Unable to add Epson Printer 3880 to MacBook with Tahoe 26.1

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Level 1

15 points

Unable to add Epson Printer 3880 to MacBook with Tahoe 26.1

Hi,

I am using a MacBook M3 Pro with Tahoe 26.1 and after deleting my Epson Stylus Pro 3880 printer from my printer list, it will not appear again under Add A Printer. It is not wireless and uses a USB printer cable and it was working well with Sequoia. I have tried everything including uninstalling everything Epson and reinstalling several times. I conferenced with both an Apple Specialist and an Epson Specialist only to be told to change my cable, which I did. Still it will not appear under Add A Printer. Any help to get this printer back up would be so appreciated. Thank you!

Posted on Nov 19, 2025 2:13 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

72dpi Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 3, 2025 1:16 PM in response to 72dpi

I will update this for anyone else who might be having this issue.

I was very fortunate to be able to get in touch with someone at Epson who had their engineers look at my system. My MacBook M3 Pro does not have any USB-C ports and at the time of purchase (only a year and a half ago) Apple recommended the Belkin Thunderbolt 4 5 in 1 Hub to use with this computer. It appears that the one and only USB-C port on this hub is working, however there may have been a change with Tahoe, and that one port no longer has the capacity to work with my printer. It seems to work fine with other accessories. I spoke with the technician at Belkin and after checking things, he did say they may be seeing some issues with Tahoe ...

My new friend at Epson suggested I try a small USB-C to USB-A adapter plugged directly into the computer, so I bought a tiny one specifically for MacBook Pro and Printers and sure enough, all is well. I really hope this helps someone. It's not fun when things go awry.

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Answer 2

Nov 20, 2025 1:46 PM in response to 72dpi

You may want to check that you have allowed the printer to connect to the MacBook. Mac notebooks with Apple Silicon chips have a “security” feature to prevent data transfer to or from “unapproved” USB and Thunderbolt accessories.

If your printer was “approved” but somehow became “unapproved” (e.g. as a result of the Tahoe upgrade), maybe you need to “approve” it again.

Allow USB and other accessories to connect to your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Nov 19, 2025 3:20 PM in response to 72dpi

There’s also firmware from 2018. Make sure that’s loaded, too.

That probably means connecting to a Windows box or something else that can communicate with this printer, and perform the firmware update there.

This printer does not appear to be able to update the firmware from the control panel.

This printer might have a network interface too, based on the Network tool offered st the support web page, and the doc:

https://files.support.epson.com/pdf/pro3880/pro3880ng.pdf

If this printer does offer Ethernet, I’d also try configuring that path.

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Answer 4

Nov 20, 2025 12:06 PM in response to 72dpi

Connect via the Ethernet network, and see if that works better.

Wire it into your ISP router, if the printer can be nearby to that.

See the previously-linked Epson network documentation.

if you decide to replace this printer, you absolutely want a printer with AirPrint support.

Why AirPrint? AirPrint eliminates the need for vendor drivers for common functions.

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Answer 5

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,448 points

Dec 3, 2025 1:31 PM in response to 72dpi

I have never used an Ethernet connection and would not know what to do.

There's not much to it.

Start with the printer turned off. Position it in the room so a cable can reach between it and your router. Take an Ethernet cable and plug one end into the 3880. The other end into any open LAN port on your router.

Turn the printer on. The router will assign it an unused IP address. Somewhere in the printer's on-device menus, you can look up the address it was assigned. It will usually be 192.168.0.xxx, with the xxx being a number. Write that full address number down.

Go to settings on the Mac to add a printer. When the box comes up, choose IP in the center. Enter the IP address you wrote down in the top field. It may then give the printer a generic name. Change that to whatever you want it to say and click the Add button.

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Answer 6

Nov 19, 2025 3:05 PM in response to 72dpi

Epson Support – Epson Stylus Pro 3800

If you select "macOS 26 Tahoe" as the operating system, and press the "Go" button that appears next to the OS selection, it looks like there is a printer driver for Tahoe as well as an Uninstall package.

You might try reinstalling the driver while the printer is connected via a USB cable and turned on, just in case the installer goes looking to see if there is a connected Epson Stylus Pro 3800. (Long shot, but if you've reinstalled multiple times and neither Epson or Apple could figure things out, I'm not sure what to tell you.)

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Answer 7

72dpi Author

Level 1

15 points

Dec 3, 2025 1:41 PM in response to MrHoffman

"Your MacBook Pro M3 has USB-C ports, but lacks USB-A ports, and might not have free USB-C ports.

MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs - Apple Support

Apple replaced the older USB-A ports with USB-C ports."

I always confuse these but the engineers seemed to understand what I was saying and it is now working.

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Answer 8

Nov 20, 2025 1:57 PM in response to 72dpi

Again, connect via Ethernet. See if that works better.

Printers with AirPrint support means vendor drivers are not needed for Apple platforms.

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Answer 9

72dpi Author

Level 1

15 points

Nov 20, 2025 11:41 AM in response to 72dpi

As an update:

Add A Printer still not being recognized after changing to a brand new cable and plugging directly into the adapter. I spoke with Epson again. System Information showed that the Printer is still not being detected. He surmised it is an issue with the Tahoe update since the printer was working well up to this point and neither the old cable nor the new one can be detected.

I hope there are others who will help get this issue resolved.

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Answer 10

72dpi Author

Level 1

15 points

Nov 19, 2025 4:19 PM in response to MrHoffman

Thank you Servant of Cats and MrHoffman for your replies.

I tried to install with the printer on with cable but absolutely nothing.

While there is a Network tool, it is not finding the printer here either so there's nothing for it to do. The Epson Software Updater says everything is up to date.

I have never used an Ethernet connection and would not know what to do. I am totally baffled. I have no trouble connecting to a smaller wireless printer I have for everyday printing, but this larger, wide printer is the one I use for my work.

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Answer 11

72dpi Author

Level 1

15 points

Nov 20, 2025 1:17 PM in response to MrHoffman

This is so unfortunate. My beloved 3880 Fine Art Printer works (ed) so well and I sense this update is going to cost .....

The equivalent Air Print replacement is already 5 years old which worries me...

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Answer 12

72dpi Author

Level 1

15 points

Nov 20, 2025 2:39 PM in response to MrHoffman

Accessories is Always Allow.

After a Pet and a Commodore 64, I have a Macintosh LC 520 sitting in my basement so I have been using computers for awhile but I don't have the know how for deeper technical things ;-). I appreciate your advice on Ethernet but I have never used it before and I doubt if I will use it now :-))). I would just like Tahoe to work like all the other operating systems did before, easy and straightforward.

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Answer 13

Nov 20, 2025 1:50 PM in response to 72dpi

Sometimes people save old printers that are not AirPrint-compatible, and that do not have current Mac drivers, by hooking them up to inexpensive Raspberry Pi computers.

The Raspberry Pi acts as a print server, and as long as there are Linux drivers for the printer, the Mac sees the printer as an AirPrint device.

However, this can be a bit complex to set up, and given that your printer appears to have Tahoe drivers, it doesn’t seem like it should be really necessary.

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Answer 14

Dec 3, 2025 1:30 PM in response to 72dpi

72dpi wrote:

I will update this for anyone else who might be having this issue.

I was very fortunate to be able to get in touch with someone at Epson who had their engineers look at my system. My MacBook M3 Pro does not have any USB-C ports and at the time of purchase (only a year and a half ago)

Your MacBook Pro M3 has USB-C ports, but lacks USB-A ports, and might not have free USB-C ports.

MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs - Apple Support

Apple replaced the older USB-A ports with USB-C ports.

The last Apple laptop with USB-A ports was probably the MacBook Air 2017.

Apple has been pushing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections for many Mac peripherals, including printers.

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