Your Canon printer worked perfectly with your old laptop. On a Snapdragon X machine, the installer crashes, Windows finds no driver, or the printer appears but every job vanishes. Printer trouble strikes when you need it urgently — and on ARM64 Windows the cause is almost always one thing: the driver package was built for x64.

It is better than a few years ago: Canon ships ARM64 drivers for many current models, and Windows 11’s built-in IPP printing covers many network printers with no vendor driver. Failures happen in the gaps — older printers with x64-only installers, USB connections that bypass IPP, utilities that install halfway. This guide walks the reliable paths in order: official ARM64 drivers, driverless IPP printing, then cleanup and spooler repair.

If an Epson shares the same desk, our Epson printer on ARM laptop guide covers the parallel process for that brand. And this pattern — a device with no usable ARM driver — is the same missing-driver state behind NPU error code 28 (drivers not installed) ; the hunt for the right ARM64 package works the same way.

Why this happens

  • x64-only Canon installers: Most setups are compiled for x64 — they may launch under emulation but fail installing the kernel-mode print driver.
  • No ARM64 driver for older models: Canon only backports ARM64 drivers to some models; early-2010s printers often have no ARM64 package and never will.
  • USB connections bypass driverless printing: IPP and Mopria work over the network — a USB printer usually demands a vendor driver that may not exist for ARM64.
  • Half-installed driver packages: The x64 installer sometimes installs Canon’s utilities but not the driver, leaving a printer entry that can never print.
  • Windows Update driver mismatch: Windows Update may offer an older or generic Canon driver that installs but produces garbled output or missing features.
  • Print spooler corruption: Stuck jobs cause failures that look like driver problems but survive reinstalls.

How to fix it

Work through these in order — diagnose first, then act.

Fix 1: Download the official Canon ARM64 driver for your model

Always start at the source: Canon’s support site lists ARM64-compatible drivers for many current PIXMA, MAXIFY, and imageCLASS models, sometimes labeled “Windows 11 (ARM).” The vendor build gives full features — borderless printing, maintenance utilities, correct paper handling — that generic drivers cannot match. Match the exact model number including suffixes, since Canon reuses series names across generations. If Device Manager lists the printer under “Other devices,” that is the same unknown-device state as missing Neural processors . If no ARM64 package exists, do not force the x64 installer; move to Fix 2.

  1. Find your printer’s exact model number on its front panel or rear label, including suffix letters.
  2. On Canon’s official support site, enter the model and open Drivers and Downloads.
  3. Look for a listing mentioning ARM64 or Windows 11 on ARM; download it if present.
  4. Run the ARM64 installer, connect the printer when prompted, and print a test page first.

Fix 2: Print driverless over the network with IPP

This rescues most “unsupported” Canon printers on ARM. If your printer is on Wi-Fi and supports IPP Everywhere or Mopria — most Canons from the last decade do — Windows 11 drives it with the built-in Microsoft IPP Class Driver and zero Canon software. No vendor code means no architecture mismatch.

  1. Connect the printer to Wi-Fi via its panel or WPS, and note its IP address from the network report.
  2. In Settings > Printers and scanners, click Add device.
  3. If Windows finds the printer, add it and let it select the IPP Class Driver.
  4. If not found, click “Manually add,” choose IP address, enter the IP, and pick the IPP class driver.

Fix 3: Clean out half-installed Canon software and start over

A failed x64 installer often leaves a ghost: Canon utilities in the Start menu, a dead printer entry, registry keys pointing at drivers that never installed. New attempts collide with the debris — the ARM64 installer may claim a newer version exists, or Windows keeps binding the broken driver. Proper cleanup removes the printer, driver package, and software before a clean reinstall.

  1. In Settings remove the Canon printer, then open Print Management (printmanagement.msc) and delete the Canon driver package.
  2. Uninstall all Canon software — IJ Printer Driver, MP Navigator, My Printer — then reboot.
  3. Reinstall using only the ARM64 package from Fix 1, or set up IPP printing from Fix 2 — not both.
  4. Print a Windows test page first, then a real document, confirming each stage before adding utilities.

Fix 4: Repair the print spooler when jobs vanish

When documents go to the printer and nothing comes out — no error, no jam, just silence — the print spooler is the usual suspect, not the driver. Corrupted spool files block the whole queue, and on ARM this gets misdiagnosed as a driver failure because reinstalling the driver does not clear the spool. Restarting the spooler and purging its cache takes two minutes and fixes it. If the spooler crashes repeatedly, one malformed driver is the cause — the cleanup from Fix 3 plus IPP is the permanent answer.

  1. Open Services (services.msc), find Print Spooler, and stop it.
  2. Delete all files in C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS — these are the stuck jobs.
  3. Start the Print Spooler service again and send a fresh test page.
  4. If jobs still vanish, remove the Canon driver and switch to the IPP class driver from Fix 2.

Fix 5: Get scanning working with Canon’s ARM64 utilities

Printing is half the battle for all-in-one owners — scanning needs Canon’s own software, and the old x64 MP Navigator will not cooperate on ARM. Canon has ARM64 builds of IJ Scan Utility for recent models; check for one first for OCR and multi-page PDF. Otherwise, Windows’ built-in Scan app drives many Canon scanners over the network via WSD or eSCL. If neither works, scan from the printer’s panel to a network folder or email.

  1. Check Canon’s support site for an ARM64 IJ Scan Utility build for your exact model.
  2. If none exists, open the Windows Scan app and see if your network Canon appears.
  3. As a fallback, configure scan-to-network-folder or scan-to-email from the printer’s panel.
  4. The Microsoft Update Catalog sometimes lists newer Canon driver packages than Windows Update offers.

Closing

Canon printing on ARM64 comes down to the right code for the architecture: Canon’s ARM64 driver where one exists, Windows’ built-in IPP class driver everywhere else, and a clean spooler underneath. The x64 installer is the trap — it looks like progress while installing nothing usable. For general printer questions, the Windows support hub covers setup and spooler repair in depth.

Frequently asked questions

Does Canon provide ARM64 drivers for Windows?
For many recent models, yes — Canon has ARM64 packages for current PIXMA, MAXIFY, and imageCLASS printers. Older models may only have x64 drivers, which cannot install on ARM64. Check Canon’s support site for your exact model.
Can I print without installing any Canon driver?
Often yes. If your Canon supports IPP or Mopria, Windows 11 prints with its built-in class driver and no Canon software — just add the printer in Settings.
Why does the Canon installer fail on my Snapdragon laptop?
Most Canon installers are still compiled for x64. On ARM64 Windows they may launch under emulation but fail when installing the kernel-mode print driver. Use the ARM64-specific package, or skip the installer entirely with IPP printing.
Will my old Canon printer ever work on ARM Windows?
Maybe, via IPP. Even printers whose last driver predates ARM can often print over the network using Windows’ built-in IPP class driver, which needs no vendor code. Scanning is harder — it usually needs Canon’s own ARM64 software.