Canon PIXMA MG6820: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Canon PIXMA MG6820 right for you?

The MG6820 added a touchscreen and SD card slot to the MG5720 formula, aimed at families who print from camera cards as well as phones. It is a capable five-ink photo all-in-one whose output still holds up today. Like the rest of this generation, the printhead can dry after long idle periods and the ink absorber pads on 2015 units are generally close to full, so a 1700 warning should not be ignored.

Best for: Family photo printing from memory cards and phones

Setting up the Canon PIXMA MG6820

Tap Wireless LAN setup on the touchscreen and choose a 2.4 GHz network, or use Canon PRINT. Install the printhead and five PGI-270 / CLI-271 tanks, then run the alignment print and scan from Maintenance. For photo printing from an SD card, insert the card and use the on-screen photo menu; set the paper type to match your glossy paper.

1. Unbox and prepare. Remove every piece of shipping tape and packing material, install the ink cartridges, and load paper in the tray.
2. Join your Wi-Fi. Keep the printer close to the router for setup. Most printers only connect to the 2.4GHz band, so if your router broadcasts one merged network name you may need to split the bands temporarily. See our Wi-Fi guide if it will not join.
3. Install the setup app. Use Canon's official app rather than a driver you found on a search result — third-party driver sites are the most common source of printer malware.
4. Add the printer. On Windows 11: Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners › Add device. On macOS: System Settings › Printers & Scanners › Add Printer.
5. Print a test page and run a scan if this is an all-in-one, so you find any problem now rather than when you are in a hurry.

Ink, toner and supplies

The Canon PIXMA MG6820 uses the following consumables. Match the number exactly when you buy: the same printer family often uses several different cartridge numbers by region.

• PGI-270 PGBK
• CLI-271 BK/C/M/Y
• XL sizes
• UK: PGI-570 / CLI-571

High-yield (XL) versions almost always cost less per page if you print regularly. On third-party ink and toner, read our honest assessment first, and note that some manufacturers push firmware that rejects non-original chips.

Full specifications