How to Fix a Scanner Not Working in Windows 11

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Ankit Kumar
Windows 11PeripheralsPrinterDriversFix

The Problem

Scanners fail differently from printers. Printing goes through the print spooler; scanning goes through Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) and, on older devices, a TWAIN driver supplied by the manufacturer. When one of those is missing, stopped, or blocked, the scanner may still show as "connected" while every scan attempt fails.

On all-in-one printers this is especially common: printing works perfectly and scanning does not, because the two use entirely separate software paths.

Printer side not working either? Start with fix a printer showing offline. Device not detected at all over USB? See fix USB device not recognized.

Symptoms

  • "No scanners were detected" in Windows Fax and Scan or the Scan app.
  • The scanner appears in Settings but scanning throws a generic error.
  • Scanning worked before a Windows update and stopped afterwards.
  • The manufacturer's software reports the device is busy or in use by another application.
  • A network or Wi-Fi scanner prints fine but cannot be found for scanning.

Step 1: Check the Basics and the Connection

  1. Confirm the scanner is powered on, and that any transport lock on a flatbed model is unlocked — a locked carriage causes a hard error on every scan.
  2. Connect the USB cable directly to a rear port on the PC, not a hub, dock, or monitor port.
  3. Try a different cable. Long or worn USB cables cause scans to fail partway through far more often than they stop detection outright.
  4. Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners and confirm the device is listed without a warning icon.
  5. On a network scanner, confirm the PC and the device are on the same network and subnet — a device on a guest Wi-Fi network is invisible to the PC.

Step 2: Restart the Windows Image Acquisition Service

WIA is what every scanning app depends on. If it is stopped, nothing scans.

  1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc, press Enter.
  2. Find Windows Image Acquisition (WIA).
  3. Right-click → Properties, set Startup type to Automatic, click Start if it is stopped, then OK.
  4. Do the same for these dependencies: Remote Procedure Call (RPC), DCOM Server Process Launcher, RPC Endpoint Mapper, and Shell Hardware Detection.
  5. Right-click Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) → Restart.
  6. Try a scan again before moving on.

Step 3: Run the Hardware Troubleshooter

  1. Press Windows + R, type the following, and press Enter: 
    msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic
  2. Work through the wizard and apply any fix it offers.
  3. Also try Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters → run Printer, which covers all-in-one devices.

Step 4: Remove and Re-add the Device

A stale device entry from an earlier driver blocks the new one.

  1. Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
  2. Click the device → Remove.
  3. Right-click Start → Device Manager → View → Show hidden devices.
  4. Expand Imaging devices and Printers, right-click every greyed-out entry for this scanner → Uninstall device, ticking Attempt to remove the driver where offered.
  5. Unplug the USB cable, reboot, then plug it back in and let Windows detect it.
  6. If it is not found automatically, use Add device → Add manually → Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings.

Step 5: Install the Manufacturer's Full Driver Package

Windows ships a generic class driver that is often enough to print but not to scan.

  1. Note the exact model from the label on the device.
  2. Download the full feature software package from HP, Canon, Epson, Brother, or Xerox directly — not the "basic driver" and not a driver-updater tool.
  3. Uninstall any existing version of the vendor software first from Settings → Apps → Installed apps, then reboot.
  4. Install the full package and reboot again.
  5. On older scanners with no Windows 11 driver, try the Windows 10 or Windows 8.1 package in compatibility mode: right-click the installer → Properties → Compatibility → Run this program in compatibility mode for.
  6. Related: how to update outdated drivers.

Step 6: Fix Network Scanner Discovery

Network scanning needs discovery services that are often disabled.

  1. In services.msc, set these to Automatic and start them: Function Discovery Provider Host, Function Discovery Resource Publication, SSDP Discovery, and UPnP Device Host.
  2. Open Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) → your network → set the Network profile type to Private. Discovery is blocked on Public networks by design.
  3. Give the scanner a fixed address in the router's DHCP reservation list so it does not move.
  4. Add it by address: Printers & scanners → Add device → Add manually → Add a printer using an IP address or hostname.
  5. Related: share files between Windows PCs on the same network.

Step 7: Check the Firewall and Security Software

  1. Open Windows Security → Firewall & network protection → Allow an app through firewall.
  2. Click Change settings, then confirm the scanner utility and any vendor "device monitor" service are ticked for Private networks.
  3. Third-party security suites frequently block scanner discovery traffic. Pause the suite briefly and retest; if that fixes it, add an exclusion rather than leaving it off.
  4. Detailed procedure: fix Windows Firewall blocking apps.

Step 8: Test with a Different Scanning App

This separates a broken app from a broken scanner.

  1. Try Windows Fax and Scan — search for it in the Start menu and click New Scan.
  2. Try the Scan app from the Microsoft Store, or Windows Scan.
  3. Try the vendor's own utility.
  4. If one app works and another does not, the problem is the app: reset it via Settings → Apps → Installed apps → ⋯ → Advanced options → Repair, then Reset.
  5. If the Store app itself will not run: fix the Microsoft Store not working.

Step 9: Repair Windows System Files

  1. Open Terminal (Admin) and run: 
    sfc /scannow

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
  2. Reboot, then re-run sfc /scannow: how to run SFC and DISM.
  3. If scanning broke immediately after an update, roll it back: fix Windows 11 after a bad update.

What Not to Do

  • Don't install a driver-updater tool to find a scanner driver. Older scanner drivers are a favourite disguise for bundled adware — see avoid malware in fake downloads.
  • Don't disable WIA because a forum post suggests it. Nothing scans without it.
  • Don't run two vendor scanning utilities at once — the second one reports the device as busy.

Still Not Working?

Test the scanner on another PC. If it fails there too with a fresh driver, the hardware has failed. If it works there, compare the two machines' WIA service state and installed vendor software.

For scanners more than about ten years old with no Windows 11 driver at all, VueScan supports a very wide range of discontinued models and is often the only route left.

Related: fix a webcam not working and fix USB ports not working.

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