How to Install and Configure the Canon ScanGear App?

written by Cyril Kardashevsky October 27, 2021

Canon ScanGear is the official application from Canon, a popular manufacturer of printers, scanners, and other office tools. You can use the ScanGear tool with various scanners, including the CanoScan MF, CanoScan N, CanoScan LiDE series, and others. Besides scanning your documents, ScanGear lets you configure settings inside your scanner: size, color options, quality, resolution, etc. Canon supports various operating systems beginning with Windows XP and up to Windows 10. As of now, there is no information whether Canon ScanGear works with Windows 11. It is safe to assume that you should not experience issues with using the app on the latest version of Windows, considering how little changes it brings. Still, there is no guarantee in stable work because the most recent update for the ScanGear tool is now six years old.

Canon ScanGear uses a 32-bit TWAIN driver that works with all applications and scanners compatible with it. Note that you can use 32-bit applications on 64-bit Windows without problems. In this article, we will show you how to set up Canon ScanGear on a Windows PC for scanning documents and customizing your scanner settings.

Canon ScanGear Tool Download for Windows 10 and 11

Begin with downloading Canon ScanGear Tool for Windows 10 and 11 from the official Canon website. As of now, the most recent version is 2.71. It should work with most Canon scanners and copiers.

Although the tool uses 32-bit TWAIN driver, you need to download 32-bit version of the ScanGear tool for 32-bit Windows and 64-bit version of the app for 64-bit Windows. This is important to ensure proper compatibility and operation of your hardware and software.

Tip. Windows 11 is 64-bit only, so download the second variant of the app if you have already upgraded from to Windows 11.

How to install Canon ScanGear Tool on Windows?

To install Canon ScanGear Tool on Windows 10, run the EXE file you have just downloaded. The exe file unpacks its files to the TEMP folder by default. You do not need to change the destination folder.

Temp Folder Location on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003

C:\Documents and Settings\User\Local Settings\Temp

Temp Folder Location on Windows 7, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Temp

Once you located the extracted files, connect your scanner to one of USB ports (or COM of you use old scanner).
Launch the setup file within the TEMP folder and follow the on-screen instructions.
After installing the app, launch the ScanGear Tool from the list of all apps in the Start menu.
On the first step, enter the IP address of your scanner and test the connection by clicking the “Test Connection” button.

Now you can start using your scanner. Here is how to scan a document using the ScanGear tool.

If you use Microsoft Office apps, launch Microsoft Office Document Scanning in the Start > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools.
On your Canon scanner, press the big Scan button to switch the copier into Scan mode.
Select the “Online” option to force the Scan mode on. The scanner will start searching for the ScanGear app on your computer.
Place the document you want to scan into the feeder tray on top of the Canon copier. Note that it will not start scanning until you place your document into the feeder.
On your computer, select Scan (black and white or color) and then the scanner will start scanning your documents.

Canon ScanGear Tool Windows 10 issues

Here is what you need to do if you encounter issues with the ScanGear tool on Windows 10 or Windows 11. Most likely, the problem lies inside the old driver that might be incompatible with your current operating system. Try the following to fix Canon ScanGear Tool issues on Windows 10.

Fix Canon ScanGear Tool Issues on Windows 10 – Compatibility Mode

This method will try to run the driver in compatibility mode, which uses settings from previous versions of Windows.

Right-click the driver setup file and select Properties.
Switch to the Compatibility tab.
Click Run this program in Compatibility mode and then choose one of the previous versions of Windows in the list. Try Windows 7 or Windows XP.
Let the installation process complete its job, and then check the result.

If that did not help you fix Canon ScanGear Tool on Windows 10, try the next option.

Fix Canon ScanGear Tool Issues on Windows 10 – Run Troubleshooters

Modern Windows versions have built-in troubleshooters that often can detect and fix various issues with your software and hardware. Here is how to run Windows Troubleshooter to fix Canon ScanGear Tool on Windows 10.

Press Win + R and enter control, then press Enter.
Choose Troubleshooting.
Click View All.
Select Hardware and Devices.
Follow the on-screen instructions.

Fix Canon ScanGear Tool Issues on Windows 10 – Reinstall Driver and ScanGear Tool

After upgrading from older Windows version to Windows 10 or 11, you might encounter an error with the following message:

Cannot communicate with the scanner. The cable may be disconnected, or the scanner may be turned off. Scanner driver will be terminated.

This problem can be with the old version of the driver, and with the fact that the Windows 10 WIA service does not have time to connect to the scanner driver. To fix the issue, try the following:

Uninstall all ScanGear tools and drivers on your computer. You might need to boot into Windows Safe Mode in case the uninstaller stops responding.
Download Canon ScanGear Tool for Windows 10 using the links at the beginning of this article.
Install MF toolbox and ScanGear 2.71.
Press Win + R and enter the services.msc command to open the Windows Services console and find the Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) service.
Open the service and make sure its Startup type is set to Automatic.
Switch on the Log on Tab.
Select the service to run under Local System account and check the option Allow service to interact with desktop
Go to the Recovery tab and in the First failure action select Restart the Service.
Save the changes by pressing OK.
Try scanning a document to ensure the problems are fixed and both scanner and the Canon ScanGear Tool for Windows 10 operate properly.

If you still encounter problems with your old Canon scanner, you might need to replace it with a more modern option that works best with Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Note. Check our article on how to reset TeamViewer ID.

That is it. We hope this article helped you learn more about how to download and install Canon ScanGear Tool for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Cyril Kardashevsky

I enjoy technology and developing websites. Since 2012 I'm running a few of my own websites, and share useful content on gadgets, PC administration and website promotion.

How to Disable Security Defaults in Office 365?

52 comments

col somers May 1, 2011 - 8:49 am

Referral Denied
You don’t have permission to access “http://downloads.canon.com/cpr/software/devicemanagement/NWSG_v2.21.exe” on this server.
Reference #24.7dcc387d.1304239505.6344b9c

Brian Jackson May 2, 2011 - 1:29 am

@Col Somers: Thank you for your comment. I have updated the links in the post, they now should work fine. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Richard Ross May 4, 2011 - 6:17 pm

Microsoft Office 2010 no longer includes the Microsoft Office Document Imaging Services for scanning and faxing. Any luck getting this to work with the Windows Vista or 7 built in scan or fax program? It keeps telling me that there are no scanner detected.

Brian Jackson May 4, 2011 - 9:13 pm

@Richard Ross: That is true that MODI is deprecated in Office 2010. However, you can still install only the Document Imaging Services part from Office 2007 install and it will still work fine with the ScanGear Tool from Canon. Just tried it and it worked fine. This is if you are using the feeder to SCAN docs over from the scanner to your computer.

Conrad Keville August 2, 2011 - 8:41 pm

I have Office 2010. I don’t plan on buying Office 2007 for MODI. As far as I can figure Scangear is mearly an interface to the network scanner (right?) and you need an application to actually scan a document. Would you have a suggestion for another application that will interface with scangear and preferrably have an option to save to pdf format?

Michael April 24, 2012 - 6:00 pm

You could load the MS Imaging from a 2003 Office pro CD. You unable everything except the MS Imaging component and the Proofing Tool English character recognition. That even would work under W7 64.

Brian Jackson November 3, 2012 - 5:11 am

Great, thanks for the tip!

Tony May 19, 2011 - 3:20 pm

What if the copier has no “scan” button? That means this machine can not scan?
We have this issue because we just bought a MF7460 copier/fax. There is a driver from the installation containing the scangear tool. But the scangear can work with USB.

Cezar July 11, 2011 - 9:45 pm

Please help i have a IR 2870 and when i put te IP address of the copier, the pc doesnt recognize it, what should i do??

richardk July 14, 2011 - 7:43 am

You will need to ensure that a port is opened in windows firewall, its in the readme that comes with scangear. You will then be able to discover the device.

richardk July 14, 2011 - 8:03 am

Here is the section from the readme, it should do it during the install but I seen a few that haven’t registered correctly so worth checking.

– For Windows 7:
(1)Click [Start]-[Control Panel]-[System and Security]-[Windows Firewall]-[Advanced Settings].
(2) Select [Inbound Rules] in the [Windows Firewall with Advanced Security] sheet, click [New Rules].
(3) In [New Inbound Rule Wizard], select [Port], click [Next].
(4) Select [UDP], enter 56338 in [Specific local port], click [Next].
(5) Select [Allow the connection], click [Next].
(6) Select only [Private], click [Next].
(7) Enter a name in [Name], click [Finish] to close [New Inbound Rule Wizard].
– If you are using an operating system equipped with Windows Firewall and have enabled the Windows Firewall settings, to use the ScanGear Tool, click the [Exceptions] tab in the [Windows Firewall] dialog box -> click [Add Program] -> add the ScanGear Tool (SgTool.exe). If you use the ScanGear Tool without adding it to Windows Firewall exceptions, an alarm message may be displayed.
– Depending on the printer model you are using, the scanned image may be largerthan the page size you have specified.
– Depending on the printer model you are using, the scanned image may not matchthe page size you have specified, resulting in blank space on one or more edges.
– Depending on the printer model you are using, you may not be able to specify the scanning area.
– If the fonts required by the display language you have selected are not installed in the operating system you are using, this software may not display correctly.
– An error may occur in Microsoft Office 2003/2007, if you executing scanning by selecting [Picture] – [From Scanner or Camera] from the [Insert] menu to open the [Insert Picture from Scanner or Camera] dialog box, and click the [Insert] button. If this happens, use the [Custom Insert] button instead of the [Insert] button.
– Depending on the printer model you are using, you may not be able to specify [Auto] for [Page Size].
– If you scan using Acrobat 7.0 or 8.0 with OCR set to on, the scanned image may not display correctly.
If this happens, you may be able to avoid the problem by using one of the following methods.
Do not use OCR when scanning, and apply OCR to the scanned image after scanning.
When using OCR, change the optional settings.
Change the color mode when scanning.
Change the type of document setting when scanning.
– If you have set [Auto-adjust Orientation], Korean or Chinese (Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese) documents may not be adjusted correctly.
If you want to change the orientation of a Korean or Chinese document, without using [Auto-adjust Orientation], set [Orientation] and change the orientation of the document manually, or rotate the document on the platen glass of the scanner.
– This driver can only be used with applications that support TWAIN.

TMM July 20, 2011 - 7:57 pm

I use Windows 7 64bit and when I try to install the drivers, only the scangear tool installs but not the network scangear tool. I’ve looked at and tried everything, but it won’t install.

PerfectReign October 6, 2011 - 7:15 pm

thank you for the nice writeup. i did this with my copier/fax/printer/scanner and it works fine in Vista. Now to have a second scanner is nice! (I already have a Fujitsu 4120c on my desk but it is much slower.)

Mr.Smith November 30, 2011 - 5:43 pm

Hi, I’m having the same issue as TMM, is there any way to fix it so I can use network scangear on windows 7 64bit?

ganeshs p December 8, 2011 - 1:09 pm

hi i need a driver for scan gear for USB cable for canon ir 3025 pls helpme out in this

vaidyanath December 23, 2011 - 3:13 am

we are having cannon 3300 which ip have to give to machine

riz February 4, 2012 - 2:09 pm

dear friends,
plz tell me how i installed my canon ir 2018 scaner to my window 7 …….
thankes

Mamdouh February 7, 2012 - 2:03 pm

I have Canon 2320 Photocopier, can I use the scanning option through USB PORT
if the network card note available ,and how to configure Scan gear without IP address,
please advice

JEmlay February 9, 2012 - 11:41 pm

For those on Windows7+ that have nothing to scan to….I use a free app called Twacker 32. Just Google it and you’ll find it. It’s nothing more then a free TWAIN compliant app. I had to search for something because Adobe Photoshop (at least CS5) will not see or use the Canon copier even after setup with ScanGear.

aly February 27, 2012 - 9:27 pm

I have installed ScanGear Tool V2.21. But when I am trying to discover and trying to located the scanner with IP but no luck, it is not locating my Scanner. I am using Canon IR 2022i. Any one can help me with this. Please.

Boštjan Štrumbelj June 21, 2012 - 3:58 pm

@TMM,

true, there is only “ScanGearTool” available in Program files and no “Network ScanGear”, but it is installed! It’s not standalone program and can be invoked only within another scanning program like “MS office document scanning”, as mentioned before.

Tested on Win7 x64 w/ office 2003, Canon IR2270 and ScanGear 2.30.

RA September 4, 2012 - 1:44 pm

Thank you for the cleaf directions and link. A canon copier sales / installer could not link up our computers but these directions worked on both a new XP and a new 7 system. Thanks again!

Brian Jackson November 5, 2012 - 12:57 am

Great glad it worked for you!

Henri de Leeuw April 15, 2013 - 6:35 am

I have windows 8 64 bits and my scanner from Pixma MG6150 doesn’t work, can’t change drivers etc. please help me

Brian Jackson April 16, 2013 - 6:10 pm

Have you tried installing the Windows 7 x64 drivers in compatibility mode?

shombach August 19, 2013 - 9:21 pm

Windows 8 64 bit – have a Canon MP500 all in one printer. Printer works fine with Windows 8 but it came with MP Navigator 2.0 scanner software which worked in Vista but does not work in Windows 8. I thus have no scanner. Any help?
Thanks

aliona1953 August 29, 2013 - 1:36 pm

I have an IR2200 and everytime I try to run the setup i get an error message fiFindfile failed (REG_CURRANT_NAME) and it won’t complete. What am I doing wrong? Thanks

ANAND November 6, 2013 - 6:13 am

sir how we connect my canon 3300 with my win 7 for print……….plz help me sir………..

Niko November 20, 2013 - 12:12 pm

@disqus_YoQy55czwP:disqus

1. Have you assigned an IP address to your printer? if so what is it? (write it down somewhere, you will need it when installing the printer) … see the manual on how to do this.

2.Do you have the drivers of the canon 3300? if not download it from the canon website

3.Run the downloaded file and follow instructions. Enter the IP address and port when asked.

*If everything went well you should have an installed printer, check that you have a test page printed

Sagade Manoj November 8, 2013 - 5:00 am

Sir, How we connet my Cannon ir3300 with win 7 64 bit …..scanner gear…. Plz Help me Sir..

Niko November 20, 2013 - 12:14 pm

@sagademanoj:disqus

follow the steps i suggested for @disqus_YoQy55czwP:disqus below

Patricia November 27, 2013 - 8:31 am

HI!! I have a Canon 1025n. Scan works ok but after I restart my computer with windows 8 64bits. It won’t find the scanner… any suggest on this? Thanks a lot

Parkash Kumar November 29, 2013 - 10:34 am

i very for install this sofware for many time and may time but i am not acses scaning sucsesfully but take yours tip and ready for documents susessfully so thanks alot

Brian Jackson December 23, 2013 - 9:13 am

Thank you. Glad it helped.

Graham Richmond January 11, 2014 - 12:21 am

Thanks for the clear instructions. I’m setting up ScanGear v2.3 for a colleague so he can insert scanned A3 images from his Canon iR3300 into a Word 2007 document. When the image is dragged across into the Work document, the size is smaller than the original and it has to be resized manually. My colleague is not very computer savvy, so I’m trying to minimise potential mistakes. He previously worked in Word 2003 with ScanGear v1.2 and the process was much simpler and the image was inserted at the correct A3 size. The Word document is set to A3 Landscape with all margins set to 0. Can you help? Thanks

Lavdim January 11, 2014 - 3:16 pm

I have a queshens for Canon IRC2880i/3380, I have installed print but i can’t connected scaner with my computer my operation SYSTEM is XP sp3, i installed Scan gear Tool V.2.21 and 2.71 but can’t conected, Need to put network UTP cable on switch or no ?

Bryan Garey February 13, 2014 - 11:40 am

When I install any version of Network Scangear I get an error message…The necessary file is not found, corrupted or setting are incorrect.

itjoe February 17, 2014 - 2:40 pm

did you find a solution to this. im experiencing the same issue

Bryan Garey February 17, 2014 - 3:25 pm

No, I had to install it on the network for now (Windows Server 2008) because the Win 7 will not install and work….still looking for a solution.

Stacy Bower March 10, 2014 - 1:03 pm

I did everything above but it won’t scan. I don’t know what I’m missing. I can’t click the start button on my printer when I put push online for the scanner and it doesn’t start when I select black and white from microsoft office tools

RA April 24, 2014 - 8:04 am

I had Network Scangear installed on Windows 7 per your instructions and it worked for about a year and a half. A few months ago it stopped. I was able to get it working for a short time then it stopped again. After trying everything I could think of I erased every trace of the program I could find and tried to reinstall. The install file program starts but stalls and says that it cannot find the .msi file. When I look in the directory it refers to the file is there. Why cant the install file see it? Was there a Windows 7 update a few months ago that would interfere with the scangear running?

RA June 20, 2014 - 8:57 am

God blessed Tried again for a scanner and downloaded from the link following a scangear for color copiers. even though ours is B&W the program recognized the scanner and it works again.

Prem Pal July 11, 2014 - 7:09 am

When i open scangear toll a massage create All ports are being used ,quit another running program windows server 2008 r3 enterprise printer ir 2318 please help

Abhijit January 24, 2015 - 5:17 am

hi i need a driver for scan gear for USB cable for canon ir 2870 pls helpme out in this

zena March 14, 2015 - 2:29 am

hi how are you

i use canon 2520 and i do not now how work scan please help me i setup software from cd with devise

Julius Zacarias March 19, 2015 - 3:19 am

hi everyone… can anyone help me…
print is working but the scanner does not work…. i already installed the software and it tells that finish and test done also but when i used it, it is not working?

i use canon imagerunner 2520
in windows 8

Teresa July 17, 2015 - 11:04 pm

I installed the software and I can scan from my Cannon IR3300 using Adobe, however, the image will not appear until I go back to the scanner and take it offline again. I did not have this problem when the software was installed on a Win 98 OS and using an older Adobe version. I have no idea what ScanGear version was installed. The hard drive crashed and now we have Win 7 Pro.

Also, just want to say that there’s some really great advice on this thread and help me to get this far…so thank you all very much. Now if I can just solve this other issue I’ll be very happy.
Any suggestions?

mayann July 17, 2015 - 11:09 pm

hi.. can u please help me. I can’t used my scanner. when I press the scanner button it will apear “PRINTER IS IN USE OR AN ERROR HAS OCCURED. CHECK STATUS. SCANNER DRIVER WILL BE CLOSED.

CODE:2,140,21

..Please help.. my scanner is PIXMA CANON, for windows 8. thanks.

Robert Villanueva November 8, 2015 - 11:19 pm

I have a cannon mg3222, the scanner I have no idea what happen to it, what I do to re enstall the scanner

ashif June 26, 2016 - 2:01 am

im using canon image runner ir2520 how can i configure to send scanned file to different emails as there needs

Acrobat September 23, 2016 - 8:41 am

I have Canon ir 2018 and Windows 10. Scangear finds it over IP and install succesfully. When I try to scan I receive different erros “something went wrong”, “no paper”…. Does anyone have scangear work on win10?

Falcon_67 October 29, 2017 - 5:08 pm

hello I have a canon 3029. I am unable to scan wirelessly. I am getting an error code 2,140,3.
windows 10 pro. I have tried everything.. re-installing full driver package, re- installing mg3029 drivers also installing ccleaner to clean registry to now trying to go to properties run in compatibility mode win 8. nope didn’t work either grrr.