The part that I think people are missing is that it's not only important to keep spares around, but there appears to be a method to getting rid of that error. I always keep spares around, so I threw in the new cartridges all at once but the error still kept coming up. What needs to be done is to actually remove a cartridge and let the printer get past the "ink system failure". It *should* realize that a cartridge is missing and alert you to that. I put the new one back in and pulled out one of the others. It again showed the "ink system failure" but skipped past to the alert that a cartridge was missing. When I put the replacement for THAT cartridge back in, the printer realized that both of the replacements were 3rd party, gave me the blah blah blah warning about non-supported cartridges, but eventually it went back to the menu screen and it now shows that all ink levels are full, which is where it should be. So the key to this working appears to be methodically removing and thereby resetting each cartridge individually until the "ink system failure" message disappears.
This really is the key! I wound up replacing the three color cartridges one at a time, exactly as described by Widescreen John, always removing the next cartridge after replacing one. I had very low expectations - but IT WORKED!!! For the moment at least, you have saved me over $400 for the purchase of a new printer. You're my hero! Thank you!!!😂😂😂
The same thing was happened to me but a week later my printer just shat itself. Refuses to show anything other than printer failure now and I just decided to buy a new printer
Hello WidescreenJohn! I'm dropping my issue here as well, lest you get back to me sooner... I've posted to the youtube producer of course but... ya never know. Here's my note: Gee, I hope this thread is still "alive" and responsive... I see "4 yrs ago." I have the 8600 Officejet Pro and it's been a workhorse! Til tonight. I've replaced the OEM HP cartridges with, by chance the exact brand you have here in your video. It didn't solve anything. I replaced them one at a time, I'd turn the printer off after installing each one, give it a minute, flip it back on... same error message. I did that w/ each of the 4 cartirdges. Now what? Interestingly, prior to giving me the same error message, it did scold me for using off-brand/generic cartridges... afterwhich it defaulted to the error message. "Widescreen John" makes an interesting point but I'm not sure I'm keeping up w/ his sequences... or something. The printer warns against powering off/on without a cartridge installed and so removing them while the unit is on... does nothing, no messages, nothing. Appreciated your opinion! Thanks.
I've had my 8600 for many years, changed out many many ink cartridges but I would never have guessed that the printer would report a general failure / Ink System Failure due to a bad ink cartridge. However, mine did exactly that and changing out a low ink cartridge cleared the problem. Thanks for the posting. It's nothing HP includes with any of their diagnostic information.
just found this on my 8710. I had a bad yellow cartidge and the machine reported that this printer doesn't support continuous ink systems. Tried a lot of stuff but finally found the bad cartridge after looking at a lot of screens in maintenance. One screen told me the yellow cartridge was bad. replaced it and voila! my message went away.
Was literally going to buy a new printer as my error message noted to turn off and on again and if message persists, contact HP repair. I turned it off and on to no avail. Then, I turned to Google and found this video. Thank you! It now works. Seems as though I just I needed to refill yellow ink (and it was an existing HP ink cartridge).
Same here !!! Thank you so much. I'm using genuine HP cartridges too!! I started off with replacing the lightest cartridge first and fixed it first time !!! Woo hoo !!! This was also Yellow ink...... probably just a coincidence?!
So after weeks of emailing my neighbor's pdfs, begging them to print something for me, and then finally running to Costco and buying a new printer, I decided to do a quick google search before I opened up the new box. Five minutes later I'm throwing one of my spare ink cartridges in the printer and I'm back in business. Thanks 303! Much appreciated.
I just encountered this error for the first time and I’ve had my little tank of a printer for a little over 7 years. This video is a God send. My error is fixed! I just popped in a “new” cartridge and everything is working now.
I appreciate you posting your experience and success with the printer fix. Always makes me happy that someone is able to fix the printer and keep using it, especially printers you like and got used to over years. Have a great weekend!
A couple of comments say that this doesn't tell you how to fix the general printer problem, it did for me. The general printer problem turned more specific after I pulled cartridges one at a time. With the yellow out it turned into a missing cartridge error, after replacing and clearing the non HP warnings, it alerted to an empty cyan cartridge (leaking). Replaced that, cleared the non HP warnings and a scheduled maintenance warning and boom. Back to work. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this - I had the dreaded error message and disassembled, cleaned and replaced the print head - all to no avail - I removed the ink cartridges until I received the missing cartridge warning, replaced it (yellow in my case) and voila! Panic over - 'I thank you for taking the time to post this up' .
Thank you! I put in all new HP cartridges and had the error message. I took out the new black, put in the old empty one and it sorted itself out. Much appreciated!
I spent a few hours looking at RU-vid videos on how to fix a hp8260 printer error. I tried this one first because it was simple and made sense to me. IT WORKED! THANK YOU. The thing I leaned was not to trust the ink percentage readings. One of my cartridges showed about 25% but appeared to be empty when I shook it. So I plan to keep extra cartridges on hand.
Success! The Officejet Pro 8600 was appearing to have a hard logic issue that wouldn't clear. The screen message was "printer" failure. As you recommended, I pulled all ink cartridges out and cycled through installing one at a time. It turned out to be the Cyan cartridge. It never displayed an ink level warning prior. Thanks for the video!!!!
Hallelujah!!! I was actually looking to buy a used printer like mine because my cartridges weren't used much yet. The only cartridge I hadn't changed was the black one. I replaced that and IT LIVES!!! I can't thank you enough for making this video!! I would give you a hundred likes if I could. 👍👍👍 x 100.
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed! When I pulled out the cartridge causing the error, I got a cartridge error instead of a general printer error. I replaced the cartridge and we’re good to go! Thank you so much for sharing this video!
Thank you so much - this helped me out - like I've seen below, i pulled the whole assembly out, cleaned it, etc. to no avail - once i took out the individual cartridges and reinstalled one by one, i was able to identify a completely dry cartridge - and then replacing it - bam - back in business! thanks again!
I'm glad you got it figured out. You know, you are not the first one who mentions Costco refills. I love Costco, but if I had the problem with these particular ink cartridges, they were costco refills. I bought aftermarket ink cartridges from ebay and Amazon and usually they didn't give me the problem. Thank you so much for sharing this information. Have a happy Labor day weekend!
Cannot thank you enough!! Went to hp sight and did not help. Did what you said and its fixed. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. In these times, money is precious. God bless
In my case, the 'ink supply system failure' error message was not caused by defective ink cartridges, or any software reason, but by the damper membrane of the cartridge pressurization manifold, inside my 952 printhead, having come unglued a bit, enough to prevent two of the cartridges from pressurizing properly. The fix: 1) Disassemble the printhead to remove the cartridge pressurization manifold. 2) With an X-Acto knife: trim both ends of the partially unglued acetate membrane on top of the cartridge pressurization weir ( a chambered labyrinth to regulate air pressure to the cartridges ), since the excess membrane material, on both ends, can unfortunately contribute to the membrane getting unglued whenever removing the ink pressurization manifold. Note: Do NOT peel off the membrane of the ink damper reservoirs instead, though - that's not the membrane we are talking about! 3) Peel-off the partially unglued membrane from the cartridge pressurization weir. 4) Clean the membrane with lighter fluid (best), or alcohol. Make sure not to wrinkle it in the process. 5) Apply superglue to the top of the walls of the cartridge pressurization weir ( preferably with a CA glue accelerator to minimize white fogging ), and gently reposition the acetate membrane. Wait a day. Make sure the tiny air outlet in the center, along the edge, is left unobstructed, though. 6) Reassemble the printhead.
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions. I will highlight the message so your instructions help someone who had similar problem. Have a great day!
This probably should have been the first thing I tried. My HP OfficeJet Pro 8620 suddenly died on me 10 minutes after printing a document, I made a correction and went to reprint and it came up with the Ink system error. I couldn't get it to clear. I took the printhead assembly out and cleaned it (as shown by another person's video) and still no joy. I went to the HP website and found a lot of people with similar errors and figured it was an HP obsolescence thing. For the past week or so I went shopping at several stores and did my internet searches to find a replacement. I was too tired last night to place the order so I put it off until today. This morning as I was looking for the website to purchase the new printer I saw your video and the "trick" to actually take out the ink cartridges one at a time to see if one of them was sending the error code. Amazingly enough, the recycled Cyan cartridge did the trick. I went to Best buy and bought a new Cartridge and everything works great again. Thank's so much.
It does if that is your printer's issue. Just a lot of times it's as simple as a bad cartridge or bad printhead that caused the error. I'm sorry it was a waste if your time. Have a great evening.
Great video. HP‘s trouble shooter suggested the printhead at a cost exceeding the original purchase price of the printer when new - and to bring it for repair/service in case this was not the solution (warranty is expired). After watching this video I inspected the aftermarket ink cartridges and indeed there was one that the printer all of sudden didn’t seem to like/properly recognize anymore. Swapped it out and all is fine. One printer saved from scrapping just after warranty expired. Thanks a million 👍
It was worth a try. . My OfficeJet Pro 8710 was working fine when I connected it to the computer with a cable. I tried to get the wireless printing to work. I downloaded this printer doctor problem checker from Hewlett Packard. The programs said, "I can't help you on this one, mate." . Then the program said wireless printing was working. Then there was a bunch of printer supply errors. And the snarky printer would not even tell me which cartridge it thought was low. Then an error on my computer said it's the cyan, magenta, fuscia, eggplant cartridge. . I shook the cyan cartridge and I can hear ink sloshing around. . Tonight I'll have a go and cleaning the cartridges and the print head. If that doesn't work, I found a pack of generic cartridges on Ebay. . I got this printer for free at the recycling center. I only paid for a 4 pack of generic cartridges, and it worked fine for 5 months, until I tried to get the wireless printing to work. One thing is certain, I have learned the lesson that Hewlett Packard printers are more trouble than they are worth. Next time I need a printer, I will read reviews and go with a reliable brand that is not Hewlett Packard. . Thank you for the video, 303! Cheers and a Happy 4th of July to you, your family, and all your mates! :)
Thanks for the tips. We use cheap ink and it does cause various issues. My black had leaked all over the inside but prior my cyan was saying low I cleaned everything and replaced all the cartridges and would get either print head not installed or cannot move as well as ink system failure. Your advice was good. Thanks for making the video. I still am having issues. Going to let the PH dry out for a while. I hate the ink scam the manufacturers use to rip us off. Built to fail or extort.
After taking apart the print head cleaning all the contacts, reserting all the springs still same issue. If I remove.the print head it says only no ink cartridges are missing but no printhead missing even though its not in there. I guess it's time for a new printer. Either way good video thanks again.
I was getting this error for the cyan cartridge. Took out the black ink, closed the door, and put it back in. Error message gone. Dumb machines. Thanks for your help
A semi-full reset worked for me. I put one old cartridge back in that was empty, then I did a semi-full reset from the support mode selection. Then I put the 3rd party cartridge back in and printed a test page.
thanks for the video. I have a 7525 and used your suggestions. I have removed every cartridge separately and then all of them. I am still getting the error message. Curious is there anything else I can try?
Useful advice bit unfortunately doesn’t fix my error. I swapped empty 950XL black with brand new HP cartridge (have couple new ones) and error is still there no matter which new one I use. HOWEVER if I put empty cartridge back in , the error is gone! I looked and empty one has written on it CN045A. But all new ones have CN045AN. Wonder what is difference and maybe that is an issue. They do look identical all 950XL. Than I followed below advice, put black in but pulled first left one out and I never passed error message to tell me the cartridge is missing. Repeated with others too and error is always there and gone ONLY if I take black cartridge or I put that empty one back in. Note ALL cartridges are genuine HP. Any advice?
So, a printer with a computer in it more powerful than the ones used to put men on the moon cannot differentiate between an actual problem, and the completely predictable scenario of low ink? Great piece of engineering, HP.
Thanks! My black cartridge had 15-20% left -- didn't think that would cause this error, but apparently it did. This only happens with non-HP cartridges -- seems very suspicious, HP 🤨.
it work for mine, thank you very much . i was about to trough my printer away, you save me, than you. my problem was very simple and stupid i was out ink on the color.... but it never let me now i was out it show the error message.
Thanks, it's a great trouble shooting technique. I took each cartridge out one at a time closed the door and found the one that was out of ink. If that doesn't work there are other videos that show you how to take it apart and clean it but try this first! Thanks.
Thanks..my wife almost ordered a new printer.. I just did what you explained and took each cartridge out one at a time. It was the blue refill cartridge giving me the error. All fixed. Thanks for saving me some money!!
thank you for this, my bf took the head out to clean it and this fixed the problem after he put it back in, you saved him from being in lots of trouble lol
I don't get the general flack this video gets. I get the title may disappoint people who's Ink System is actually broken, but for me, this fixed the issue. And I am much more annoyed by HP, who basically only manage to tell you on their support page to "Clean the carriage, Restart, and if that didn't do it, well, fuck you, buy a new HP printer here!". Also, blocking the entire system because of a faulty cartridge, even denying access to the scanner, without the slightest hint as to how to regain access, is just a dick move on HPs part. So, thanks a lot, mate. You saved the day! :)
Worked ohmygosh! Was ready to have printer serviced and/or buy printerhead (that was the next step on the troubleshooting guide). Had generic cartridges and bought HP ones, changed and, fixed...thanks!
I have this same print In my work. And I bought a new cartridges and it said the same Error. One or more cartridges are missing or damaged. Until cartridges are replaced make sure the printer is turned on to avoid damage to the printer. What do you suggest me me what to do. I need paper for my work. And is not printer because for the Error. Please a need help
Does it tell which cartridge to replace? Just get rid of it or try to return. It seems like a faulty cartridge that you installed. Make sure it is correct cartridge for your printer.
@Scott Kendall If it triggers a "problem with ink" or if the "ink system failure" message pops up right after installing a cartridge, the cartridge is defective.
I have hp 8620 and I just changed new original magenta and yellow but after that it showing the same error in the video. I follow your instructions but it doesn't work. I tried also removed the cyan cartridge and notice that the level of the new magenta and yellow are empty, but the black is full and then I try to remove yellow and put cyan then it shows cyan is also full. Im suspecting/confused with magenta and yellow because it's new but why showing empty? Pls help.
Do you happen to know if there is a way to clean the printer head if the system isn't prompting for that? I'm getting the printer error you mentioned and will try the option below but hope there is a way to clean the ink system because, as you mentioned, the system isn't getting ink. That is either low/no ink in one of the cartridges or there is a problem on the end that is receiving the ink.
Hi. I apologize for late response. You can manually clean printhead by placing the printhead in a cleaning solution, about quarter of on inch or so, just the bottom of the printhead, don't soak all of it. Let it sit for like an hour. I use windex or LA's totally awesome cleaner sold at dollar stores. You can also do a clean printhead cycle by going to your printer control panel, go to tools, select "Clean printhead" and run that. I hope it works for you, have a great weekend!
This usually happens after replacing an empty ink cartridge with a cartridge that was reused and defective. The printer will usually show a message that says "...cartridegs that have been used previously." on some models. Simply replace the defective cartridge and it should work. Good Luck!
I have that same issue with my HP 6520. Honestly, I don't see a difference between the reg cartridges and the XL. I have asked if other ppl by chance had experienced another brand of printer, bcuz HP seems to drink ink. It says we're suppose to get an estimated # of pages & I know I never come close to that. I have only purchased GENUINE HP cartridges brand new at Best Buy. I've not used cartridges from another retailer, until recently but I still bought genuine HP ones. I guess I will see how this goes. Some ppl didn't get that your explanation was an attempt at fixing the error code. It's trial n error with technology these days, these things are touchy.
This happened on my HP 8625. After watching another YT video, I discovered my black and cyan cartridges were depleted, though the message did not explicitly say so. I got this bs message like in this video. I replaced the two cartridges with HP cartridges this time (had off brand) and it worked. Now it’s happening again. But, I can tell the yellow Amdahl magenta/red cartridges are lighter, so I’m going to try to replace them. Once I do get a new printer, I’m going with a tank model, which prints even if a color is out of ink. Less problematic and ink is much cheaper!
Thank you for your video! I thought I was going to have to pay someone to fix this issue so I really appreciate you taking the time to post this. According to many comments below you have helped out a bunch of us!
I'm late, but this is actually intentional. HP programs the chips in the cartridges to give you this "error" so you go through the whole troubleshooting process of fixing it. Using the online guides, or talking to a representative leads you to only one fix. Replace the ink cartridge. There is no error at all but an intentional one caused by the programming of the cartridge, so after you have printed so many pages you have to replace the cartdride. The reason there is no actual error code is because there is no actual error. That is why it is called a "general error". There is no such thing. You can stop this by going to settings>prefetences>cartridge chip information>ok but bear in mind, if the error has already happened you must replace the cartridge, as you cannot disable the chip without the printer interface, and the error message disables the printer interface.
Gee, I hope this thread is still "alive" and responsive... I see "4 yrs ago." I have the 8600 Officejet Pro and it's been a workhorse! Til tonight. I've replaced the OEM HP cartridges with, by chance the exact brand you have here in your video. It didn't solve anything. I replaced them one at a time, I'd turn the printer off after installing each one, give it a minute, flip it back on... same error message. I did that w/ each of the 4 cartirdges. Now what? Interestingly, prior to giving me the same error message, it did scold me for using off-brand/generic cartridges... afterwhich it defaulted to the error message. "Widescreen John" makes an interesting point but I'm not sure I'm keeping up w/ his sequences... or something. The printer warns against powering off/on without a cartridge installed and so removing them while the unit is on... does nothing, no messages, nothing. Appreciated your opinion! Thanks.
I'm sorry, I am not seeing it: WHAT IS THE SOLUTION you're giving? Just replacing when the cart is low? Situation: I foolishly updated my printer firmware and now BOTH Windows 10 and the HP 8610 are harrassing me about my non HP ink carts. I do not see your solution in this video. What am I missing?
If it gives you the non hp ink error message, you should be able to bypass the message by clicking "OK". This video is about a bit of a different error.
Before you buy ink, remove all cartridges, and turn printer off and then back on. If error goes away, it is ink. I hope it works out for you and you can have your printer working again. Have a great New Year!!!
did not work for me - one of my cartridges is a costco one - for October 2020. Thinking of replacing that one. I can't even the screen on my printer where it shows my ink levels. went to HP Support and tried their steps for ink printhead troubleshooting - did not work either :( my printer inkhead seems whobbly so I think I may need to replace. It was printing just fine on Monday.
I replaced all cartridges even knowing that they were not empty, brand new HP brand, but keeps giving me this message: missing or failed print head and is not allowing me to print, any suggestions please
