Xerox Error 016-781 — What It Means & How to Fix It
By Ryan Green · Updated August 2026 · Independent guide · PrinterCare USA LLC (not affiliated with any printer manufacturer)
Xerox error 016-781 stops your scan-to-email feature cold, which means your team cannot digitize and send documents where they need to go. This error specifically indicates a network or SMTP authentication failure, and it typically appears when you try to use the scanning-to-email function on your multifunction device.
The good news is that most 016-781 errors come from simple configuration issues rather than hardware problems. In our experience, incorrect email passwords, firewall blocks, and outdated network settings account for about eighty-five percent of these failures.
How to fix it — step by step
- Verify Network Connectivity. Press the Settings or Tools button on your Xerox printer's main touchscreen and navigate to Network Status or Network Settings. Look for your wireless or wired connection status and confirm it shows Connected with a valid IP address. If the status shows Disconnected, restart your printer and your network router, then wait two minutes for the connection to re-establish.
- Test Email Settings from the Control Panel. On the printer touchscreen, go to Settings or Administration, then find Email Setup or SMTP Configuration. Verify that your email server address is correct and that the port number matches your email provider's requirements (usually port twenty-five, five hundred eighty-seven, or four hundred sixty-five). Request the exact SMTP server address and port from your IT administrator or email provider if you are uncertain.
- Update Your Email Password. In the Email Setup menu, delete the current password entry and re-enter your email account password character by character to ensure accuracy. Many 016-781 errors stem from expired or mistyped passwords that prevent authentication. If your email provider requires an application-specific password instead of your regular password, use that instead.
- Disable Firewall Temporarily to Isolate the Problem. Temporarily disable your network firewall or router security settings on your Windows eleven or macOS device to determine whether a firewall rule is blocking the printer's connection to your email server. If the printer successfully sends a test email after disabling the firewall, you will need to add your printer's IP address and the required ports to your firewall's whitelist. Contact your network administrator to make this change permanently.
- Verify SMTP Authentication and TLS Settings. Return to the Email Setup menu and confirm that SMTP Authentication is enabled if your email provider requires it. Check whether your email provider requires TLS encryption or requires plain text authentication, and adjust the setting accordingly. Many modern email services like Office three hundred sixty-five and Gmail now require TLS version one point two or higher.
- Send a Test Email from the Printer. In the Email Setup menu, look for a Test Email, Send Test, or Verify Email option and trigger it. Watch for a confirmation message on the printer screen and check your email inbox to see whether the test message arrived. If the test email fails, note the exact error code and check your email server logs or your IT administrator's records for any rejection messages.
- Reset Network Configuration and Reconfigure. If the previous steps did not resolve the issue, navigate to Settings or Administration and select Reset Network or Restore Default Settings. After the reset completes, manually reconfigure your network connection and email settings from scratch using your IT administrator's specifications. This step often clears corrupted configuration files that cause persistent 016-781 errors.
- Contact Support or Arrange Professional Service. If error 016-781 persists after completing all of the above steps, your printer may have a hardware-level network adapter issue that requires professional diagnosis. A certified Xerox repair technician can run diagnostic tests and provide remote or on-site repair starting at forty-nine dollars for remote troubleshooting or more for hardware replacement and service calls.
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Frequently asked questions
Does error 016-781 mean my printer is broken?
No, error 016-781 almost always indicates a configuration or network problem, not hardware failure. Your printer's network card and email functionality are working properly once you correct the network or SMTP settings. Hardware failure would show different diagnostic codes during your printer's startup sequence.
Can I scan to email using USB instead of my network?
Scan-to-email functionality requires a network connection because your printer must connect directly to your email server, regardless of whether your printer is connected to a Windows or macOS computer via USB. Solving the network or SMTP problem is the only way to restore this feature.
Why does my password work on my computer but not on the printer?
Your email provider may require an application-specific password for devices like printers, which is different from your regular login password. Additionally, many email services use different authentication protocols on mobile or printing devices, so contact your email provider's support team to request the password format your printer needs.
Should I perform a factory reset if error 016-781 keeps coming back?
A factory reset should be your last resort because it erases all of your stored scan-to-email addresses and other custom settings. Before resetting, work with your IT administrator to verify that your firewall is not blocking the required ports and that your SMTP server address is correct for your specific email service.