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.

[bdc1989]

MP600 problem here.  Printing absolutely fine.  It has been a great printer until this dreaded message.  The worst part of it is it completely locks up the printer and you can't try anything else. I have followed all Canon instructions to the t multiple times, new ink, everything. ARRRGH!!

[wiredefx]

Just for all the newcomers. The U052 error does not mean that it is the actual print head. It actually means the printer cannot communicate with the print head. It is the printer with the problem, not the print head. An update that happened the past year or so caused this issue, from a driver or firmware update. Since some printers are wireless and has access to the internet 24/7, it could have happened without any knowledge. From my tests and reading others posts, there can be no fix. It's like a bad "bios" chip, it can't boot up to even receive an update to fix the problem.

DO NOT rush out and buy a printhead or new ink, this WILL NOT fix this issue. Like many many others in this forum said, buy a new printer.

Now let's see how long it takes canon to delete this post.

[lucidisco]

I have te same problem  on Pixma MP610 model:error U052 Wrong Printhead.I buy another one [second hand] i switch printhead and it work but... only 1 page copy from scanner.After that same error.Reset printhead / ink cartridge do nothig...waste of time...an money.The problem is not from contacts .I printed the maximum 200 sheet af paper and 5-6 cd. My printer is six years old.but it was expensive and I would have hoped it would have lasted, being what I thought was a reliable make ..sorry for my poor english.I am from est Europe

[Roo230]

Mg5250 just over 2 years old got u 502 error last nite 😠

[wiredefx]

If you all will read all the previous posts, the "ink pad solution" has been discussed and ended up not being a solution. Most of everyones printer that has posted on here has died in the process of printing.

[Brian233]

Mg5220 owner here. I had mine for over 4 years, but I rarely printed anything. Maybe a total of 100 photos and 3-400 pieces of paper. 

I got the U052 error and tried cleaning out the mats as was posted in the "John's Lab' Youtube video to no avail.

I guess I am scrapping this thing, but I just wanted to say that this is a real shame. I am in the market for a new DSLR and lenses and after this, I think I'll have to pass on the canon systems. It is really a shame that Canon is willing to make lifelong enemies out of their customer base with this terrible policy of planned obsolescence.

[nuggat]

This just happened to my MG5350 printer too 😞  It just passed it's warranty, so we can't do anything. In my eyes the printer is new, since we haven't been doing any heavy printing on it, but just few pages regularly. Then, when I had to really use it, it died on me.

I contacted the commercial agent in my country, and they totally knew about this problem. They said that you would have to buy a new print head, which is more expensive than the printer of course. What a waste! Plus, this is not environmentally friendly throwing away all of these printers after 2-3 years. I am so disappointed. 

I will buy a new printer, and it will not be Canon!

[GKH1175]

I have this error yesterday. This is the second time it happy on the Canon MP970.

[DB55]

I have a MX712. It is not more than two years old. The first thing that went wrong was the black ink stopped printing after I replaced the old ink cartridge. I did all the recommended deep cleaning process. Then I tried to realign the ink cartridges following the cannon recommended procedures. Now I have the error message that says I need to install the correct print head. As you may have guessed, the cannon recommended procedures don't work to correct this problem either. This is my second Cannon printer that has failed starting with the black ink not printing. I will not buy another Cannon printer again. If there is a class action lawsuit, I'm in. At the very least I would like my money back on the ink that I just purchased and is now useless. I'm glad I went the extra step and bought the recommended Cannon ink. I wouldn't want to ruin their printer with a cheaper off-brand ink. 

[MattSchoch]

To spare everyone my own regurgitate all the words written about the Canon Printer, I'll just say in short, "The same happened to me. Prior to getting the error message, I loved it. All the things I did to try and 'bring it back' were to no avail, even calling Canon didn't work. What dept did you speak to? Do you remember the number you called? Any info you could provide would be helpful and appreciated.