How to Fix "Cannot Find Scanner" in Epson Event Manager

1. Why Does Epson Event Manager Say "Cannot Find Scanner"?

One of the most frequent errors encountered by owners of Epson EcoTank, WorkForce, and Perfection scanners is the alert: "Cannot find scanner. Check the scanner connection."

It is vital to understand that Epson Event Manager is an event listener utility, not a hardware driver. If the underlying TWAIN or ICA scanner driver is unable to locate the hardware over your USB cable or local Wi-Fi subnet, Event Manager will fail to detect the device and will display an empty scanner dropdown menu.

2. Step 1: Verify the Core Driver via Epson Scan 2

Before adjusting Event Manager settings, you must confirm that the primary driver can communicate with the hardware:

1. Open your Start Menu (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac) and launch Epson Scan 2.
2. If Epson Scan 2 successfully previews or scans an image, the hardware driver is functional, and the issue lies strictly within network discovery or background permissions.
3. If Epson Scan 2 also reports a communication error, re-plug the physical USB cable directly into your computer (avoiding unpowered USB hubs) or reboot your Wi-Fi router.

3. Step 2: Switch Windows Network Profile to Private

On Windows 11 and Windows 10, when your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection is designated as Public, Windows Defender automatically blocks local network broadcasts (such as SSDP and UDP broadcast packets) used by Epson Event Manager to detect network scanners.

1. Open Settings > Network & Internet.
2. Click on your active Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection.
3. Under "Network profile type", switch the toggle from Public network to Private network.
4. Restart Epson Event Manager from your system tray.

4. Step 3: Configure Firewall Exceptions (UDP Port 2968)

If you run third-party security suites (such as Norton, McAfee, Bitdefender, or AVG), local scanner packets may be intercepted. Ensure the following rules are set:

• Executable: C:\Program Files (x86)\Epson Software\Event Manager\EventManager.exe
• Inbound Protocol: UDP Port 2968 (Scanner Discovery Protocol)
• Outbound Protocol: TCP Port 1865 and 2968

5. Step 4: Fix macOS Accessibility & Input Permissions

On macOS Sequoia (15), Sonoma (14), and Ventura (13), Apple’s security architecture prevents background apps from intercepting peripheral button inputs unless explicitly granted in System Settings:

1. Go to Apple Menu > System Settings > Privacy & Security.
2. Click Accessibility and ensure Epson Event Manager is toggled ON.
3. Click Input Monitoring and ensure Epson Event Manager is toggled ON.
4. If already checked, toggle it OFF, reboot your Mac, and toggle it ON again to refresh the security token.

6. Step 5: Prevent USB Root Hub Sleep Suspension

If your scanner works initially after boot but disconnects after a period of inactivity, Windows USB Selective Suspend is putting the port to sleep:

1. Press Windows Key + X and select Device Manager.
2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
3. Right-click each USB Root Hub, select Properties, and open the Power Management tab.
4. Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" and click OK.

7. When All Else Fails: Clean Reinstall

Corrupted configuration XML files in your user profile can cause Event Manager to crash upon device initialization. To perform a clean reinstall:

1. Uninstall Epson Event Manager from Windows Apps & Features or drag it to Trash on Mac.
2. On Windows, delete the folder: %APPDATA%\Epson\EventManager.
3. Download the official standalone installer from our homepage and run the setup wizard.