HP are relentless in their pursuit of blocking non genuine cartridges and the message "Ink System Failure" is an error message we all know well. There are a number of scenarios that can cause this message to appear and below we will take a look at the main culprits.
The reason behind the "Ink System Failure" message
Before we look at the causes of the error message lets understand the reason behind it's occurrence. HP have been losing huge amounts of revenue to folks like myself who are flooding the market with much cheaper, generic cartridges that work perfectly well in their printers. Obviously they don't like this so they have devised an unethical method of slowing the use of these non HP cartridges. Even though they have had numerous charges bought against them they know that the legal costs are insignificant in comparison to the lost revenue from the aftermarket cartridges. So let's take a look at the most common reasons for this message occuring.
What causes the "Ink System Failure" message?
1. The number one reason for this message is one or more non compatible ink cartridges. By this I mean the printer is able to detect that one or more cartridges are non genuine and therefore it blocks them and hence throws up the Ink System Failure message. Don't get me wrong, compatible cartridges will and do work fine in most HP printers however they MUST meet the correct requirements. The first requirement is that the microchip on the cartridge MUST be the very latest version that is fully compatible with HP's latest firmware version. When this criteria is met all will be well and the printer will work fine, no error message at all. However if you purchase a nice new set of HP cartridges ( generic ) for your printer and you don't use them for a month or two you can almost guarantee that by then HP has automatically updated the firmware on your printer and when you go to install your brand new cartridges you will get this message and your inks will not work. By law HP is not allowed to block any cartridges that have already been installed in the printer. For this reason any non genuine inks already installed will not be affected by firmware updates.
2. Printhead failure is the second biggest cause of this error message especially in many of the older HP model printers such as the Officejet 8600 series etc. Sometimes cleaning the head may fix the issue but very rarely. We will list some of the solutions that you can try later on in this article.
3. Dirty microchips on one or more cartridges can also cause this problem. Make sure that all microchips on each cartridge are clean and free of any oily substances.
4. Blocked or partially blocked breather hole on cartridge causing the printer purge pump to not engage correctly. Once again I stress to make sure that the breather tape is fully off and that the exposed channel is free of debris. If in doubt gently pierce the label on the channel next to the breather hole with a pin or paper clip.
The cures for "Ink System Failure"
Let me start out by saying that most printers which utilize the HP915XL,HP955XL and HP965XL cartridges will work perfectly with generic cartridges. The only exceptions are the newer HP's with the "e" at the end of their model number. These printers are locked to the HP servers and can only use genuine HP inks. All of the other printer models will work fine as long as the cartridges supplied are the very latest updated chip version and also locked to the correct country region. You MUST buy your non genuine cartridges from a reputable supplier who knows what they are doing, NOT just an ink re-seller which is what most online shops are. At Ink Hub we update the chips on our cartridges on the day of sale, this way the customer gets the very latest version and they work perfectly. You MUST however turn off the updates to avoid any future issues. This is very easy to do and it assures you that you will never have an issue again with non genuine inks.
Always make sure that the microchips on each cartridge are very clean. You can clean them with Isopropyl Alcohol or metho on a cotton bud. Also make sure that the corresponding gold terminals inside the printer are also clean and not bent or missing.