When it comes down to printers, HP is one of the biggest in the market. The company manufactures some of the best printers and scanners available today, but that doesn’t mean the products are without problems. Some users are having problems with the scanner in their HP printer failing to work as it should. When attempts are made to scan documents, the printer fails to follow the command. There is no official error code when the failure happens, but that doesn’t matter. What matters here is whether or not the issue can be fixed. And we are here to report that it can be with little effort on your part.
HP Printer Scanner not working in Windows 11/10
This is a common problem with printers that include scanners, not just the HP-branded ones. But worry not because the problem can be solved with relative ease. The options you have are:
- Reset the printer scanner
- Check printer scanner compatibility with Windows 11/10
- Use HP Print and Scan Doctor software
- Reinstall the official HP printer software
- Check if Windows Image Acquisition is running
1] Reset the printer scanner
The first thing you may want to do is reset the printer scanner. This is a simple task, so we do not expect most users to find it too difficult.
To reset the printer scanner, the user must power it down and unplug the power cord from the socket. Wait for 10 to 20 seconds, then plug the device back into the power socket and reboot.
You can now go ahead and check to see if the scanner is still failing to work as it should.
2] Check printer scanner compatibility with Windows 11
Upgrading to either of these operating systems can cause your printer to buckle when scanning. Maybe it has a lot more to do with compatibility than anything else. To find out what is really happening, we suggest visiting HP Printers – Windows Compatible Printers.
From that page, you can check to see if your particular HP printer is compatible with Windows 10/11 operating systems.
3] Use HP Print and Scan Doctor software
HP has its own troubleshooting tool, Print and Scan Doctor. The software is designed to fix problems related to scanning and printing on all HP printer models.
- Download the software from the official HP Print and Scan Doctor for Windows site.
- After installing it to your computer, you must now go through the setup process by selecting your printer. From there, click on Fix Scanning to move on to the next step.
- After the troubleshooting is complete, the software will let the user know if any problems have been fixed.
4] Reinstall the official HP printer software
OK, so chances are the HP printer software is not working properly, hence the scanning issues many users are facing. Your best bet at this point is to simply reinstall the software in hopes things will return to normal.
- Open the Run dialog box by right-clicking on the Start menu button, then select Run.
- From within the box, please type appwiz.cpl, then hit the OK button or the Enter key to open Programs and Features.
- Right-click on the official HP printer software via Programs and Features, then hit Uninstall.
- Restart your Windows operating system promptly.
- Navigate to the official HP support page to download and install the correct software designed for your HP printer.
Once installed, restart your computer then check again to see if the scanner is working according to your requirements.
5] Check if Windows Image Acquisition is running
In some cases, the reason behind the issues with your HP scanner has much to do with Windows Image Acquisition being disabled.
- To do this, begin by pressing the Windows key + R to fire up the Run dialog box.
- From within the box, then, please type services.msc, then hit the Enter key.
- From the Names category, scroll down until you come across Windows Image Acquisition (WIA).
- Double-click on Windows Image Acquisition to open its Properties window.
- Select the General tab, and from there, you will want to navigate directly to Startup.
- Change the Startup to Automatic, and from there, click on Start > Apply > OK.
Restart your computer and we now expect things to be working in proper order, or at least, we hope.
Read: We couldn’t find a fingerprint scanner compatible with Windows Hello Fingerprint
Why is my HP scanner not working?
If there are missing or outdated scanner drivers, then that can cause your HP scanner to cease from working properly. As it stands, then, you should always keep your drivers up to date, and this can be done in one of two ways: Manually or automatically.
Why won’t my printer scan to my computer?
Ensure the printer is on and connected to your computer, whether it’s a laptop or the desktop variety. If that doesn’t work, then visit the official HP website at https://support.hp.com/us-en/help/printscandoctor, download HP Print and Scan Doctor for Windows, and run the troubleshooter.
How do I enable my HP printer to scan?
You must use the HP Printer Assistant application to Enable Scan to Computer if it has been disabled. To do this, click on the Start Menu button, and from there, select All Apps. Click HP from the list of apps, and then select the printer name.
How do I reset my HP printer scanner?
Turn off the HP printer scanner device. Disconnect the power cable for 30 seconds and then reconnect. Turn on the product while you press and hold the Resume button for around 10 to 20 seconds until the attention light turns on. Finally, release the Resume button, and right away both the Attention and Ready lights should cycle through as the product restores to the factory default settings.
