How to Fix the HP Ink System Failure! 

I am a retired computer teacher and you are one of the best teachers in showing how to repair a printer. Great job, Job well done.

Thank you. Amazing stuff. The printer has been broken for two weeks and 10 mins of your video and it's sorted right out. Thank you from 2023!

Thank you! I got my HP officejet Pro 8610 working! Thanks to you! When I got the error message "system failure" I assumed the printer was broke for good and went out to replace it. When I was no longer under the crunch of needing a printer ASAP I took the time to search RU-vid for help. I found this tutorial. The printer fixed when I took out and put back the print head. It said the ink cartridges were damaged. They were not, so I put in old cartridges, made it run with those, the machine didn't like the used cartridges because they were empty but the system failure code cleared. I then took out the empty cartridges and put back the cartridges the printer called damaged and the printer was back up and ready to go. I guess now I have both printers. Maybe I should consider starting a print service business! Thanks again for taking the time to create this video!

Thank you so much. HP website wrote my printer off. You saved it just by changing the ink ❤

setup cartridges worked. thank you so much bro. kara gün görmeyesin. sevdiğine kavuşasın.

Thank you very much!!! I almost took my printer in for recycling but it turns out it was a bad ink cartridge. You saved me a ton of money.

Thank you so very much! I have a Inkjet 6700 with this problem. When I went to remove the HP Genuine cartridges the large black one was stuck as was the one next to it. I think my head is dirty, but I have not started yet. This is a very, very helpful RU-vid. Many thanks from Fallbrook, California, USA

Awesome video, you helped me fix my printer after your third suggestion, but I'm still watching it. Thank you!

Thanks, glad to know how to access the support menu. Same method works on my HP CN616A Tap lower left button... upper left... lower left again.... then lower left one more time.

Thank you I was ready to toss my hp6700 out and it was a leaking hp ink I never would have thought that was the problem but i put all new cartridges in and wala its fine...bless you

Worked for me, and saved me from having to buy a new printer. Thank you.

Thanks. It's really works. No matter what language you speak , but matters what wonders you do. Thanks once again.

Omg thank you! Got a secondhand hp printer, not using ink correctly so thank you!

even this video was posted long ago was really helpful. Thank you for all you who take your time to help us the electronics issue. Thank you.

It turned out to be the dried ink catridge (non original) as the problem. Luckily I kept the old original HP cartridges around so I put them back in even though they were empty, the printer cleared the error. Now I know it is the cartridges being empty is the problem (if you are using the non-original ones, the original ones actually report the probelm okay.). Good idea to keep the old empty original cartridges around for sure. Thanks for the tip.

thanks for showing on how to start setup (either 4 times back button - or back home back back)

Trenching the printhead and cleaning it solved the problem in my large format HP Designjet T520. Nice work!

Yes it is installed. The problem started when I had the black cartridge refilled at Costco last week. The printer worked until the install.

thank you so much !! my printer works again it took me 15 minutos to see your video and the. do the steps and it work so happy thank thank you you are a blessing

thanks for this video very informative, am using the HP 7740, i bought a new print head and i got this 'HP Ink System Failure!' i will try and find out the way to enter this sub-menu for the HP 7740. luckily i have the original setup cartridges.

Genius, thank you so much! Removing and reinserting the print head did the trick :-)

Hi. Thanks for the lovely video. Grazie mille! Having had the problem of Ink System Error on my HP8600 Pro 911a, and resetting the printer I am stuck on the animation video and unable to restore the printer to it's normal menu! Preventing me to proceed further on the printer. I have however been able to access the embedded web page and connect the printer through WiFi and before I play up the video through the display, the printer shows "ready" on the web page but when trying to print reports, etc. through the embedded web page, it says "printer busy" on the web page. The moment I play the video the webpage shows printer error and the Ink System Error appears on the display and goes into the animation loop. The normal menu cannot however be restored. Can you please guide or suggest how to go about restoring the main menu and further course of action to restore the printer to working. Grazie!

Well, bummer, I followed you and tried all the steps to fix my HP7520 & HP8610. Nothing worked to fix the printer ink failure. Not sure what else to try except but a new printer. Thanks for trying to help;

YAY!!!!! Unplugging the printer worked for me! THANK YOU!!!!!! Wonderful!!!!!!

Thanks for the video. I was able to do the reset without using setup cartridges. My generic re-manufactured cartridges worked fine.

Your English is great! Cool accent! I understood perfectly, thank you!

Just share what I did . I replace the genuine HP cartridges back and the the printer begins to check the device and resume working . Then I replace the depleted genuine one with aftermarket . Works now 。 worth a try

very informative and well structured tutorial. thank you very much from Germany!

I have a T120 and have had this problem when I tried to use 3rd party ink replacement. I have found that the print head gets very dirty and needs to be cleaned. So I take the 4 inks out, then turn off the printer, then lift the main lid and slide the empty print head over, unlatch it, take it off, and run warm water over the print head while taking care not to get the circuit board wet. Then after a few minutes of rinsing off the wet ink jammed in the head, letting it run into the sink, I use a hair dryer with warm or cold air to dry off the print head as best I can. Then reinstall the print head, then the ink cartridges. This has worked two separate occasions for me, about a year ago and today. Obviously, don't just blindly trust someone saying put water on your print head, but research this option and do it if you're out of other options.

Excellent work my friend & your English is amazing here’s to Italia 🇮🇹 I Love italia!!!!!

excelent brillian even hp does not a video like this ,,,,just asking why..???? thanks you save my money and peaceful of mind...""ciao

hi sir! thank you! very clear explanation. I was wondering if this will work with HP Photosmart D7260? I have the same problem and have been trying to research how to repair it. Appreciate help. Thanks

thanks, step 3 worked for me!

thank you its work just before i sent it to service shop

Thank you so much for this video. I believe one of my cartridges is leaking. I'm going to try that first. This was a very good demonstration.

You ar3 a ROCK STAR. thank you from the NY greatermetro area for the solution !

Thank you so much for sharing this, very generous of you !

Love the accent. Italy rocks. Great video. Thanks.

how to reset if you dont have set up cartridges?

so i have an hp7610 i’m having this problem i will try this thanks for the video when i try this i will get back to ya

Great video, thank you for your time! Your English was just fine! 😁👏🏽👌🏽

You did an excellent job explaining this to the english speaking community. Thank you.

Fantástico video, mis amis! Multo bono amigo. I enjoyed your video and will use it to fix my printer. Gracias!

Thank you! Problem fixed!

Your English is better than my Italian.

Hi! I have 8600 printer, after I did the full reset now I have problem, every time turn on printer display ink system turn off then on if I lick ok then go to start animation.I don't have any display menu like before, please let me know how to fix this thanks

HP C5180 All-In-One Printer HARD RESET:Hold down HELP + OK button and unplug printer (could experiment with regular power-off, but I opted for brute force)Hold down HELP + OK button again as you plug the printer back in. Then power it on, if it doesn’t power on automatically. Be Safe: keep holding the buttons until the printer turns itself off. (It took mine less than a minute.)Now you can release the buttons and simply power it back on. (I held my breath, but that’s not required.)I got an error message about “improper shut down” since I unplugged it w/out powering down. After I clicked “OK” the printer was just fine and didn’t mind anymore. And now I can print.

HP 8620. I tried to use your method, but I am getting a message 'Missing or failed printed - the printhead appears to be missing, not detected, or incorrectly installed'. There is no Back icon, only Home and a question mark.I went through the three steps suggested by HP. Enjoyed the video. The last one I watched, the author apparently had the comera mounted on his head. Had to leave before i got seasick!

thank you very much my brother how to downgrade the firmware fo hp 7500a to solve problem of not geniune ink cartridge massege everytime printing thank you

Ok thanks for the info

You did a great job!

Hey, thanks!!! 'had to go through many of the steps but worked like a charm!!!

Awesome, very helpful - Thank you!

I got into the hidden menu and did the semi-reset, restarted and still coming up with the same error. HP OfficeJet Pro 8600. I have the "Ink System Failure: There is a problem with the printer or ink system. Turn printer off, then on. If problem persist, contact HP." I have tried: reseating the printhead (more times than I can count). Removing individual cartridges and replacing them. Resetting by unplugging the power cord, then the cord from the wall, then waiting one minute, plugging back in. Cartridges have been shook and all have ink in them. Tried cleaning the printhead with commercial solution found on Amazon. The Magenta had a clog. Let it dry out completely and put it back in. Still have the same problem.

Hi, I just have a question for you? Do the HP inkjet printers have some type of computer chip inside them somewhere that has a certain amount of control on the printer? Before I forget, I own a HP7520 and I love it. Also, I just want to thank you for your help to all of us that are not experts with computer hardware...From: Frank.

Thank you! You are a great teacher!

Thank you very much.

great info well explained in English! would love a work around for my HP officejet pro 8620 third party ink (IKong 950xl and 951xl). My printer has locked out the touch screen with error message, "There is a problem with the printer or ink system. Turn printer off, then on. If problem persists contact HP," I have gone through all of these steps and still does not work. not out of ink, purchased my new printer in 2016. have ordered replacement cartridges. HP ripped me off, I will never purchase their ink again or products but paid a lot of $ for this printer.

Thank you so much. Great detail super helpful. Was able to understand it all too.

You are the man, my Italian friend! Thanks so much!

Great job, thank you!

Thank You Thank You It worked...……………………..

i had the same issue on my HP Officejet 7612. I had tried all sorts of reset (partial reset, OOB reset), except the full reset (no setup cartdriges available), but nothing was working for me. I also had tried to add the aluminum foil on the printhead circuit, but it did not help either. So, with nothing to lose, I entered in the service menu and decided to try the option “MFG”. A grid appeared on the print screen, and I let it run for about 5 seconds, then I unplugged the power cord from the printer. After that, I reconnected the power cord, and the printer started working fine again!

I won't beleive on RU-vid before watching your video Get the solution after watching your video.

I am looking for hp 920 setup cartridges. Any idea where to find it?

Hi Thanks for sharing. I want to know what is the 'code combination' for hp all in one 6700 printer? I have this error after I did a printhead cleanning..... Thanks!!!

Great video. I have an HP Officejet 6500A plus. Suddently it appeared a message "ink system failure" error 0xc19a0020. I did all the power on and off , also cleaning of the printhead. Finally, I followed your instructions for semi-full reset. However the same message appears and then it falls into a loop with the"install printhead" video. Any ideas??? Thank you !

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.

Very detailed and informative. I am getting this message from my HP7612 Officejet "Printer or Ink System failure ". Trying to resolve it. HP helpdesk told me after going through online diagnostic tests that it is the Cartridge Sensor fault on one of the cartridges which is in this case YELLOW cartridge which it is not detecting. Any remedy.?

I have a HP Pro 8610. I did the semi full reset. It says, Do not use Setup Cartridges. I’m guessing I need to buy a new set of regular cartridges. I put the old regular cartridges in it and it pops up error message. The print head does drip a lot of ink though. Maybe the head is bad. I’m going to try to clean it with some solution. Any tips on fixing a leaking print head or what I should do? Thanks:)

I have an HP Photosmart c6350 All-in-one which is displaying the message Ink System Failure, Oxc19a0022, Pleas turn printer OFF then ON. I have done all the things HP recommends except replacing the print head. Error still displays, I have tried your trick to access the support menu, starting with the printer OFF, holding the power button down for 15 seconds, and pressing Back, Home, Back, Back. It does not go to the support menu and the message still comes up, locking all manual and computer based controls. Is there a different access code for this printer?

I have a hp photosmart 7520. I attempted to follow along with you on the setup system, however when I attempted to enter the back, home,back, back code and the back x 4 code, I was unable to get to the support menu. Also, I have a Cis system which did not come with non return values. I had a air in my lines, which caused the ink to flow out of the cartridges when I tried to remove the air. When I do a print quility diagnostic test all of the colors(C,M,Y and Photo) show, except the black, in which the box is blank(empty). I have my original cartridges, but they are empty. Is there a code for the hp 7520?

How to open the new 8600 printer to take out the printhead?

Your video is great Sir. i have done all what you have shown on your video and my hp officejet pro 8610 pro keeps showing that, There is a problem with the printer or ink system. Torn printer off, then on. if problem persists, contact HP. Please help me on what to do next.

Hi , Very nice video. Do you have any link to buy setup cartridges? I searched on ebay and didn't find any. Thank you

What a great post. I have a question. Can you use the start up cartridges more than one time?

When I turn on the computer it says Ink System Failure and will not show anything else.

do you have Idea about this? to avoid damage use On button to shoutdown do not. use a power strip or wall switch to shout down (printer error please turn off, then turn on)

I get full MCYB "incompatible ink cartridge" error, but if I remove any of the cartridges it shows problem only on that one. Weird, that means the cartridges are OK, but HP just doesn't like them. Photosmart B110 is too smart?

Help me.after ink depleted I use to initialize it,after that now problem with ink system.we suck up it and refill after that sytem said catridge problem.

HP Photosmart Plus B209a here: Getting the "incompatible printhead"; I have no access to reset cartridges; it looks good, clean it and replaced ink cartridges and still get it. The error message is on the screen so I cannot see any buttons to try to reset. Please help. Thank you.

is it same for hp desingjet t520 ?

HP Print System Error: Hello from Canada! 1) If there is a people who have little or no language pride, it is english speaking Northamericans, IMHO canadains even more than Americans. So if you make a language mistake, relax! It is often to go totally unnoticed or ignored! or maybe, if the mistaken item is truly inscrutabe, we just might ask you to repeat - so what! 2) as it happens, I speak english (native) French (a strong second) and Spanish third,. but unfortunately I never learned Italin when I might have. 2a) Also I love doing "explanatory translations" (that's what is needed when something in one language needs translating to another but it is not easily and effectively translated. 3) So Now, Having downloaded your video so I can listen to it while doing s6 other thngs and take my time to write a more in-depth response, let all "keep their ears peelrd" and I think we might be able to shed some light and so lighten! 3a) Along with, I am a 73 year old retired electronic technician and 95 % of what I know was learned from "the School of Hard Knocks." As is well enough known it IS hard knocks, VERY hard knocks, but it aisi is the acid truth! So when, over most of as lifetine all too many, both professional and otherwise failed to respect what I was determined to know from the age of 5, I "took the bull by the horns" (rqather than being obliged to face him but the other end!). sure I made mistakes, man. However that was never any license for anyone to misuse, and that latter fact has been effectively the greater life conern for not only myself, but also for posterity. All too often older people have no interest or desire to face what needs facing, however I stand as one exception. You Tube has played a good role in making alternatives to consumer market greed available. Often, using linux, I will downlod to listen, and then revist to comment later at my convenience. =================================================================== Now to the Printer fix, and seeing if it is adequately simple for the avewrage user as long as he/she has some reasobanble meaure of persistence. First (timeline 1:47) you mention a support facility that is not normally aval8ilable to the end user. HO could have many excuses for not making this user accessible, however concurrently, uit also serves their ends in terms of "planned obsolescence". In quebec, we have a "government guarantee" law that states that any complaint that shows (my transpation) that the purchaser has not gotten reasonable use of what they paid for has a llegitimate complaint and the seller may be held respobnsible to make good. However this appears inauspiciously of little effect as it has been economically overturned by bigger money interests. Having had some 50 or more years of technical exposure, I remember a few years back pulling an HP pronter otut of the garbage and resrtoring it as well as being able to run it in Linux. Of course I had neother the cable (easy to replace generically ) and no disk (Linux develops its drivers in what is known as CUPS (AKA Common Unix Printing System) and while this is a bit more complex than what one does in Ms Windows, it is also inherently more versatile. That said, when the "printheads in basket" pronters came out, I thiought this would be great. It appears notablty less to be so now, as It is not possible to simply remove that basket, purchase another at a local retailer replace and go. Having run into this problem, I looked on You tube and found some videos on the subject. Being one to be a stickler for details (and unlimately it pays off, unpopular as it is at times), I liked your determined approach to this one as that alone signals to the "big boys" that there are those out there who are rather rankeled with their use of planned obsolescence. to be continued...

I recently had this issue and when I took out a non HP genuine ink cartridge it was leaking ): so i had to take it out and restarted my printer several times and took out ink cartridges, closed the door with it out, and reopened the door and replaced the ink cartridge.

My 6700 had an error message that there was a printer or ink system failure and I could not reset it. I followed your advice and flushed the black nozzle with 40ml of tap water and the printer started working after that. I ran align print head and clean printheads after this. The water does run up and down quite a bit so make sure you swab the whole length of the trough in which the print head sits. Next time I will not buy an inkjet printer. The drink the ink even if not printing. I used this only for scanning and after 6 months needed to replace the cartridges which had been exhausted buy the start-up process. Next time I am getting a laser.

Hello! How do I fix my printer? It says Ink System error 0xc18a0206. I have an hp photosmart d7160

Hi i have tried everything you said but my Printer is still not working its stopped at "ink system failure. i don't know what to do HP Officejet Pro 8600.

Thanks! You rock!

hello sir i use this methode fo the hp t525 but it ask me for a pin number what should i do ?

My printer is a HP Photosmart 5520. On powering up my printer says Printer Failure Oxc19a0042 There is a problem with the printer or ink system. Turn printer off and then on. Everytime i switch on the same message appears I have completely removed the print head and everything to do with the head, completely cleaned everything and refitted. Still getting the same message. and unable to proceed any farther. The only buttons on right hand side are wi-fi, ePrint and power button. Only the power button works. 4 brand new 364 xl ink cartridges were fitted. Printer worked ok for 1 month and then the failure message appeared. Is there anything you can tell me that i can try to fix this problem. Thanking you Joe

From Canada, hi Paolo... would you know the Support Menu code for the Officejet 150 All-in-One Printer L511a? I have not tried any code yet, I just thought I would ask first. Thanks for your great video! All the best. Edward

We have a new DesignJet T520 and just finished the black ink starter cartridge. We tried installing a compatible black ink cartridge but the printer gives a "missing or damaged ink cartridge" error. Why are there tons of compatible HP711 out there if HP prevents the use of them? Is there a workaround this detection scam?

Sir please tell me the same problem arrived hp officejet pro3620 model the problem was not solves

hi,thanks for video,,,:) I have some problem, and fiddling around in maintenance menu on mine PhotoSmart b109n,,:) do you know anything about them?Do I need upstart carterige fore this to? I did not know what I getting in to,and now I just want to print out my bills again,,:))

I have a photo smart HP D7160 printer that has stopped picking up paper from the paper tray. It reads "Out of Paper" but the tray has paper in it and is in the correct position. There are no signs of paper jams, any suggestions?

CIao Paolo, ti scrivo in italiano per praticità... ho seguito la tua procedura per gestire il amoso errore legato all'ink e a l print head. Durante la procedura ho pero fatto un errore -credo- grave. Al momento di far partire il semi reset non ho tolto le cartucce e il print-head come avevi indicato di fare. Pertanto é partito il reset e quando ho riacceso la stampante mi sono trovato ancora piu bloccato di prima in quanto non solo l'errore era ancora li ma ora non riesco neanche a terminare la procedura d'inizializzazione (visto che l'errore del print-head é ancora li a bloccare il tutto). Sei in grado di dirmi se esiste un modo per risolvere la cosa? TI ringrazio molto.

How about HP Photosmart D7360 from the year 2006/2007, not being able to use HP 02 compatible inks from Ebay, nor able to use a set of auto reset chips from Aliexpress, reporting 'Ink system has failed. Unable to print. Error: 0xc18a0106' even though ink levels are all full, the printer has always printed perfectly & never had any problem or fault before, so what could be the problem here, the printer gives the error from the beginning right after booting up even before doing the warm up sequence refusing to do a print head cleaning and/or alignment or even try to do any print at all? Thank you.

I have a HP 6700 premium I tried the the to get to the support menu but not working ... with back home back back why ??

How can I access the hidden keys when the error message is frozen in "system ink failure"?????

Hello ADCSFXworks, I have a HP 7612 (2016) with a "ink system failure" and used your solution of semi-partial reset (restarted with the setup cartridges, and replaced them by others), but the error stays, have you any solution ?