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.

[RobertInFrance]

I have had Error Code 1403 Wrong Print Head on my MX725 for a couple of weeks now. The printer is only 16 months old and not heavily used. I have cleaned the printhead gold contacts and mating connector with an isopropyl alcohol / trichlorotrifluoroethane solvent mix. It has made no difference.

I have found that if you set up a print job when the printer is switched off, then switch the printer on, it prints the job before locking up with the error message. This proves that there is nothing wrong with the printhead. Same thing for a scan job - it does the scan then locks up.

[FreddieC]

Just happened to me yesterday - reseating the print head etc did not help. New ink and everything. Brick and never canon printers again?

[hisoka7922]

MG 5620

support code 1403

I rarely use this printer...

[rwsnc]

MX922... Same issue with system code 1403. Tried ALL of the suggested fixes to no avail.

[shaval123]

I will NEVER buy any other product from Canon after my horrible printer experience.

I was part of the class action suit and never received anything from it. They have a great scam going on.

[KBCANON]

Do you have any update? I have the MP 960 as well..

Interestingly, I had a small Canon camera - top notch - right after the waranty ran out, it got an error that when I googled it, was the same type of thing. No fixes. Not addressed by Canon. Nothing. Bummed because I've had like 4 Canon printers over the years and they've all been great. Only got new cause I'm a junkie 🙂  I've had this one for probably 10 years and just now getting this error.

[KBCANON]

CANON, Here's what your link goes:

[johnmd50]

I too have this error, which has appeared suddenly after printing several documents quite normally. Reading through many Forum notes, it apears that several thousand Canon Printer Users have experienced the same problem, which canon have failed to properly address. One member suggests a Class Action legal suit, which I am not sure is available in the UK, but I would certainly add my details in any similar type UK Action. I am a very, very angry Customer.

If it wasn't bad enought that I lost many of thge excellent features on my MP600R, such as duplex facility when I upgraded my Apple OS to Yosemite (not supported by Canon) I now have this issue rendering my Printer completely useless.

[KBCANON]

I did find evidence of a class action suit in the US but the window closed on it, I think, April 2016. I think it said people got either $50 clear and free or $75 to spend on Canon. Most took the $50 instead. I did get mine working again <fingers crossed> by combining some different approaches I found in different messages combined with info Canon had posted. I think this is what I did (really the only addition was to reset the electronics):

• Turn printer on
• Remove each ink tank
• Raise the print head lock lever.
• Tilt the print head slightly towards the front of the machine and lift out
• Now put the print head back in and lock it
• Re-insert ink tanks into the print head; make sure each one lights up red
• Close the inner cover and the scanning unit/printer cover.

Now reset the electronics:  (you may just want to try this first)

• Turn the printer off
• Once it has completely turned off, remove the power cable (don't just unplug it from power although I don't know if it really matters)
• Leave it off for at least 15 minutes
• Reconnect the power cable and turn the printer back on.

I also had a point and shoot Canon camera about 10 years ago (great camera) that got an error similar to this right after the warranty ended. Same types of discussions online "the dreaded ______ error". That one hurt more because I had like two cases for it and an extra battery... investments! I've had this printer for what seems like forever. When they first came out. At least 15 years I would guess.

To make matters worse, after a recent windows update, I lost the printer completely (no longer showed up to print to). I don't remember where in this mess this happened. The problem with that is that Canon did not update my printer driver (MP960) for Win 8 so my bluetooth gadget doesn't work with Win 8. But I finally got all that going too.

[KBCANON]

Try resetting the electronics:  (I got mine going for now)

• Turn the printer off
• Once it has completely turned off, remove the power cable (don't just unplug it from power although I don't know if it really matters)
• Leave it off for at least 15 minutes
• Reconnect the power cable and turn the printer back on and see what happens.

I did the whole thing about removing the print head and the inks first and then the above. It's working for now. It was going back and forth before (get the error, turn it off, print a page, get the error, etc etc. But I've printed more this time around).