Frequently Asked Questions

*Applies ONLY to touch-screen Cameo machines*

Please perform the steps below to determine the firmware version of your Silhouette Cameo cutting machine:

1. Plug in and power on the Silhouette Cameo cutting machine
2. Select the Gear icon in the upper right of the LCD screen (on the cutting machine)
3. Select the About option

If your machine has been loaded with firmware version 1.40/1.60 or above, you do not require a firmware update to proceed to the next step. If your machine is loaded with firmware version 1.0, please proceed to http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/firmware to download and install a firmware update. Once a firmware update has been performed, please proceed to the next step.

*Applies ONLY to touch-screen Cameo OR Curio machines*

Please perform the steps below to determine the installed version of the Silhouette Studio software:

1. Open the Silhouette Studio® software
2. Select the Help menu
3. Select the About Silhouette Studio option
4. Note the numbers (x.x.xxx) listed after Release

If you are using a release lower than 3.2 for a touch-screen Cameo or 3.4 for Curio, please proceed to http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/software/silhouette-studio to update your software. After downloading and installing the software, please review the steps above to confirm proper installation. Once it has been confirmed that you are using a compatible version of the Silhouette Studio® software, please proceed to the Testing Software Connection section.

Please do the following to thoroughly test the connection between your Silhouette cutting machine and the Silhouette Studio® software:

1. Close the Silhouette Studio® software
2. Power off the Silhouette cutting machine
3. Disconnect the USB cable from both the Silhouette cutting machine and the computer
4. Disconnect the power cable from the Silhouette cutting machine
5. Re-open the Silhouette Studio® software
6. Select the Send button
   • Select Send to Silhouette for older versions
7. Firmly plug in and power on the Silhouette cutting machine
8. Firmly connect the USB cable directly to the machine AND directly to the computer (bypassing any USB hubs)
   ***NOTE: All connections should be made using Silhouette cables. Other cables are not guaranteed to be compatible with the Silhouette cutting machines***

If a proper connection is achieved, the Send to Silhouette screen should shortly show a READY status. If the status DOES NOT shift to READY, please proceed to Clearing Printer Queue.

Occasionally, interferring connections can be caused by pending jobs in your printer queue. To clear these:

1. Press the Windows Key and the R key at the same time
2. Type control printers into the Open box
3. Press the Enter key
4. Right-Click on one of your installed printers
5. Click See what's printing
6. If there are jobs in this queue, click each job and select Cancel Print
7. Repeat for each installed printer

If there are no jobs in queue, or if they have all been cleared, and connection cannot be established, please proceed to Testing Hardware Connection.

The previous step, Testing Software Connection, directed you to properly connect the Silhouette cutting machine to the computer. Please ensure that your Silhouette cutting machine is fully connected and powered on. Please do the following to confirm a basic hardware connection between your Silhouette cutting machine and the computer:

1. Press the Windows Key and the R key at the same time
2. Type control printers into the Open box
3. Press the Enter key

If your cutting machine has established a basic hardware connection with the computer, you will see one of the entries listed below:

1. Unknown Device (listed in the Unspecified section)
2. USB Printing Support (listed in the Unspecified section)
3. Silhouette Cameo/Portrait/Curio (listed in the Printers section)

If it displays as 1, please proceed to Updating the USB Printing Support Driver section

If it displays as either 2 or 3, please proceed to Interfering Connections section

If none of the entries above are listed, please proceed to the Hardware Failure section

Please do the following to update the USB Printing Support Driver. This driver allows for proper communication between the Silhouette Cutting machine and the computer.

Within the same window accessed in the Testing Basic Hardware Connection step:

1. Right-click on the “Unknown/Unspecified Device”
2. Select Properties
3. Select the Hardware tab
4. Select the Properties button
5. As a new window pops up, on the General tab, select the Change Settings button
6. As another new window pops up, select the Driver tab
7. Select Update Driver
8. Select Update Driver Automatically

After this update process has been completed, please restart your computer. After restart, please proceed to open the Silhouette Studio® software, and attempt connecting to your cutting machine. If you are unable to connect, please proceed to the Interfering Connections step.

Please proceed to do the following to reset the software’s detected connections:

1. Close the Silhouette Studio® software
2. Press [Windows]+R on keyboard simultaneously
   • [Windows] key is between [Ctrl] and [Alt]
3. Type in %appdata%
4. Press Enter
5. Delete the folder com.aspexsoftware.silhouette_studio
6. Empty the Recycle Bin
7. Perform the steps found in the Testing Software Connection section, starting at step 2

If the steps above do not resolve the issue, please proceed to the steps directly below:

1. Press [Windows]+R on keyboard simultaneously
   • [Windows] key is between [Ctrl] and [Alt]
2. Type control panel in Run window
3. Select Uninstall a program
   • May be listed as Programs and Features
4. Double-click and uninstall Windows Driver Package - Silhouette USB Cutter
5. Re-start computer
6. Perform the steps found in the Testing Software Connection section, starting at step 2

If Testing Software Connection steps are unsuccessful in allowing the device to connect, please proceed to perform following steps:

1. Press [Windows]+R on keyboard simultaneously
   • [Windows] key is between [Ctrl] and [Alt]
2. Type control printers into the Open box
3. Press the Enter key

This will take you to the Devices and Printers dialogue. We will be exploring the following steps with the printers listed in this dialogue:

1. Printer Queue
   1. Double-click on a printer displayed under "Printers"
      • May need to double-click the title to display the printers
   2. A small window will pop up
   3. Make sure there are no jobs in queue in that window
      • Will show a document under "Document Name" and may have a status as "Pending" or "Error"
   4. If there are jobs in queue, select "Printer" at the top left and click on "Cancel All Documents"
   5. After you have checked and cleared the queue, please close the small window
   6. Repeat steps 1-5 for each printer under "Printers"
2. Unused/Old Printers
   1. Right click on the device
   2. Select Remove Device from the context menu
   3. Select OK
   4. Watch the Devices and Printers dialogue to ensure that the device does not duplicate after the port has been changed. If the device duplicates, please note the device
3. Current Printers
   • We will now be investigating the port assignment associated with each of your current devices. Certain port assignments will interfere with the proper connection of the Silhouette cutting machine. Be sure to repeat these steps with each device listed.
   1. Right click on the device
   2. Select the Printer Properties option (not simply Properties)
   3. Select the Ports tab
   4. If the printer is assigned to a USB## or WSD port (checked box is next to USB### or WSD):
      1. Please note the assignment currently in place
      2. Scroll through the list of ports and select the FILE option
         • If you cannot select the FILE option:
           1. Select the General tab
           2. Select the Change Properties button
           3. Allow changes to be made
      3. Select the Apply option
      4. Select the OK option
      5. Watch the Devices and Printers dialogue to ensure that the device does not duplicate after the port has been changed. If the device duplicates, please note the device
   5. If the printer is assigned to a port other than USB### or WSD Port please proceed to examine each of the remaining printers listed in the Devices and Printers dialogue
4. Proceed to restart the computer
5. Navigate to the Devices and Printers dialogue as previously directed
6. Confirm that Unused/Old Printers that were previously removed have not reappeared
7. Confirm that the port assignment of each Current Printer has not reverted to a USB### or WSD setting

If ANY printer has resisted removal OR any printer persists in its assignment to a USB### or WSD port, please proceed to the Driver Reassignment section

If ALL printers have been confirmed as removed or assigned to a port OTHER than USB### or WSD, please reattempt the steps found in Testing Software Connection. If a Software Connection is not established, please proceed to the Hardware Failure section

It is likely that any noted printer is causing a USB conflict with the Silhouette cutting machine.

To alleviate this conflict with any direct cable (USB) connected printer, please power off the Silhouette cutting machine, power on the printer, then power on the Silhouette cutting machine

To alleviate this conflict with any WiFi connected printer, we would advise that you contact your printer manufacturer and request assistance in the reassignment of the port associated with any noted printers, to avoid any associated USB conflicts. We can recommend that any WiFi connected printer be assigned to a Static IP Address. This typically resolves any USB conflicts. 

If a Hardware Connection has previously been established, then a hardware failure is unlikely. If a Basic Hardware Connection has been established it is unlikely that the replacement of USB cable or machine will resolve the present concern. If a Basic Hardware Connection has been established, we would advise reviewing, again, the information found in the Firmware/Software Version and Interfering Connections sections.

If a Hardware Connection has not been established, there are 3 potential points of conflicts:

1. USB Port Failure
2. USB Cable Failure
3. Machine Failure

To confirm that the issue is not due to (1) USB Port Failure, please perform the Testing Hardware Connection steps utilizing USB ports on the opposite side (front/back, right/left) of the connected computer.

To confirm that the issue is not due to (2) USB Cable Failure, please perform the Testing Hardware Connection steps utilizing a similar, tested, USB Cable.

If both steps above have been performed, and a Hardware Connection is still not established, it can be presumed that the Silhouette cutting machine has experienced a (3) Machine Failure. To confirm machine failure, and to discuss further options, please email customer support at support@silhouetteamerica.com.