Snapmaker Orca 2.3.6 Windows installer hides Snapmaker U1 / all Snapmaker printers

[Brennansap]

Summary

Snapmaker Orca 2.3.6 (Windows installer, released 2026-08-31) leaves no Snapmaker printers in the printer list, including Snapmaker U1. This is the same failure as Windows 2.3.4 (forum thread). 2.3.6 did not fix it.

U1 is still listed in the vendor index (system/Snapmaker.json), but the actual machine profile files are missing from %AppData%\Roaming\Snapmaker_Orca\system\Snapmaker\. The first-run wizard is already marked finished, so the user cannot pick U1 again. Reinstalling 2.3.6 / “latest” over that config does not restore the printers.

Rolling back to 2.3.1 with a clean AppData folder restores U1.

This is Snapmaker Orca (Snapmaker/OrcaSlicer), not vanilla SoftFever Orca Slicer.

Environment

• Product: Snapmaker Orca (Windows)
• Printer: Snapmaker U1 (0.2 / 0.4 / 0.6 / 0.8 nozzles)
• OS: Windows 11
• Broken version: 2.3.6 Windows installer (Snapmaker_Orca_Windows_Installer_V2.3.6.exe, GitHub release V2.3.6)
• Last known good for this machine: 2.3.1 Windows installer (Snapmaker_Orca_Windows_Installer_V2.3.1.exe)
• Region: North America
• Language: en_US

Expected

On a U1 owner’s Windows install, Snapmaker Orca should:

1. Keep Snapmaker as a vendor in “Select/Remove Printers”
2. Keep Snapmaker U1 (and other Snapmaker models) selectable
3. Default U1 on first launch (as documented)

2.3.6 release notes even add U1-specific features (0.10mm Color Mixing @Snapmaker U1 (0.4 nozzle), PLA Full Spectrum for 0.2 / 0.6 nozzles), so U1 is still a supported printer.

Actual

After installing 2.3.6:

• Printer dropdown / Select-Remove Printers: no Snapmaker vendor, no U1
• Current machine falls back to Default Printer
• Reinstalling 2.3.6 (or the current “latest”) on top of the leftover %AppData%\Roaming\Snapmaker_Orca folder does not bring the printers back
• Uninstalling the program without deleting that AppData folder is not enough

Evidence from leftover 2.3.6 user config

Preserved as %AppData%\Roaming\Snapmaker_Orca after the 2.3.6 run (header written as Snapmaker Orca 2.3.6).

1. Wizard skipped, machine is Default Printer, but models still claim U1

Snapmaker_Orca.conf:

"firstguide": { "finish": true },
"header": "Snapmaker Orca 2.3.6",
"models": [
  {
    "model": "Snapmaker U1",
    "nozzle_diameter": "0.2;0.4;0.6;0.8",
    "vendor": "Snapmaker"
  }
],
"presets": {
  "machine": "Default Printer"
}

sync_system_preset was true.

So the app thinks U1 is selected, but the live preset is Default Printer. Because firstguide.finish is already true, a later launch does not re-show the printer picker.

2. Vendor index lists U1, but the machine files are gone

system\Snapmaker.json still describes Snapmaker printers, including:

{
  "name": "Snapmaker U1",
  "sub_path": "machine/Snapmaker U1.json"
}

plus Artisan, J1, A350 Dual, A250 Dual, etc.

On disk, system\Snapmaker\ after 2.3.6 contained only:

system\Snapmaker\
  filament\     (empty)

There was no machine\ directory and no process\ directory. The files Snapmaker.json points at (machine/Snapmaker U1.json, …) did not exist.

Filament library data under system\OrcaFilamentLibrary\filament\ was populated (Bambu, Polymaker, SUNLU, …). Only the Snapmaker machine (and process) presets were missing.

3. Printers cache is Bambu Lab models, not Snapmaker

%AppData%\Roaming\Snapmaker_Orca\printers\ contained:

• BL-P001.json, BL-P002.json
• C11.json, C12.json, C13.json
• N1.json, N2S.json (N2S display_name is “Bambu Lab A1”)
• O1D.json

No Snapmaker U1 (or other Snapmaker) printer JSON in that cache. printers\version.txt was 01.10.00.01.

Comparison: 2.3.1 after a clean AppData folder

Workaround used:

1. Uninstall 2.3.6
2. Rename leftover %AppData%\Roaming\Snapmaker_Orca out of the way
3. Install 2.3.1 (full installer; see note below)
4. First launch: leave Snapmaker U1 checked
5. Do not take the in-app update to 2.3.6

Result:

• Snapmaker_Orca.conf header is Snapmaker Orca 2.3.1

• presets.machine is Snapmaker U1 (0.2 nozzle) (U1 visible and selected)

• system\Snapmaker\ now has filament, machine, and process

• The 2.3.1 install still bundles U1 under:

  C:\Program Files\Snapmaker_Orca\resources\profiles\Snapmaker\machine\

  (Snapmaker U1.json plus 0.2 / 0.4 / 0.6 / 0.8 nozzle variants)

Repro

1. On Windows 11, start from a working Snapmaker Orca install that already has U1 (2.3.1 in this case), or from leftover %AppData%\Roaming\Snapmaker_Orca from a previous 2.3.x run.
2. Install 2.3.6 Windows installer (from snapmaker.com or GitHub V2.3.6).
3. Open Snapmaker Orca.
4. Open the printer list / Select-Remove Printers.

Result: Snapmaker vendor and U1 are gone. Current machine is Default Printer.

5. Uninstall 2.3.6, reinstall 2.3.6 without deleting %AppData%\Roaming\Snapmaker_Orca.

Result: still no Snapmaker printers.

6. Rename/delete %AppData%\Roaming\Snapmaker_Orca, install 2.3.1, pick U1 on first launch.

Result: U1 returns.

Workaround

Until this is fixed:

• Stay on 2.3.1
• Skip the in-app “new version” prompt (Cancel / Later)
• Do not install 2.3.4 / 2.3.5 / 2.3.6 Windows installers
• If already broken: uninstall, move %AppData%\Roaming\Snapmaker_Orca aside, install 2.3.1, pick U1 on first launch

Note: a truncated 2.3.1 download fails NSIS with “Installer integrity check has failed.” The GitHub asset is 107,288,872 bytes (~102.3 MB). A partial download (~65 MB in this case) is not a valid installer.

Related reports

• Forum (same symptom on 2.3.4 Windows installer): https://forum.snapmaker.com/t/windows-installer-v2-3-4-exe-printer-not-listed/42227
• Forum (U1 / Snapmaker missing from slicer): https://forum.snapmaker.com/t/lost-access-to-u1-and-snap-orca/42268
• 2.3.6 release: https://github.com/Snapmaker/OrcaSlicer/releases/tag/V2.3.6
  Release notes add U1 color-mixing / Full Spectrum features, but do not mention this printer-list regression.

Ask

1. Treat this as a regression vs 2.3.1: Windows 2.3.4 and 2.3.6 must not ship an installer that drops Snapmaker system machine presets.
2. On upgrade, if system\Snapmaker.json lists machine/Snapmaker U1.json (and other Snapmaker models), re-seed those files from the bundled resources\profiles\Snapmaker\machine\ if they are missing.
3. Do not leave firstguide.finish = true with presets.machine = "Default Printer" when U1 is the only model in models.
4. Please confirm a Windows build that keeps U1 visible on both fresh install and upgrade from 2.3.1 with existing AppData.

Happy to provide the preserved 2.3.6 AppData folder (vendor index + empty system\Snapmaker\machine) if that helps.