G7020 seems possessed. It keeps turning on and off shortly after it's turned on

[biowey]

Hi, I got a G7020 a while ago but didn't use it much, maybe around twice every month or so.  It's still got 1/2 a tank of the black ink and roughly 1/2 of each of the 3 colors.  If I remember correctly, the firmware is at 1.50.

A few months ago, I pressed the button to turn it off and it would display "Ending.  Please wait momentarily" on the screen, make the usual shutting down noises, and then after turning off, it would turn back on immediately.  It was on wifi at that time.  I'd press the button to turn it off again, and again it would display "Ending.  Please wait momentarily" on the screen, make the usual shutting down noises, and then after turning off, it would turn back on immediately.  This happened a few more times, then I gave up and turned it off using the power bar.

The printer worked a few times after that (i.e. it would turn off normally) but since then I had problems connecting it to wifi, so I used a wired connection.  After turning it off, it would turn on, then shortly after it would automatically turn off, and then back on, etc.  I couldn't get it out of this loop, so I gave up and turned it off using the power bar.

I turned the power bar back on, and then after a few seconds the green power light turns on by itself but it wouldn't display anything on the LCD.  If I pressed the "Stop" button, the "alert lamp" at the bottom right (yellow / orange) will illuminate.  I can't turn it off no matter how long I hold down the stop or power buttons.  I disconnected the LAN cable, turned it off using the power bar, pressed the power button 5 times while off (as suggested in someone else's forum post), then turned it back on.  The same thing happens: the green light turns on by itself but nothing is displayed on the LCD.  Holding down the power button does nothing.  Pressing the "Stop" button illuminates the "alert lamp."

I disconnected the power and left the LAN cable unplugged overnight.  Now, once I plug it in, it will turn on automatically.  The LCD works.  But after a few seconds, it displays "Ending.  Please wait momentarily."  Then it shuts off.  And then it turns on again.  And then it displays "Ending.  Please wait momentarily."  The buttons are usable during this loop.  If I press quickly, I can go to the settings menu and erase "all data" from the printer.  Then it displays "Ending.  Please wait momentarily," turns off by itself, then back on again.  I did that twice.  I also tried to copy a page I put on the scanner.  But part of the way through the scanning process, it displays "Ending.  Please wait momentarily," turns off by itself, then back on again. 

What should I do?  Is there a way to reset this?  I have not used this printer very much and it has always seemed a little possessed.

[biowey]

I also tried connecting the network cable and speeding through the menu to enable the LAN before it displays "Ending.  Please wait momentarily."  Then I tried speeding through the menu to get to the firmware update part.  But once it starts connecting to server, I get the "Ending.  Please wait momentarily" before the update occurs and then it turns off and on again and again in a loop.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

I'd contact Canon support.  The printer has a 1 yr warranty.  Start by registering the device with MyCanon

MyCanon

Once registered, you will see your support options.  Trying to upgrade firmware on a malfunctioning device is not a good idea.  Contact support.  😃   

[biowey]

Although I didn't use it much, I think I'm over a year, unfortunately.  Do you know if there are any hard reset procedures I can try (apart from speeding to the settings menu and erasing "all data" from the printer just in the nick of time before it displays "Ending.  Please wait momentarily")?

[biowey]

The printer did the same "Ending.  Please wait momentarily" loop a bunch of times today.  After unplugging it and waiting for a bit and plugging it back in, the printer is behaving differently.  Now, the LCD display is totally off.  The green power light turns on after a few seconds.  Pressing the Power button won't turn on the printer.  Pressing the Stop button turns off the Power light and turns on the yellow / orange "alarm lamp" at the right.  Pressing the Power button again won't turn on the printer.

Anyway, if you know the reset procedure, I'd really appreciate it if you could share it!

[biowey]

Unfortunately, I couldn't register on MyCanon as @shadowsports suggested.

I signed up for a MyCanon account but then it asked for an address when registering.  It only accepts US addresses but I'm in Canada.

One thing I noticed was that if I hold down the power button, it doesn't reboot and everything functions normally.  Against my better judgment, I even tried a firmware update to the latest 1.060, and that worked fine (as long as I held down the power button).  When the printer restarted, it even displayed "Updated successfully."

As long as I always have 1 finger holding down the power button, it seems like the printer works normally, but this is not ideal!

[Stephen]

You'd do the same type of thing at Canon Canada HERE

[biowey]

Thanks, @Stephen.  I have opened a ticket with Canon Canada.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

It sounds like the power button has failed.  You asked about a reset, but in light of what you just posted and that the printer works if you hold the power button down, clearly thats where the issue lies.

A reset can be preformed by pressing and holding the power button.  Disconnecting the power from AC, continue holding the power button for about 30 sec.  Release.  Now press and hold the button again and connect to power. Release after 10 sec.  

However, I'm afraid you will find that the power button is the culprit. ☹️  Sorry.    

[biowey]

Thanks, @shadowsports.  I tried the reset procedure you suggested but when I hold down the power button and connect the power, the orange / yellow alert lamp (at the bottom right) turns on.  The LCD is slightly darker than when it's off, but there's no text on the LCD.  Is there anything else I should do to get it to continue to turn on?

Also, is the power button fixable or is it probably better to just get a new printer at this point?

Maybe I can also try to just tape it down since it'd be a shame to waste so much ink.  The page count is only 751 - 800 and I have half the black ink left as well as around half of the colors left.