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.

[andreasng]

i take it canon has been close to silent in this case, at best, dodging the obvious problem. 

[P_Rapley]

Dear Guz,

If you read back over the many years of posts, you'll see that this is not so much a malfunction as an arbitrary limit that Canon has programmed into these printers.

You should be very cautious before parting with more money, especially if a Canon employee is advising you to do so.

Don't just take my advice on this - look back over the thousands of angry postings.

Like many others, I junked my machine, even though it had been a fine printer until the "error" message appeared - it's not an error, but a built-in machine killer of which Canon is perfectly aware.

Change the manufacturer. I went for Epsom. Quality of printing not quite as good, but Canon have lost my custom - no purchases of any kind from them for five years, approx, even though I used to rate them quite highly.

There was a class action, I believe, many years ago.

Poor corporate management, I guess. It'll bring them down eventually, to the regret of their employees.

Good luck

Paul Rapley

[seniorelder]

So, here I am, until yesterday a satisfied Canon user but now my MP560 has succumbed to the dreaded U052 print head error.  I have done all that Canon tell me to do and still no joy.  My printer is suddenly dead...  I cannot understand how they can justify the cost of £65 for a replacement print head, and reading other posts it seems that a new one will not necessarily sort out the problem.  All was working perfectly until the error showed.  Now I have no printer functionality and desperately need it.  I hope therefore i will also receive a PM from Canon offering me a replacement printer.  I have a very sick daughter bedbound at home and need to print off doctors letters etc.  Help me please, Canon...

[Aardvark]

Canon are only concerned with their profits. They are likely to offer you a preferential deal on a new printer. But don't accept it without doing your homework first. The same printer will be available from normal sources for less money!

[Geomath]

Dear Canon, can you please give an update on the status of this printhead problem?

[hiroshi]

Still I do not have P.M. !

My case of this error, it seems that two ink became empty on same time , then program went to print head error .

I checked Japanese web sites around way to fix this problem !

This error and waste ink pad full message are similar error according Japanese sites.

Already somebody mention this idea but I repeat here in case this could help your printer. My MX892 is not this way  !

Get into Service/maintenance mode.

1. Press and hold RESET/STOP button

2. Press and hold POWER button.

3. Release RESET/STOP button

4. Release POWER button

5. Wait 5 secondSome LED yellow/red/gree/ blinking turned to other state

6. Prepare couple of printer papers,  and press RESET/STOP button twice

Printer starts printing internal setted values.

7. Then press RESET/STOP four times, some LED turns green ?  Then press POWER button once, this reset waste ink counter reset to zero.

If  pressing button at 6 procedure beeps, this means your printer needs some other buttons combination.

You have to remind that resetting  waste ink pad counter zero does not means real waste ink pad is not empty ! Clean or change waste ink pad !

Please also try to check youtube as "canon printer reset”.

For my MX892, hold STOP and POWER then pressing STOP four times get into some mode ? But then I lost !

Canon does not like to disclose these maintenance/service procedure to public.  And canon U.S.A. does not have right to decide to disclose any info. They might be asking JAPAN and Japanese very slow slooooow decision may take forever !

Please understand this procedure is on your own risk please.

Hope some of people could solve problem !

[SallyAma]

There is no "won't necessarily fix the problem." Be guaranteed it will not! It's a Canon scam.

[TickBoy]

What amazes me is that these reports have to be just the tip of the iceberg.  They come from the small percentage of Canon printer users who have experienced this problem and found this forum.  I expect many (most?) scratch their heads, then just go and buy a new printer to replace the old failed one.  Seems no one who knows the extent of this problem are willing to reinvest with Canon.

I still cannot believe Canon has not responded to these posts.  Their QC/Client Service Managers should find new work.

[Fruitty]

Or they just don't care. Big company, can't be bothered with small and unimportant customers. So they lose a few, who cares. They will only come off their lazy butt if this blows sky high and is costing so much profit that they start noticing it.

[seniorelder]

Well folks, I have forwarded all my information to the BBC consumer programme 'Watchdog' in the UK so I can only hope that Canon UK will be confronted by them and challenged as to what they are going to do about it.  The joke is that all the time I have a working Canon printer I would have been buying their over-priced ink cartridges.  Now my printer is not working they have just cut off their own income stream - and I definitely won't be buying another Canon to replace it.  Good business model?  Not in my eyes.  Still not even an acknowledgement of my email to customer services either.  They must all be tied up inventing new error codes to display on their printers...