Canon 300 and 400 LiDE scanners not working ChromeOS

[Toqom]

Dispite tons of videos showing people installing the LiDE 300 on youtube on Chrome early in 2023, it doesn't seem to work any longer always identifying the units but asking for additional software to function or a .ppd file I learned canon doesn't usually provide. I bought the 400 seeing it was newer but no luck and found a lot of youtube videos installing the 300 without any issue but it doesn't work that way, any more at least since I bought a 300 assuming it would work and the 400 didn't. Nope, same issues.

I can't even REGISTER the 400, the canon site barks at me that the serial number is wrong but I've verified it on the unit AND box and it just won't let people register the LiDE 400.

I'm an IT person by trade, I have never failed to install a printer so this isn't just an idiot issue (yes the unlock buttons were in the unlock position under both units), they do detect when plugged in initially and going into advanced settings you can see the device and a "Save" button but doing so pops up the prompt to find the "printer" in the list (no LiDE models listed) or to provide a .ppd file. 

I was about to assume these do not work and post an article recommending people find scanners elsewhere since these don't seem to support Chrome, but then I found a page that specifically lists BOTH these models with native support for ChromeOS. 

This is a decent Chromebook from Xmas, it is not old but the menus are very different from the ones on youtube videos showing how to add so clearly I have a newer version but I will not be the last person with this issue.

[asdfg]

I can confirm this problem on an updated Chromebook and LiDE 400. I chose the LiDE 400 because it seemed most likely to work on any device. In October 2023 the scanner was recognized by ChromeOS. I was able to scan documents without any issues using the Scan app. Now in January 2024 ChromeOS recognizes the canner via USB-A connection but refuses to scan. When using USB-C port, the scanner is recognized as a printer and can not be used to scan. 

Only explanation is that ChromeOS updates screwed something up and we can only hope it to be fixed.

[zach2]

I solved this if you're still having problems. I have the LiDE 300 and am running Chrome 125.

You have to plug it into the USB-A port. The Chromebook will think it's a printer. Then, in Settings, save the printer and edit it. Don't bother with Manufacturer and Model since those options are all printers. Select "View printer PPD" instead. By opening it in Chrome it should automatically save as a PPD file. Rename the file to what it says you should (eg, line 23 of my ppd file says "*% You may save this file as 'Canon-BJ-300-lq850.ppd'"). Then in Settings, edit your so-called printer, click Browse for PPD, and choose your file. That fixed it for me, now every time I plug in the 300 I can just click the Scan application, and it sees the scanner, and I can scan right away. I did this in 2023 so it definitely works with older Chrome OS.