]

So the canon printhead came thursday. It is a real OEM printhead. Now it still did not fix the printer as it could have. I would bet while I waited for it, the ink in the printer dried up. There is some sort of pump action someplace to pull ink from the cartridges. I believe I have an issue with that. So be it. All printing works and all colors show up, but they are not vivid and bright. I cleaned and deep cleaned to no avail, so I will try and clean the tubes on the pump. I do have to take the printer apart to do so. I just hooked up my sisters canon. Not a bad unit, but it has only a wireless connection to it. I do like the scan to cloud and scan from ipad etc. I installed the software on her PC and I can print from there as well. All network. Those and many others it has are great features. I like the 560 because it has the USB connection as well. So I will let you know what I find in the printer. Good chance it's the issue. I did find the logic card on the web for $34.00. I have to see what the pump thing is called to find out what the deal is with that.

[MP560inCanada]

Well... I just called Canon Canada Tech Support to let them know of the U052 error message I'd encountered in the middle of a print job, and that it was a widley known issue, and he claimed that it was the 'First I've heard of it'.  Then he put me on hold for two minutes to 'check with some of my colleagues'  (all of whom it was news to).

I informed him that I found that hard to believe in light of this thread and suggested he look it up.

He offered to put me through to Sales to see if they could sell me another new unit with a 'loyalty' reduction. I declined.

[RenuNergy]

Whether or not this is a planned obsolescence strategy to sell new replacement All-In-One robotic printers, the fact of the matter is that this U052 error has been persistent for some time across a wide range of AIO printers and Canon's Printer division has failed to act.  This is absolutely ludicrous.

The fact that a problem is a known issue and the corporation fails to improve the design thereby regaining the respect of its Canon Printer Loyalist and redeeming it's virtue as a foremost manufacturer of quality printing products.

Much to my chagrin this has failed to pass and I'm now a happy owner of an Epson All-In-One that hasn't failed yet.

*But I'm on the look-out and will be switching to Brother printers if this one dies too soon.

I can hypothesis that any internet savvy purchasing agent would check the internet for quality issues when deciding whether or not to purchase mass quantities of your printer product.

Say Walmart, Costco, Best Buy in the United States and other big box stores around the globe.

Why would a savvy purchasing agent, VP of Supply Chain or some other executive want to stock their shelves with Canon

Printer products that do not sell because of their poor performance history based on internet reports.

Canon, the future is in 3D printers with a substantial level of revenue stream from All-In-Ones.

But in order to gain the revenue stream from 3D printers and other evolving technology such as organ growth (yes I said organ growth), you have to have a reputation that evokes trust in your products. It all about the user experience and as you know "The Customer is Always Right".  Currently Canon's printer division does not evoke trust or truth in my mind.  So as they say on Shark Tank, "I'm OUT".

You might want to take a cue from GM and fix the faulty printers to garner future sales and new profit channels from

evolving technology such as 3D printers, organ growth printers, and whatever the exponential growth in technology produces down the proverbial road.

[conjon]

I am joining the ranks of dissatisfied Cannon customers who have experienced the U052 error message that rendered my Cannon Pixma 712 disfunctional. I actually believed that this was the best printer I had ever had. It printed fast and the resolution and colors were just unbelieveable. It worked  quite well for about 16 months. Then in the middle of printing a major project, my printer just came down with this fatal U052 virus that has rendered it incapcitated. I have tried all the Canon recommendations to overcome the problem several times, but like so many others here, nothing has resolved the error.

I am reluctant to contact Canon since I gather they are not very helpful in resolving the problem. However, I have seen posts here that claim that Canon has replaced some printers. Does anyone know if that is true??

[realfoneguy]

I have found that the wrong printhead error is on the line of a defective printhead. I purchase 2 print heads, one for around $ 20.00 and another brand new Canon OEM head for $40.00. Here is what happened. I figure my original is dead, so that's gone. Soaking it in alchol did nothing for it.

The first head I got for $20.00 laid down no colors and only large black worked at all. The OEM one I bought laid down weak ink on all colors and the large blk cartridge is choppy and streaked at the top. I think that one is eating ink because I put a new cartridge in and it was empty 2 days later. i also replaced a yellow one and that one was sucked dry. So I soaked these one by one in alchol for a day hoping something would shake loose. The First cartridge is in the alchol now. The OEM one still has choppy black on top.

So I bet the head in the alchol will not show any difference anyway, so on ebay i went again. So the thing is, do I buy another cartridge for $40.00 or pick up a used printer still working. I really like the printer and besides I just purchased 30 cartridges of ink for $17.00, so I really would like a working MP 560. So I found one for $69.00 with cartiges installed. It should be a real mess when I get it. So that is my solution at the moment. The new printer will take the place of this one and I will take this one apart and do a through cleaning and get another head at a later date.

Itr is not obsolesense on canon's part, it is simply a failure that is strange. I will let you know the outcome. Saw a brand new one in a box for $151.00 on ebay and have seen them used for over $300. It's a good printer. That is why I am trying so hard. Brad

[realfoneguy]

Please read some of my posts. There is a way out if you have a B200 error. Brad

[MSFLB]

What is canon doing about this problem?

[LocalHero]

What is Canon doing about this problem?   Over 500  posts and over 9 months since someone started this thread and all they're doing is losing customers as far as I can tell.

[MP560inCanada]

They're having a sale ! ;-)... I'm sure this is costing them plenty, and they'll probably quietly find a solution, but not admit publicly that there was ever a problem in the interest of reducing liability.

[ChrisReay]

I suggest  that all contributors to this forum who have suffered the U052 problem and clearly had no response from Canon, spent a bundle on cartridges that cannot be used, post comments on their social networks to spread the word further.