Service Desk FAQ, Known Issues and Release Notes
For customer IT teams and end users of Cirros and GovPrint. Maintained by the Cirros Service Desk: servicedesk@cirros.net.
How to use this page
Find the question closest to what you are seeing. Each answer gives the quickest checks first. If the steps do not fix it, contact the service desk with the details listed under Before you contact us at the end of this page.
Signing in, in one line. Your username is your email address and your password is your 6‑digit PIN, not your network or Windows password.
Using GovPrint? GovPrint-specific guidance, including the GovPrint user guide, GovPass cards and moving to client 1.4, is in the GovPrint section.
Printing
I sent a print job but nothing comes out at the printer
This is the most common call we receive, and it is usually on the computer side rather than the printer.
- Check you printed to the right printer. Choose Send to GovPrint (also called Send to Cirros) and press the green Print to Cloud button when it appears.
- Restart your computer. Delete any stuck jobs from the print queue first, then restart. This recreates the Cirros print queue and fixes most cases.
- Check you are signing in with the same account you printed from. If you have recently changed department or email address, your card may still be linked to your old account (see My card is not recognised below).
- Turn off Direct Submission if it is on. Right-click the Cirros icon in the system tray and switch it off.
- Try the web upload. Sign in at
https://uk-print2.cirrossl.net/home/loginwith your email address and PIN, upload the document and release it at the printer. If that works, the problem is on your computer and your IT team should take a look.
For IT teams. If several users at one site are affected at the same time, check that
cirros.net and *.cirrossl.net are allowed through any firewall, proxy or packet
inspection. Client logs are in C:\ProgramData\Cirros\Cirros SL\Logs.
The “Send to GovPrint” printer has disappeared from my computer
- Restart the computer.
- If it is still missing, the Cirros client may not be installed, or the Windows printer driver it relies on may be damaged (this often follows failed Windows Updates). Ask your IT team to check Windows Update is healthy and that the Cirros client is installed and up to date.
For IT teams. The queue can be recreated from an elevated PowerShell window. Use plain straight quotes. If this fails, contact the service desk for the IPP Class Driver repair procedure.
Add-Printer -Verbose -IPPUrl "ipps://localhost:631/ipp/print" -Name "Send to Cirros"Large PDFs fail to print
Printing big PDFs from a web browser often fails because the browser turns each page into a large image. Open the file in Adobe Acrobat or another PDF reader and print from there, or use the web upload above.
A document printed again on its own
Once a job has been released it is removed from the cloud and cannot release a second time. An unexpected reprint usually means the job was stuck on the printer itself. Please report it with the printer’s serial number.
Signing in at the printer
I cannot sign in at the printer
- Check it is a GovPrint printer. The Cirros or GovPrint logo should be on the touchscreen welcome screen. Other printers will not accept your PIN.
- Use the right details: email address as username, 6‑digit PIN as password.
- Reset your PIN if you have forgotten it (see below).
- New starter? Accounts are created automatically from your organisation’s Microsoft Entra directory. If you get “user not found”, your account may not have synced yet. Your IT team or the service desk can check.
- If nobody can sign in at that printer (card or PIN), the printer has probably lost its connection to the cloud. See The printer says “Printer unavailable” or shows offline.
I have forgotten my PIN or password
You can reset it yourself and a new one will be emailed to you.
At the printer
- Send a print job as normal.
- At the printer, tap the Cirros logo at the bottom right to sign out.
- Start signing in again and enter your username.
- Select Forgotten password / code.
From the Cirros Dashboard
- Open the Dashboard sign-in page.
- Enter your username and select Forgotten PIN.
If the email does not arrive within a few minutes, check your junk folder, then contact your IT team.
My card is not recognised, or it keeps asking me to add it
Re-pair the card:
- Ask the service desk or your administrator to remove the card from your account (if it is linked to an old account).
- Send a print job.
- Sign in manually with your email and PIN once. Check your correct name is shown.
- Tap your card and press OK to add it.
Which cards work with the readers?
On GovPrint printers, see GovPass and building cards. For other sites, ask your service desk which cards your readers accept.
Printer messages and errors
The printer says “An appropriate application license is not installed or has expired”
This is the Cirros app licence on HP printers. Restarting the printer will not fix it. The app needs to be reloaded remotely by Cirros. Contact the service desk with the printer’s serial number.
It usually happens because the printer has lost contact with the internet for a long period, so please also check its network connection, otherwise it may come back.
The printer says “Printer unavailable” or shows offline
These messages look similar but have different causes.
| Message | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Printer unavailable | The printer itself is not ready: out of paper, wrong paper size, or a tray or toner warning. | Press the large HP button on the Cirros menu to expand the top bar, tap the warning icons and clear the problem. A restart clears a stuck queue. |
| Offline (in the Dashboard) | The printer is asleep, switched off or cannot reach the cloud. | Check it is powered on and awake. Tap the top-right corner of the background image, then update data to test the connection. |
| Download failed | The job never uploaded from the computer. | Follow I sent a print job but nothing comes out. |
| Unable to resolve host | The printer cannot look up the Cirros servers (DNS, proxy or firewall). | Your IT team should check the printer’s DNS settings and that cirros.net and
*.cirrossl.net are reachable. |
For IT teams. Changing a printer’s IP address is fine, Cirros identifies the device itself. If a printer has been moved to a new network, check its DNS and any static IP left over from the old one.
The printer shows a blank or blue screen, or the manufacturer’s screen instead of Cirros
- Restart the printer.
- If it asks which launcher to use, choose Cirros Launcher and select Always.
- If Cirros still does not appear, the app needs redeploying. Contact the service desk with the serial number. This often follows a power cut or a firmware update.
Scanning
My scan says “sent” but the email never arrives
In most cases the email has been sent by Cirros but held by your organisation’s email security.
- Check your junk or quarantine folder.
- Ask your IT team to check mail filtering and allow messages from the scan service.
- If it still fails, note the time of the scan and the printer serial number and contact the service desk so we can check our logs.
I received a link instead of my scan, and the link does not work
Large scans are sent as a download link. Open the link promptly and only once, because it stops working shortly after it is first opened, and the scan is removed after about 72 hours. If the link has expired, scan again.
Some scans are searchable and some are not
Searchable PDF is a setting in the Cirros app. Very large or unusually oriented pages may not be made searchable. The default resolution and format (usually 200 dpi, searchable PDF) can be changed for your organisation on request.
Copying and print settings
I can only make one copy, or I get “Job aborted, print volume limit”
This is normally a volume limit set on your organisation’s account, often noticed just after moving to Cirros cloud printing. Contact the service desk and we will check and adjust the limit.
My printing is single-sided (or colour) when it should be double-sided (or mono)
Defaults are set for your organisation and can be changed on request. Note that choosing colour or single-sided in the application you print from overrides the default for that job, which is expected.
A workstation has not updated to the new client version
Updates are rolled out in stages, so not every computer updates at once. Your administrator should check in the Cirros Dashboard that:
- The workstation is in the expected release channel (Stable, Early Adopter or Beta).
- The update cycle has run. The device may not yet fall within the staged rollout percentage.
- Its Last Heartbeat is recent, which shows it is in contact with Cirros.
GovPrint organisations: see Moving GovPrint workstations to Cirros client 1.4.
I installed the client but it is not linked to our organisation
From version 1.4 there is one installer for everyone, and it is linked to your organisation by your Company Code. Reinstall with the Company Code passed as a property. Contact the service desk if you do not have it.
Prints are faint, streaky or poor quality
Print quality is a hardware matter. Please contact your managed print provider or the printer manufacturer. Their details are usually on a sticker on the front of the printer.
Known issues
Current known issues and limitations. We update this list as fixes are released.
Cirros Windows client
| Issue | Status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The Cirros client is not supported on Windows Server. | Limitation | Install on supported Windows desktop versions only. |
| A brand-new user’s very first print could occasionally be lost when Direct Submission was turned on. | Fixed in 1.3.19 | Upgrade to 1.3.19 or later. On older versions, turn Direct Submission off. |
| Computers using Windows Fast Startup rarely applied automatic client updates, so stayed on old versions. | Fixed in 1.3.19 | Upgrade to 1.3.19 or later, or do a full restart (not shut down) to let updates apply. |
| A false “waiting for printer connection” message or a stray print window after starting the computer. | Fixed in 1.3.19 | Upgrade to 1.3.19 or later. The message can be ignored on earlier versions. |
| The print window was hard to use with screen readers and Dragon. | Fixed in 1.3.19 | Upgrade to 1.3.19 or later. |
| Printing could stop silently while everything looked to be running. | Fixed in 1.3.19 | Restart the Cirros workstation service or the computer. |
| A “could not be loaded” print window kept popping up. | Fixed in 1.3.19 | Clear any jobs named CIRROS-SELFTEST from the Windows print queue. |
| Uploads got slower the longer a computer stayed on. | Fixed in 1.3.19 | Restart the computer regularly. |
| Double-clicking Print to Cloud could cause the upload to fail. | Fixed in 1.3.17 | Click once. |
| Print notifications stopped after the Windows print spooler restarted. | Fixed in 1.3.17 | Restart the Cirros notification client or the computer. |
| Duplicate Cirros printers appeared, so jobs went to a dead queue. | Fixed in 1.3.15 / 1.3.16 | Upgrade, or use Restart Print Queue from the Cirros tray icon. |
The current public version is 1.4, and it includes all of these fixes. Your IT team can check the installed version from the About window on the Cirros tray icon. GovPrint organisations: see Moving GovPrint workstations to Cirros client 1.4 before upgrading.
Dashboard
| Issue | Status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| New admin views (auto-update management, early adopter allocation, release notes, device map, volume analysis) are not visible. | By design | These appear once Cirros sets up the role permissions for your organisation. Ask the service desk. |
Printers
| Issue | Status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| HP app licence expires after long periods without internet access. | Known behaviour | Keep printers connected. Cirros reloads the app remotely. |
| Ricoh “Admin password defined incorrectly” error. | Documented fix | Contact the service desk. |
| HP printers stuck in an error state. | Documented fix | Contact the service desk. |
Release notes
What has changed in recent releases. Client updates are rolled out by your administrators through the Releases section of the Cirros Dashboard, so end users have nothing to do. Administrators can also read release notes for Cloud and Workstation Client updates there, in the Release Notes Hub.
Cirros Windows client
Version 1.4 (current public release)
Version: 1.4.0 · Available from: 01/10/2026 in the Cirros Dashboard
GovPrint organisations. Moving to 1.4 needs GPA approval first. See Moving GovPrint workstations to Cirros client 1.4.
What is new
| Area | What changed | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Single generic build | One installer serves every organisation, replacing per-customer installers. Each installation is linked to your organisation at install time using your Company Code. | New |
| Windows on ARM | The same build covers standard x64 and ARM-based Windows devices, so no separate package is needed. | New |
| Phased rollouts | Updates are managed through three release channels (Stable, Early Adopter and Beta), with a staged auto-update percentage and schedule. | New |
| Release Notes Hub | Release notes for cloud and workstation client updates are in one place in the Dashboard. | New |
Check your Dashboard access
If you cannot see Releases in the left-hand menu of the Dashboard, your account needs the release management role. Staff who only need to track progress should be given a read-only role.
Updating workstations from the Dashboard
- Sign in to the Cirros Dashboard.
- Go to Releases, then Release Update, and open the Workstation Client Update tab. Select version 1.4 to read its release notes.
- Go to Workstations and check which devices are in your test group. To add a device to the Beta or Early Adopter group, open it and turn on Is Beta or Is Early Adopter in the Edit panel.
- Go to Releases, then Manage Windows Releases.
- Set 1.4 as the Beta Release first, so it reaches your test devices only.
- Set the Auto Update Percentage, Auto Update Interval and Auto Update Day to match the rollout schedule agreed through change control.
- Click Submit.
- Once Beta is running without issue, set 1.4 as the Early Adopter Release, then as the Stable Release for the rest of your estate, following the agreed schedule.
- Track progress with the version distribution chart and the Workstations pending stable version count on the Manage Windows Releases screen. You can also sort the Workstations view by Version, or use Export to Excel.
New installations
For new devices, or where you deploy through SCCM, Intune or Group Policy, install the generic MSI with your Company Code passed as a property. Installations without a Company Code will not link to your organisation. Contact the service desk for the installer and your Company Code.
Workstation requirements
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Operating system | 64-bit Windows 10 21H2 or later, or Windows 11 |
| Runtimes | .NET Framework 4.8.1 and the Visual C++ 2015 to 2022 x64 Redistributable |
| Ports | TCP 10443 and 10444 must be free on the device |
| Cirros Printer Support App (optional) | Windows 11 22H2 or later |
The full specification is in the Cirros Server-Less Windows Client Deployment and Release Management Guide, available on request.
Technical questions: servicedesk@cirros.net.
Version 1.3.19
Two improvements customers asked for, plus reliability fixes. This release also delivered the fixes trialled in release candidate 1.3.18.
| Area | What changed | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | Screen readers (NVDA, JAWS) and Dragon can now identify the fields and buttons on the print window, with clearer keyboard focus. | Improved |
| Automatic updates | PCs using Windows Fast Startup now install client updates reliably, so machines stay up to date. | Improved |
| First-print reliability | A rare case where a brand-new user’s very first print could be lost is now handled. Cirros waits for sign-in to finish, and if anything is still pending the job is held so it can be reprinted rather than lost. | Fixed |
| Fewer false printer errors | After a restart, the background print self-test no longer wrongly reports a printer problem or shows a stray print window. | Fixed |
| Upgrades | The computer keeps its Cirros registration after an upgrade or restore, instead of sometimes needing to be set up again. | Fixed |
| Printing | Cirros now spots when its local print service has stopped responding and restarts it, so printing no longer stops silently. | Fixed |
| Pop-ups | No more repeated “could not be loaded” print windows caused by stuck background test jobs. | Fixed |
| Speed | Uploads no longer slow down on computers that stay on for long periods. | Improved |
Action: none. How you print, scan and release jobs is unchanged.
Version 1.3.17
A large reliability and security release.
| Area | What changed | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Print queue | The Cirros printer repairs itself more reliably: it restarts the Windows print spooler when needed, repairs a damaged printer driver, clears “already exists” ghost printers, and recreates the queue after each update. | Improved |
| Printing | Fixed the local print service hanging, double-clicking Print to Cloud causing failed uploads, and duplicate print windows for a single job. | Fixed |
| Large documents | The print window no longer freezes for tens of seconds when printing large PDFs. | Fixed |
| Notifications | Print notifications now resume automatically after the Windows print spooler restarts. | Fixed |
| Self-recovery | The Cirros service restarts itself if it stops responding, and the cloud storage certificate renews itself if it becomes damaged. | Improved |
| Scanning and secure files | Printing, routing and scan-to-cloud (OneDrive, Google Drive) work reliably across older and newer secure file formats. | Fixed |
| Logging | Cirros logs are now written for all users, which helps support diagnose problems. | Fixed |
| Security | Print-job delete requests are now authenticated. | Improved |
Versions 1.3.15 and 1.3.16
| Area | What changed | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Each computer now uses its own unique certificate password, stored encrypted, and third-party components were updated. | Improved |
| Print queue | Duplicate Cirros printers are detected and cleaned up automatically. Restart Print Queue in the tray menu now asks for confirmation and only reports success once the queue is back. | Improved |
| Printing | The local print service is restarted automatically if it stops. | Fixed |
| Networks | Cirros keeps working after a change of IP address or network. | Fixed |
| Print window | The pop-up no longer steals focus from other applications (including Dragon), no longer appears in the taskbar, and reliably comes to the front for each new job. | Fixed |
| Pricing | The displayed job price now updates when switching between 1-sided and 2-sided. | Fixed |
| Previews | Print previews render correctly and do not open before the document is ready. | Fixed |
Cirros Dashboard: new features
This release adds six new views, a reorganised menu and accessibility improvements. The new views are already in place but stay hidden until Cirros sets up role permissions for your organisation, so ask the service desk if you cannot see them.
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Statistics tab | One-page overview of devices, workstations, users, print, copy and scan activity, mono and colour split, partner and roaming use, and environmental savings (trees, CO₂, energy). |
| Device location map | Shows every registered printer on a map, with a filter by manufacturer and a satellite view. |
| Workstation monitoring | Lists each workstation with name, serial and IP address, and lets administrators edit its settings, including Beta, Early Adopter, Public and Corporate options and the print rule set. |
| Volume analysis and adoption | Reports on device usage, partner usage and cross-charges, roaming users, user transactions and onboarding, with date filters and Export to Excel. |
| Auto-update management | Set the target client version for the Stable, Early Adopter and Beta tracks, and control rollout percentage, interval and scheduled day. |
| Release notes hub | All release notes for Cloud, Workstation Client and Embedded App updates in one place. |
| Menu restructure | Analysis, Releases and Device Location are grouped more logically in the sidebar. |
| Sign-in accessibility | Sign-in screens now meet WCAG 2.1 AA, with better colour contrast. No action needed. |
Before the new views are enabled, administrators should: check the Statistics tab to record a baseline, review the Manage Windows Releases settings, confirm which workstations are on the Beta and Early Adopter tracks, and get familiar with the new menu before telling users.
Before you contact us
Having these ready lets us help much faster:
- Your email address (the one you sign in with)
- The printer serial number (on a sticker, or in the printer’s settings)
- The exact error message, or a photo of the screen
- The time it happened
- Whether it affects just you or everyone at the site
- For computer problems, the Cirros client version
Service desk: servicedesk@cirros.net