Epson error 0x44: what it means and how to recover

What causes it

• A jammed sheet still partly inside the printer, often at the exit or under the carriage
• The output tray not extended, so ejected paper folds back into the exit rollers
• Adhesive labels or a photo pack peeling and sticking to a roller
• The rear cover or duplex unit unlatched on one side
• Wear in the drive gears after long, heavy use

How to fix it, in order

Work down the list and stop when the printer recovers. The steps are ordered from most likely and least invasive to last resort.

1. Power drain before you open anything

   Turn the printer off with the button, unplug it at both ends, and hold the power button for 30 seconds. Leave it for five minutes. Working on the paper path with power removed also protects your fingers and the mechanism, because a printer that suddenly resumes a feed with your hand inside can damage both.

2. Check the exit area and the output tray

   Pull the output tray fully out and look into the exit slot with a torch. Sheets that partly ejected and then folded back are easy to miss because only a millimetre or two remains visible. Pull anything you find out in the direction of travel. Make sure the tray extension is pulled out for normal use, since paper hitting a retracted tray folds straight back into the rollers.

3. Clear the front and rear paths

   Remove the paper cassette and look into the bay, then press the tabs on the rear cover and pull it off to see the duplex path. Between those two views and the exit slot, you can see almost the entire transport. Remove every fragment and reassemble, making sure the rear cover clicks on both sides.

4. Check under the carriage

   Lift the scanner unit and slide the carriage by hand across its full travel with the printer unplugged. Sheets that jammed at the print stage sit directly under the head and are invisible until the carriage is moved. Pull them out flat and check the platen for torn strips left behind.

5. Look for peeled labels or stuck photo paper

   If you print labels or glossy photo paper, check the rollers for a peeled label or a sheet that has bonded to the rubber. Peel it away slowly and wipe any adhesive residue off with a barely damp cloth. Adhesive left on a roller will grab the next sheet and re-create the fault.

6. Reassemble and reboot fully

   Refit the cassette, close the scanner unit, latch the rear cover and reconnect power. Turn the printer on and let it complete its whole initialisation without opening anything. Interrupting the sweep partway is a common reason people think the fix did not work.

7. Run a two-page test job

   Print two pages from the printer's own menu or from a computer. A single page can slip through a marginal path; two consecutive sheets exercise the pickup, transport and exit in sequence and give a much better indication that the problem is really solved.

Frequently asked questions