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.

[wiredefx]

I let my little cousin have my old canon flatbed scanner. He put it in the bathtub and used it as an aircraft carrier. Believe it or not, it stayed afloat for a couple minutes.

[videodude]

I can't believe it.  Canon actually sent me an email "survey" asking how much I liked their Customer Support.  Although I didn't blast the rep, I let the company have it with both barrels.  I doubt anything will come of it, though.

[mediajammer]

I had this problem too. After trying everything I could think of, I ordered a printhead from someone on eBay. In the week it took to get it, I had the printhead and cartridges removed. When I inserted the eBay printhead, it seemed to work for a moment before coming up with the old U052 error. So I went to Best Buy and bought a Brothers printer, brought it home, and then decided to stick all the old parts in the Canon MX700. Long story short, it proceeded to work, can 5 days later is still functioning fine. I can't say this is necessarily a reproducible fix; was it the period disassembled that caused it to work again, or the fear of being replaced by another brand? Hard to say. Give it a try, and let us know.

[ReverseEMF]

It wasn't clear to me what exactly it was that you did.  You said you "decided to stick all the old parts in the Canon MX700".  Now, when you say "MX700," are you refering to the printer that origianlly failed with a U052 error?  If so, then where did "the old parts" come from?  Do you mean you put all of the parts, originally taken from the MX700, back into the MX700, or do you mean that you acquired some parts from some other old, unnammed printer and put those parts into the MX700?

You see, you never explicitly reveal the model number of the failed printer.  When you make reference to an MX700, it isn't clear if you are still refering to the failed printer.

[oetven]

Having the same problem with my MX5320 that is over a year old. Only using original Canon cartridges. Just finished a print job, when the U052 error came up, then it stopped working, despite resetting and power off. Tried reseating the print head per Canon instructions from various forums, but it still doesn't work! 

Hope to receive a PM from them!

[mediajammer]

To clarify - Model number is MX700. Yes, I had removed the print head and cartridges and left them sitting out of the printer for a week. Then when I received a replacement printer head, I put the new printerhead, and the cartridges back in. Again it got a u052 error. I took out the cartridges and printhead.  I returned the replacement printhead I went and bought a new printer. When I returned, I put the original printhead and cartridges back in. And then it worked. Voodoo.

[Mamagull]

Media jammer - I wouldn't return the new printer right away. The Canon may be working again, but it is not going to do so forever. You didn't get a full pardon, just a stay of execution...........

[hilcoklinkert]

The U052 error message appeared right after I solved another problem: the entire thing (Canon PIXMA MP610) would not start anymore. It seemed to get no juice, even though power was attached and OK, and USB also fine. I disconnected all cables, waited half an hour, reconnected cables, and presto: it came to live again upong pressing the ON button.

Only to be slapped in the face by this U052 error message, stating that 'the print head was not correct'. This was weird because printing was swell before, no problems. I checked cartridges and even replaced one that was 'almost' empty, but that didn't fix it. I stayed away from some online instructions that suggested to 'clean' the contact points on the cartridges and/or inside the printer – I didn't think that would be such a good idea.

I decided to:

1. Download and install the newest driver software from the Canon website (for me it was this one: http://www.canon.nl/Support/Consumer_Products/products/Fax__Multifunctionals/InkJet/PIXMA_MP_series/... but for your situation you may need to look for another version)

2. Remove the printer from the list through the Mac System Preferences

3. Disconnect the printer and restart my MacBook Pro

4. Add the printer again through the Mac System Preferences (somehow the 'old' listing was still there, I removed it again)

5. Tried to print, and .... my trusted MP610 (bought in 2008) was just that again, it works like a charm 🙂

So there you have it, I hope it helps some of you. Good luck!

Hilco

[westoned]

This is encouraging - but you are evidently a Mac user. I will be looking to see if a similar work around can be found for the Windows environment. Gonna experiment with my MP610, which I will not dispose of until this issue is resolved, one way or another.

[Printer_girl]

I also have this printhead error for the MX700. We tried the uninstalling of the printhead, reinstalling, etc. The Canon Rep said we should take it in for service. The Canon service person said we needed a new printhead. When they tried ordering it Canon told them it was discontinued. There appear to be people selling them on ebay so that is our next step in getting our printer up and running again.