Will driver downgrade fix EasyScan issues on Mac Sequoia

[GHKEU]

Hi,

I have an iMac with Sequoia 15,6 with Easy Scan with Driver Version 2.0 and scanning wireless with HPO7730 works just fine.

However from the Mac mini under 15.6.1 Driver Version 4.0 EasyScan scanning does not work (Printing works).. When trying with Apple Image Capture it return the 21345 error as well. 

Is a driver downgrade possible? How? And would it fix the problem?

(And please: don't tell me to use HPSmart)

[CVL11 · Accepted solution]

Hello GHKEU,

Your iMac is using the older HP Easy Scan 2.0 driver stack, which still leverages the older HP ICA (Image Capture Architecture) plugins.

Your Mac mini is using HP Easy Scan 4.0, which depends on newer HP “HP Scanner 4” drivers that don’t always play nicely with Sequoia 15.6.1, especially with older multifunction printers like the OfficeJet Pro 7730.

Error 21345 from Image Capture usually indicates the HP scanner plugin isn’t initializing properly with macOS’s built-in scanning subsystem.

Downgrade possible? Yes.

You can remove the 4.x driver and try installing the older HP Easy Scan 2.x package, which bundles the older ICA plugins.

The issue is Apple and HP both pushed “Printer Essentials” via Apple Software Update, so if you just install HP Easy Scan 2.0, macOS may overwrite it with the newer 4.0 package.

It’s possible to block updates and manually keep the older ICA drivers, but it’s finicky.

How to downgrade the drivers

Completely remove current HP drivers:

Go to /Library/Image Capture/Devices/ and /Library/Image Capture/TWAIN Data Sources/

• Remove anything HP-related.
• Also check /Library/Printers/hp/

Delete HP Easy Scan 4.0 from Applications.

Reinstall the older ICA-based driver + HP Easy Scan 2.0:

The best way is to grab the HP Printer Drivers v5.1 for macOS package (still hosted on Apple’s support site, though somewhat hidden).

• After that, install HP Easy Scan 2.0 from the Mac App Store (older version may need to be sideloaded if your store only offers 4.0).

Re-add your printer in System Settings > Printers & Scanners and try again with Image Capture.

HP has upgraded HP Smart to HP App