Scanner no longer connects with the computer

[DocB1946]

I have an HP OfficeJet Pro 6968 connected to an iMac running macOS Ventura 13.6.  The printer works fine, but suddenly the scanning function no longer connects to the computer.  In order to scan, I need to use the printer website.  I have tried rebooting the printer and the computer, and pulling the plug while the printer was on and waiting 60 seconds and replugging it in.  When I try to update the firmware I get a message saying that there is no update for my printer.  I'm not sure what that means.  The firmware version is MCP2CN2336AR.  The website tells me that my printer is up to date on updates.  Any suggestions.

[ChridiBY]

Same Problem here, from one day to another, the scan function is not working anymore on all 3 of my macs.
The same firmware is (MCP2CN2336AR) installed; the Printer Model is HP OfficeJet Pro 6970.
The firmware i could download from the Webseite is older than the installed one.
Downgrade is not possible.

Im sure the installed firmware is the problem; nothing else was changed.
Any solutions?

[DocB1946]

I believe the problem my not be with the HP firmware.  The problem started when I upgraded the macOS to Ventura.  Another communication in this forum also mentions a similar problem with the macOS Ventura upgrade.

[ChridiBY]

Hi,
I'm pretty sure my problems are coming from the firmware update.
Nothing was changed on either Mac, no macOS (still 10.12.6 & 12.7) update was installed and HP Easy Scan was not updated either. Nothing was changed on the LAN and WLAN either.
Only the firmware MCP2CN2336AR from 2023-09-06 was installed automatically.

I hope that the problem will be solved with the next update.

[Tim0o]

Hi,

yes I agree, I have the same problem with a HP6970 and with different OS (Linux, Windows, Android). Only firmware MCP2CN2336AR was installed automatically at 2023-09-06 and now the Web Scan function doesn't work (and also few other services). I tested different things, also a reset of printer with new configuration and now I have a workaround:

If I use only the IP adress to access the printer via browser all functions working fine, the problem happend again if I use the DNS name (usually my standard). But I doesn't know the reason. What is the difference between the usage of IP and DNS name for the printer EWS (Embedded Web Server)?

[ChridiBY]

Hi, 

i also tried to reset the printer configuration and it didn't solve the problem.

I even cannot use the Scanner function if i try to connect the printer by its IP adress...

i think, there shouldn't be any difference in using IP address or DNS name...

[Ro477336]

Printer works but not scanner

Downloaded HP Smart app

One can use the app to start a scan. It works but the scanner runs fast so I suspect that quality may be low.

I looked to see if the  HP Scanner app has an update but when looking it up the HP website just wants to direct one to the HP Smart app

There is an HP Easy Start app. It gets to a point where it spins saying ‘preparing for device setup. This went on a long time. Then it got to Install the recommended software for your HP product

1. Essential software

Status: Not installed

Version 5.17.5.2

361.8 MB required

Installs genuine HP drivers and HP utility -essential software for using the features of your HP product

and

2. HP Easy Scan

Status: Not installed

Version 2.0.0.2

154.2 MB recommended

I checked my version of HP Easy Scan. It is 1.9.2 so it appears that an update exists

Given this, I downloaded both.

During installation it did ask for my computer PW

Later, Mac said ‘system extension blocked’ ‘a program tried to load new system extension(s) signed by "HP inc.” You can enable these extensions in privacy & security system settings.

Later it said, ‘an airprint printer driver is assigned to your printer. The driver provides a basic features in the supported for use with your printer. However, to ensure access to all of the features of your printer, it is recommended that you use the HP printer driver.” It then offers to use the current driver or switch to the HP driver.

For better or worse I opted for my current driver.

I opened HP Easy Scan and saw that I do have the updated software. I tried to scan from it. ‘Preparing to scan’ kept scrolling. So now it just scrolls. It no longer bothers to say that it’s not connecting.

I was still averse to switching from Apple’s AirPrint driver to HP’s printer driver. So, I tried to reset things by unplugging the printer while still on, waiting a couple minutes, then plugging back in. HP Easy Scan still just scrolls, saying ‘Preparing to scan’ without any progress.

The HP Smart App still works and can scan with that.

I remain hesitant to switch to the HP driver because I’m fairly certain I’ve read here that others tried that without success.

(Also, I had downloaded the file from HP to upload firmware but it said it does not work for that when I attempted to install)

One thing that is new, is that if I remove my device from HP Utility and try to re-add, it offers both ‘OfficeJet Pro 6968” and “HP0284CE.” Both have the same IP address. It appears the ‘OfficeJet Pro 6968’ matches Device type ‘scanner’ and connects via ‘Bonjour’ whereas ‘HP0284CE connects via ‘IP’ and is for printer. Neither one connects per the HP Utility App

[FlyingMG]

Same problem on two OfficeJet 6970 (two different locations). MacOS Monterey on two Macs as well as Ventura on another one. Suddenly the scan from OJ Panel stopped working. All software and drivers uninstalled and re-installed. No chance.

I also suspect a problem with the Firmware (same as reported in other posts above)

[FlyingMG]

It is worth mentioning that the software HP Utility is claiming "Unable to communicate with the selected device..." when the printer is selected on the left. Same with HP Easy scan... When trying to scan it claims it is "Preparing to scan", but nothing happen.

On the other hand I am able to scan using the tool HP Smart. It looks like it uses another technique to communicate with the scanner.

All these tools mentioned above from a Mac with Monterey and another one with Ventura. The printer is connected with ethernet as well as wireless.

Lastly I am also using Linux Ubuntu and there xsane as the scan tool and this one still works as well...

[DocB1946]

So the problem, as I see it, is that HP has a problem.  It is either with software, firmware, or both.  HP either can't or won't fix it.  I am not a techie or a computer geek.  I just want things to work the way they are supposed to.