HP ENVY 7640 e-All-in-One Printer making Grinding / Gear Stripping sound. & Jamming

[themachinestops]

I'm a long-time HP customer and considered my wirelessly connected "HP ENVY 7640" the best printer I ever owned during its rst 8 months of smooth operation.

Then the grinding-noise/jamming issues began.

** Sorry for the length of this post **

My experience is similar to others:

• When a print job is instigated a loud grinding noise occurs when the paper starts feeding from the tray, .
• This happens more frequently when the printer has been idle and when duplex printing.
• At rst, the issue was just noise. Now, it is usually accompanied by a paper jam.
• The problem is intermittent and sometimes stops after several pages.

I've gone through several iterations of the troubleshooting steps found on the various HP sites.

• Updated rmware and software
• Reinstalled the Software
• Made sure the printer was on a level surface
• Checked for and removed paper or other debris from the printer
• Used distilled water to clean the rollers, ADF rollers, separators, etc,
• Did troubleshooting via HP Print and Scan Doctor
• I've done the various options of powering on/off, unplugging, waiting, etc. 

I've read an HP document which explains why in some cases it's recommended to plug directly into a wall outlet instead of a powerstrip/surge protector/UPS. Some of the issues in doing so include (condensed / paraphrased):

• Inexplicable or false error messages
• Printer not "waking up" from sleep mode
• Slow or incorrect printing
• Garbage displayed on printer control panel display
• Malfunction of scanning/copying or other integrated features
• Computer unexpectedly rebooting

The only option presented which I cannot easily do and consider unworkable is to plug the printer directly into a wall outlet. I live in a small apartment without many outlets. I NEED to use power strips. I have never had an appliance damaged because of a power surge, nor have any electronics exhibited any problems which can be attributed to low or irregular voltage. For me, it's COMPLETELY UNREASONABLE to ask that I use a dedicated outlet for the printer. And it's by no means clear that would solve the issue anyway.

Having said all that, the problem has sometimes gone away for a short time after doing the cleaning and/or unplugging for 30+ seconds.

The bottom line is that despite having an expired warranty, I do have a valid HP Carepack. This issue of being unable to print reliably is really starting to annoy me. It has also discouraged me from printing at night because the walls are kind of thin in my postwar abode. I'm considering opening a case/ticket and asking for the printer to be replaced. Does anyone know:

• Will HP make a fuss if I ask to return my printer?
• Will they send another ENVY 7640?
• What's the usual replacement for this printer that has the same functionality?
• What happens if a replacement printer takes different Ink cartridges? [ I know I can modify/transfer my HP Instant Ink subscription, but at the moment I have an unopened set of cartridges for the ENVY 7640]
  

I thank anybody and everybody for constructive input.
Robert ...

[Jeet_singh · Accepted solution]

@themachinestops,

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Forum's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.
Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forum.

[themachinestops]

Jeet:

Thank you and HP! I worked with an agent and in pretty short order, I now have an HP Envy 7855 to replace my grinding HP Envy 7640.

This was the only issue I ever had with an HP product. I'm very satisfied with the customer service.

The only thing  which bothers me slightly is that no one admitted that a root-cause or solution to this "grinding issue" has been found. I'm hopeful the problem won't recur.

Best Regards,

Robert

[AndiePBB]

Mine also does the grinding, but not every time.  I am hoping it doesn't stop working for me.

[themachinestops]

My HP Envy 7640 started out doing the same thing. The problem was intermittent. Despite all my interventions---cleaning the printer rollers with distilled water, making sure there were no paper fragments, fussing with the software, etc--the problem progressed to jamming as well.

If you read the entire thread you will see that I eventually had the printer replaced by HP. I was fortunate to have an active ServicePack. My new HP7855 is behaving so far.

[chunnicutt]

I just installed the Envy 7858 and am having the same issue with the grinding noise.  I have unplugged from the printer waited 15 seconds and plugged back in and still grinding.  I pulled directly to the wall outlet, repeated the same steps and still grinding.  Is the only issue to return the printer?  Definitely can't have the grinding sound present. Thanks 

[themachinestops]

How long have you had your printer? Is it still under warranty? I can't speak for your particular case and am not an HP employee. In my case, the only solution was a warranty replacement.

I've had my new printer since September 2009 and so far it's working great and this issue has not reappeared.