Tuesday, January 18, 2011

How To Reset The Canon MP 190 So You Can Scan If You Have No Ink! Eliminate The Canon MP 190 Scan Blues!

I hate companies that try to force you into using their products or.....companies that force you to refill their empty ink cartridges just to use a scan feature. OK - hate is a strong word. I will say that I strongly dislike that. Anyway, I have so many printers and scanners that it should be easy for me to print and scan whenever I like. However, that is not always the case. Today I needed to scan something using my Canon MP190. The MP 190 isn't a great all in one, but it does work appropriately in most cases. The one thing that I don't like about it is that the printer will not scan if you do not have ink in there. The reason is that Canon has an initialization process for this printer that checks if there is adequate ink. If there isn't, that process fails and you can't do much else - until now. I figured out a way to bypass this "system fault" so that you can scan again. The solution and is a VERY simple one.

Ready? Hold down the Stop/Reset button for about 30 seconds! There you go! I wish I could make it more intense. There just isn't anything else to it. Holding down that button will allow you to go back and scan documents even if you are completely out of ink. (SEE BELOW)

Don't you just love it?


UPDATE 3/22/2011
I feel compelled to update this post with a few more details.

First, you must have the MP Navigator software installed to use my little trick.
Second, the printer needs to be ON. I didn't specify this when I first posted this and I see that a few people had problems.
Third, you need to hold the Stop/Reset button down UNTIL THE LIGHTS START BLINKING. So hold the button down, let the lights come on and start to blink and then after the lights stop blinking, then let go. That may be MORE than 30 seconds. That is why I said "about" 30 seconds above.

That should get you going.
If it doesn't, please don't post that it didn't work. Instead, post what you did and what happened! That is something that I can investigate. It doesn't work means nothing because it does and did work for me. So help me to help you!


Smooches,

Kila
at

44 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 18, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    NOT WORKING MATEEEEEE

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 21, 2011 at 2:42 PM

    does not work

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 25, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    woohoo! thanks

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 2:47 AM

    Thanks soooooo much should have realised really as had to do the same when installing a refill of ink. Thankyou for that litttle gem!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kila MortonMay 26, 2011 at 11:12 AM

    I'm glad that it helped the two it helped. I hope the other two of you come back so you can see the update I made to this post so that you can get help too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    thank you so much! i was about to buy a £30 ink cartridge just because i urgently needed to scan something when a friend suggest i should look onlne for a tip, 5 min later here I am scanning!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousAugust 15, 2011 at 1:56 PM

    didnt work for me..dang

    NMDUDE

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kila MortonAugust 20, 2011 at 1:31 AM

    @anonymous what didn't work for you? Outline the exact steps you took and I can help. It doesn't work for me doesn't tell me anything because I know the process works. Sooooo retrace your steps and lets see which step you may have missed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Laura-AnnNovember 18, 2011 at 11:13 PM

    Yay, thank you! It worked! I was so frustrated with the idea that I was going to have to buy ink that i don't really want!

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousNovember 24, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    First off thanks for trying to help. When I turn mine's on the alarm light is lit. The display is blinking S and then E over and over while at the same time the color ink light is blinking. Did everything like you said still not working. Thanks for any help. Aaron

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousMarch 17, 2012 at 9:24 AM

    Thanks for the tip. My Canon was frustrating me trying to scan from the printer itself without ink. This is a simple software fix to prevent printing only without ink, why don't vendors fix this?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kila MortonMarch 18, 2012 at 1:09 AM

    They don't tell you or fix it because these types of things allow them to sell more consumables to people who won't get online and figure out how to solve issues.

    I'm so glad this helped you!

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousApril 28, 2012 at 12:59 PM

    You just saved the day! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Kila MortonMay 3, 2012 at 12:49 PM

    WheewHeww! Alright - So glad to see that people are getting help!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Kila MortonMay 3, 2012 at 12:54 PM

    @Aaron I missed your message. You have another issue. Before you are going to be able to scan, you need to troubleshoot the error codes before the process I have outlined will work. The process above works if your ONLY issue is that you don't have color and/or black ink.

    ReplyDelete
  16. PayelOctober 23, 2012 at 3:21 PM

    Thank you a million for the trick. You saved my time, money and helped me make a surprise b'day gift.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Kila MortonOctober 23, 2012 at 11:40 PM

    Awesome Phoenix! I'm glad I could help you get going!

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2013 at 1:36 PM

    Worked great. I really do appreciate it. I had no idea the ink being low would affect the scanner. The ink isnt really low its just a refilled cartridge and it always shows as low.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousMarch 1, 2013 at 2:26 PM

    GRACIAS FUNCIONA PERFECT !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. SamApril 10, 2013 at 12:29 PM

    Really needed to scan and have no ink...glad I came across your instructions. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousApril 26, 2013 at 7:02 PM

    Kila, you rock!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Kila MortonApril 26, 2013 at 11:42 PM

    @Anonymous, you are SO right - I do rock!! And you rock for saying that I rock!!! I'm glad you were helped!

    ReplyDelete
  23. UnknownMay 26, 2013 at 12:36 PM

    works perfect many thanks from denmark ! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousAugust 3, 2013 at 7:46 AM

    GREAT - I was getting worried I will never scan again - telling my husband what a piece of *** he got - but you saved my day and my printer :) and my husband too !

    ReplyDelete
  25. Kila MortonAugust 3, 2013 at 11:30 AM

    @Michel - thanks for the thanks from Denmark! Friends all over the world - I love it!

    @Anonymous - tell your husband he owes me some chocolate! LOL! I'm so glad you can scan now! I just hate when companies don't tell you the little secrets to make using their product better for you! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  26. BrianAugust 21, 2013 at 8:39 PM

    thanks for the info/help on the low ink not scanning issue!

    ReplyDelete
  27. AnonymousAugust 25, 2013 at 11:45 AM

    Thank you so much!You're a genus

    ReplyDelete
  28. UnknownOctober 7, 2013 at 4:44 PM

    Hi.
    I tried this trick but it's not working.
    I have the MP Navigator open, the printer is on and it's plugged to the computer.
    I don't have any Ink cartridges on the printer; That means, not full nor empty ones, the slots are empty.
    My printer simply blinks the letter "E" and then a number 5 (Or a letter "S")the whole time it's turned on. Also, the LEDs for Black and Color Ink keep blinking no matter what. The alarm LED is also on the whole time.
    What did I do wrong?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Kila MortonOctober 7, 2013 at 5:20 PM

    Hi Un Tal Galvis,
    The instructions I gave are for EMPTY printer cartridges - not NO printer cartridges. However, do not despair. I am going to take my cartridges out and test to see if I can get it working for you. Hold tight. Check back in about 6 hours and I should have an answer. Hopefully it will be exactly what you want to hear!

    ReplyDelete
  30. AnonymousOctober 11, 2013 at 11:43 AM

    Awesome worked perfectly.

    ReplyDelete
  31. PhilEdBoyceOctober 17, 2013 at 4:29 PM

    Thank you!! All these other sites and blogs were telling me all these complicated manual resets, or that I'd no choice but to buy ink. I never print, I just scan, & tomorrow I'm due to update my blog (the-oink-blog.blogspot.com) and the last page of the comic I needed to scan hadn't been done as the printer started acting up. So thank you thank you thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
  32. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2014 at 9:30 AM

    I am trying this now

    ReplyDelete
  33. AnonymousJanuary 19, 2014 at 9:54 AM

    Not working!! tried it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kila MortonJanuary 19, 2014 at 11:00 AM

      Hi Ariba! What codes are being given by your printer and what did you try?

      Delete
  34. Dhananjay ChaudhariMarch 16, 2014 at 9:39 AM

    Hey Kila...thanks this worked for me.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Geno CruzApril 16, 2014 at 10:50 PM

    what light should stop blinking?..im holding the stop/reset button for more than a minute, but the blinking did not stop.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Kila MortonApril 18, 2014 at 12:16 PM

    Hi Geno,
    Please reread the instructions. I said -



    Third, you need to hold the Stop/Reset button down UNTIL THE LIGHTS START BLINKING. 

    Thanks
    Kila




    ReplyDelete
  37. AnonymousJune 30, 2014 at 12:20 PM

    Thank you! Worked for me.

    ReplyDelete
  38. AnonymousJuly 3, 2014 at 2:34 PM

    I have a Canon MX880 and it worked for me - thank you so much!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  39. UnknownSeptember 15, 2014 at 3:05 AM

    Kila - I have followed your instructions - both with and without cartridges in place in my MP190 - hold down reset for over a minute or more - the top 2 lights blink with E 1,6 alternating. the bottom light, C comes on when I turn on but then it goes to the top 2 A and B and continues blinking. I cant think of what else to do? Thankyou for further guidance

    ReplyDelete
  40. Kila MortonSeptember 15, 2014 at 8:33 AM

    Hi Jon,

    If you are getting an E16, you are getting a waste counter error. Here is a reset process that may work for you.

    How to Reset waste ink counter (Error E16)

    Unplug power and USB cable.
    Open door and hold power button.
    Connect power.
    Close door, then release power button.

    Thanks,
    Kila

    ReplyDelete
  41. UnknownSeptember 7, 2015 at 1:30 PM


    look about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouh64K1KwwE

    ReplyDelete
  42. Martin ArayaDecember 2, 2015 at 10:58 PM

    It worked!! Still active Dec 2015!!

    ReplyDelete
  43. UnknownJanuary 22, 2016 at 4:56 PM

    Color ink light is blinking. I held down stop/reset until alarm and color ink started blinking. I let go. It didn't work. I tried again and the same lights blinked then it went back to color ink blinking while I was still holding down the button. Nothing.

    ReplyDelete