Big Sur removed epson printer and now will not add it back

Hi,

There have been a couple of files released 08-Dec-2020 (on the Stylus SX400 support page), but the driver is still the v10.85 (25-Nov-2020).

https://www.epson.eu/support?productID=2781&language=en&os=38#drivers_and_manuals

Also see the following article about a USB connection problem.

https://epson.com/faq/SPT_BIGSUR-NS~faq-0000cfc-macos_11?faq_cat=faq-8796126193740

Thanks, Needy. No love for my printer, unfortunately. Epson says I've got to wait until Apple issues an update. It's a USB connectivity issue, and my printer is strictly USB - no wi-fi or ethernet. I hope Apple does an update soon because Music(formerly itunes) doesn't work properly either. I"m a bit miffed at Apple right now. If Apple were an auto manufacturer there would be government mandated recalls off the hook. We pay a premium for Apple's 'superior' stuff. I"m beginning to think that the most superior and flawless part of Apple products is the packaging - physical and virtual.

Where is Steve Jobs when we need him:-)

My Photo 1400 is strictly USB also and I've had this printer for a number of years, so I am surprised that my printer is in the list while more resent printers are not.

Also, as Jan Hedlund points out, I should have stated that any updating would be in the printer list and not the driver list. As he said, the driver is still the v10.85.

Anyway, I hope you get your situation sorted out pretty soon, it is frustrating when we can't use our Apple equipment because of an Apple miscue. These problems should have been sorted out a long time before the OS update was released.

Just after the update to Big Sur 11.1 yesterday, after a couple of trials with my printer (Epson Stylus SX400), finally it started to print again! Both reinstalling the Epson Drivers and GutenPrint Drivers worked for me.

I had the same problem with my Epson Artisan 710. Apple support told me that Epson had not updated their driver for Big Sur and said that Epson said that would occur in December 2020. However, I went to the Epson site and downloaded the driver ( which was the old one that Big Sur refused to allow it to be carried over from Catalina and for which Apple said Epson had to provide an update ), and I was able to install the old driver and it worked fine. When I upgraded to 11.1, the same thing happened and I repeated the same thing again. Apparently Big Sur has a bug in it that Apple either refuses to acknowledge or fix. So, each time you upgrade you're just going to have to go to the Epson site and reinstall the driver.

imac OS Big Sur 11.1 sending data to printer Epson L3111-Series , but printer does not work . What to do ?

Printer check by Epson Service centre , It works.

New printer Epson 3111 Series , uninstalled and reinstalled printer software , does not work ! What to do ?

This is the official word from Epson...https://epson.com/faq/SPT_BIGSUR-NS~faq-0000cfc-macos_11?faq_cat=faq-topFaqs

I was on the phone with them for an hour and a half trying to figure out the trouble to no avail. They escalated my incident to developers in Japan and they requested some system info, and ultimately got back to me with this email -

"Thank you for contacting Epson regarding your Epson Artisan 50.

Our team was requesting information about your system previously.

However. our support team has stated that there is a "Missing USB Class Driver" message on some of the older printer models connected via USB. This is an issue with Apple's Big Sur MacOS.

Apple will be releasing an update to fix this problem.

Unfortunately, the only workaround for this is to try to use Apple's Airprint driver. This model does not support Airprint since it is an older/discontinued model.

You would have to wait for Apple ot release an update to fix this issue or use the printer on an older MacOS.

We take your satisfaction seriously and hope that we have helped resolve your issue. If you receive a survey from us, we would greatly appreciate if you could take a few minutes to provide us with feedback about your support experience. Your ratings and comments are extremely important to us.

If this did not resolve your issue, please reply to this email for further assistance. If you have a different support issue, submit a request via our U.S. or Canada Support Site and we will respond in a timely manner.

Thank you again for contacting Epson."

IMV, the problem may be that those who are having this as well as other problems are using software or hardware that is deemed "obsolete" by Apple, and Apple upgrades automatically delete such "Obsolete" software or hardware from subsequent upgrades. But they leave a back door to reinstall those programs. So given that, why forcing the upgrade to delete these devices and/or programs in the first place? Apple claims that the third-party manufacturers have to update their software for Big Sur compatibility, thus blaming the third-party manufacturers for Apple's planned obsolescence policy. The fact that the "back-door" workarounds are not specifically made known is again, Apple's bad. Apple wants you to buy a new computer every so often, regardless of whether your equipment works fine. This, IMV, is a matter of policy with Apple trying to control what its users can and cannot do.

MCgoetz, Please try the below link, the link has the OS filtered to MacOS 11.x as well:

https://epson.com/Support/Printers/All-In-Ones/Epson-Stylus-Series/Epson-Stylus-NX420/s/SPT_C11CA80201?review-filter=macOS+11.x

Thank you Fj2000, I had the same issue with my Epson printer(L360) and it was removed from System Preferences after upgrade to Big Sur. I followed your suggestion and installed the Epson drivers for MacOS 11.x and now the printer is detected successfully and working.

Hi, I have downloaded the latest driver on Epson (Singapore) and it won't print. I have an error message saying USB manager missing when I hit command-P.

I then tried Gutenprint 5.3.3, properly selected the one referring to my printer (Epson L360), but I have the immediate same error message.

Is it only because they havent updated yet, or is there a solution from Epson?

Thanks

At one time, Apple did. My old Apple IIe had a dedicated printer made by Apple. One they moved up to the current formats used in Macs, they abandoned their own printers in favor of third-party printers, which were in the market. Back then, Apple was in the toilet bowl and retaining a proprietary printer only led to further market declines, so Apple abandoned those formats in the Mac. I agree that having Apple produce their own printers, or at least a line of printers going upwards in quality would be beneficial, and very likely generate even more convenience for users both in initial sett-ups and when upgrading. But this is a marketing decision. Apple is doing quite well now, so apparently they're adopting the mantra "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But given that, how can they explain all the problems with Big Sur? <g>

After updating to Big Sur my Epson XP400 would not work and the Apple support tech could not help. I went to Geek Squad and within 15 minutes they added a patch that got my Epson XP400 working. Said I should ask Apple or Epson for a patch as well. I'm not holding my breath. Epson website states the XP 400 is compatible with OS11.X It worked with the previous OS. My opinion is Apple should provide the patch. This and others' problems reported here-- and Apple and Epson's responses-- don't exactly make me confident in either of their products.

I am no computer tech, so I do not understand what is meant by a network connection. My machine is hardwired to the ethernet. The Geek Squad tech who got me connected did download drivers from Epson and somehow with his patch got my iMac connected to the printer.

This XP-400 printer has a USB port and a Wi-Fi interface (but no built-in Ethernet).

https://www.epson.com.au/products/multifunctional/ExpressionHomeXP-400_specs.asp

Normally, one would connect the printer wirelessly to a Wi-Fi router. The router would create a network. One could then wirelessly connect a computer to the printer (through the router). The router may also have Ethernet LAN ports for wired connections.

In order to use the driverless AirPrint technology, the printer and the computer must be connected to the same network (router).

I am not quite sure what you mean by a patch in this case. You should check that you have the latest macOS Big Sur update. It is also a good idea to check whether there is a firmware update for the printer.