Apple Says Scanner Permission Error Fixed in macOS 11.6

In an updated support document, Apple has indicated that a permission-related error when using a scanner on a Mac has been fixed as of macOS 11.6.

mac scanner permission error
When attempting to use a scanner with a Mac, Apple said users might have received an error message indicating they did not have permission to open the application. The error message said to contact a computer or network administrator for assistance, or indicated that the Mac failed to open a connection to the device.

Users may have encountered the error in the Image Capture app, Preview app, or the Printers & Scanners section of System Preferences, according to Apple.

For users who elect not to update to macOS 11.6 at this time, Apple previously shared step-by-step instructions on how to temporarily resolve the issue:

  1. Quit any apps that are open.
  2. From the menu bar in the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder.
  3. Type /Library/Image Capture/Devices, then press Return.
  4. In the window that opens, double-click the app named in the error message. It's the name of your scanner driver. Nothing should happen when you open it.
  5. Close the window and open the app you were using to scan. A new scan should proceed normally. If you later choose to scan from a different app and get the same error, repeat these steps.

The issue has presumably also been fixed in the latest macOS Monterey beta.

Related Forum: macOS Big Sur

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...

Top Rated Comments

CheesePuff Avatar
49 months ago

Because maybe they just found out about it?
You're not making any sense... this was acknowledged that it was a bug by Apple prior to 11.6, they said it will be fixed in a future release, and then they released 11.6 with no release notes other then the standard 'bug fixes and general enhancements' boilerplate message they always use. Do you think it was just magically fixed in 11.6 and they don't QA their work and then were amazed when they randomly found out it was fixed?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CheesePuff Avatar
49 months ago
This is why Apple should include actual release notes in updates. Not to find out weeks later through a support doc.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jefhai Avatar
49 months ago
A lot of printers flat out don’t work on Arm Macs
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Thebrochure Avatar
49 months ago
Armageddon averted.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PinkyMacGodess Avatar
49 months ago

Lol you have zero clue how software development works then.
And I've been a programmer for over 40 years.

I've only peripherally read this thread, but can say that scanners have always been a PITA with macs. I've always had HP scanners, and my history started with the hideously expensive flat bed scanner I owned. Eventually Apple/HP just stopped even trying to pretend they supported it. The next scanner I bought was a very beautiful standup scanner, all glass, and amazing, and it lasted a year or so, then another scanner, *POOP* stopped working with every update, and took either major gyrations or waiting for software support many times. Then I got an expensive 'all-in-one', and it had features dripping off of it, and most of them don't/won't work, and the same fun started with updates and it not working. Now, it works on mine, but refuses to scan on the wife's. (She actually thinks it works for me because it's afraid of what will happen to it if it fails. SCRAPPED)

I haven't had many printers fail to work after an update, but had a client that had to reload all their drivers, and I have had to reset the printer software system on a mac at least a few times back in the day.

So Apple has a problem with testing their updates. Apple has a problem with their contracted (most likely) programmers breaking things that worked previously. Apple is guilty of a lot of things, and attention to detail in testing 'their' software and updates is the biggest one in my mind. So permission errors in trying to scan makes me laugh. Apple appears to be unable to learn from their massive wake of screw ups in previous versions of macOS.

So how that makes me ignorant on 'how software development works' is kind of a reach, isn't it?

Apple *should* know when their software breaks things. Apple *should* know when previous fixes break from installing their updates. Apple *should* be doing a lot more testing than they obviously don't do.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
randomgeeza Avatar
49 months ago

Is it only fixed for HP scanners? HP printers have been having this error ever since Big Sur with no resolution!
No it was doing it with my Epson printer...
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)