HP Instant Ink Catridge Problem

[baggieclan]

My old cartridge ran out of ink. I replaced it with the Instant Ink, HP supplied cartridge straight out the packet. The printer does not recognise the cartridge and says it has to be changed. I have tried removing & replacing multiple times, and it still fails. I reinserted the old cartridge and it was recognised, although obviously it has no ink! I have tried multiple help sections including the Virtual Assistant but all I have done is waste 2 hours of my life, and all steps make no difference. How do I get a replacement cartridge?

[baggieclan]

The problem has now escalated and my printer came up with a message saying it has been unenrolled in Instant Ink!! This is my very first cartridge from the service and if this is how it's going to work, I will be cancelling very soon.

[GOLD_MASTER]

Hello @baggieclan .
You need to contact Hp instant ink staff directly:

1. Sign in to hpinstantink.com/signin.
   Your HP Instant Ink account page opens.
2. On your HP Instant Ink account page, click Chat at the top of the page to open a chat with HP support (Chat is not available in all countries).

   

3. To find a phone number for HP Support in your location, follow these steps:
   1. Click Contact HP Support in the Help Center area of the account page.

      

   2. On the HP Customer Support - Contact page, scroll down, and select your location and language.
   3. Click Show options.
      HP contact options display on the screen.
   4. Select Chat Now or Get Phone Number (Chat is not available in all countries).
   5. Fill in the form and then click Chat Now or Submit.
   6. For phone support, call the number displayed and be prepared to provide the case number that is displayed on the contact page.

[baggieclan]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Sadly, you are the only real person that seems to be accessible (but for which I am thankful!).

Today is the first time I've had to go back to this issue, but it remains as persistent and frustrating as before, possibly more so. After being "unenrolled", the logic within the device and/or the associated "service" was preventing me from printing anything, even a document that was black only, and that's not something I signed up for.

With respect to your guidance, when I click on HP Support (from the InstantInk/HP Smart Account page) I get redirected to another page that says "This product is no longer serviced by HP. You may search for possible solutions on this support website."....the only option is the Virtual Assistant which has been useless.

Some additional observations since your last message.

1. I'd switched the printer off as the error message was staying on-screen at all times/was permanently displayed and I was completely locked. When I  switched the printer back on, it rebooted, uploaded new SW then announced I was enrolled in InstantInk.
2. It then Synched up (automatically) but the results were odd: HP Smart is now saying my Colour Ink is fine (it had the empty set-up cartridge still installed) but now Black is reporting an error (it has the full replacement cartridge installed), saying I need to clean it and if I don’t then I will not get a replacement…(not that I can get in touch with anyone to do that!!). However, the (empty) set-up cartridge meant the printer was actually "alive" or on-line again.
3. I tried inserting the replacement colour cartridge again, and now I have the original error message back on the printer. I also received a "Scan to Computer" fail error message and when I attempt to re-sync it’s saying the printer is not on the network (when it is indicating that it is!!).
4. If I then try to Clean the black cartridge the unrecognised Colour cartridge is preventing it from happening.

So my loyalty to HP is at it's lowest and absent the ability to speak with someone, I will cancel the InstantInk trial and shift to an alternate supplier (of both hardware and ink). I've counted, and I have owned almost 10 HP printers since my very first desktop in the early 90's, but I think this one will be my last.

Having a dud replacement cartridge I can swallow, but the inability to contact anyone to get it replaced - despite all HP's advice telling me to do so - and the fact the "service" is now locking me out of the hardware device that I bought and paid for, is really a bit too much. The fact this issue is all over the internet and help foryums over several years but not even mentioned in the FAQ's also suggests a blind-spot that never used to be there.

I'll close with a quote from a famous movie: "help me Obi-Wan, you're my only hope". Happy new year when it comes and stay safe...

[baggieclan]

...after some mindfulness, I tried re-installing the old/empty set-up cartridge to see whether by doing so it might allow me to clean the allegedly "bad" Black cartridge, and I have had some interesting (but unexpected) results:

1. After some thought, tried re-inserting the empty Colour cartridge. That caused the “no entry” icon (on the InstantInk envelope) on the printer display to change to the “drip” icon, which suggests the cartridge has ink, even though I know it does not!!
2. I assumed that the “drip” replacing “no entry” may also suggest the printer was now accessible, so I tried printing a text only document and it worked!
3. Similarly, I tried Syncing the InstantInk with the printer and it also worked, although bizarrely, the Black error message has been replaced with a green tick and ‘You’re good on Ink’ message. The Colour cartridge continues to say the same , even though:
   1. The cartridge is NOT that issued by Instant Ink and
   2. I know it to be empty!!
4. So that suggests a bad cartridge impacts the comm.s with the printer, and corrupts the true status of the Ink. That said, it remains partly corrupted as the “working” Colour cartridge is physically empty but it reporting otherwise, and isn't that a major flaw in the whole InstantInk service?? 
5. So aside from the pain, wasted time and effort, and very poor HP sites, I only need a working replacement Colour cartridge and I may be back in business…..but have no contact number or method by which to communicate that to HP (see poor sites comment).

[baggieclan · Accepted solution]

It's an odd situation when you're actually helping and then responding to yourself, but for the most part that's what I've had to do, and since I now have a resolution I think it's important to post it and not leave this thread open.

After determining that re-installing the empty (but recognised) old cartridge caused my printer to sync again and "re-enrol" me (in the Service I had not chosen to leave!) reconsidering the prior suggestion, I re-tried the Help section and this time I was presented with several options, including Phone...a real person! To do that you are asked to create a case which I did and placed the call.

This is for UK customers and I am copying it here in case anyone gets into the same situation as me, where you had an issue but no one to speak to. Despite the UK number the call went through to a call centre (Philippines I think) and 26 mins later the lady there was able to help by sending me a replacement new Tri-Color cartridge. That has since arrived and worked straight away when I installed it, so all is now rosy in the garden and the printer is fully available once more after a 13 day outage. 

In summary, regardless of whether it's HP sending it and it clearly being an HP product, cartridges supplied via InstantInk may not work. When they don't, it can prevent the printer from Syncing with the App which in-turn prevents you from taking any of the suggested remedial steps (such as cleaning the printer), may un-enrol you from InstantInk and lock you out of the Help phone lines. Worse, it may lock you out of your printer completely...so my best advice would be that you retain at least one "recognised-but-empty" cartridge of each type so you have the ability to retain at least part functionality while you wait for a replacement cartridge.

I also think that since the cartridge issue is all over the internet and dates quite far back, it really should be part of any FAQ section; absent that it feels like HP are in denial. 

I commented to the Help lady (who really was very courteous) that I've been a loyal customer for decades and have bought HP printers since my very first home PC in the early 1990's. For most of that relationship I've enjoyed the products and they have worked, but in the last 5-10 years they have failed routinely and from direct experience, the HP Doctor should be struck-off and the Virtual Assistant should be retrained (all feedback provided via both Apps, but never anything back from anyone to ask for more input...just a hollow statement that my feedback is valued).

Currently I'm not sure whether I'll continue with the service and have a decision to make when my Free Trial ends later this month. Now I have it working again the lazy part of me wants to move on, but I can't help thinking that if I do so I'll be back searching the Community for suggestions, and if I have to do that it will certainly be time for me to look elsewhere. HP, let's not end what's been a beautiful relationship; listen to your users and sort yourself out.