Printer Failure HP Officejet 6600

[juniperbloom]

My Officejet 6600 printer has been displaying a consistent error message: "Printer Failure: There is a problem with the printer or ink system. Turn printer off, then on. If problem persists, contact HP."

I have iteratively tried everything that has been mentioned in similar posts on this board (hard reset, unplugging power and replugging it in, plugging into the wall outlet and not an extensio... replacing all ink cartridges one at a time, troubleshooting/diagnostic downloads from HP, cleaning cartridges and sliding track, and updating the firmware).

I had a glimmer of  hope when I started changing out cartridges (All are genuine HP cartridges). I popped out an old one and then put it back in. After about an hour of making noises and "Checking the device", the printer returned to first say the old cartridge was fine, then when I tried to print a test page, and it told me the cartridge was empty again. I then replaced it with a new one, but got a similar error all over again. I reset by unplugging, waiting 2-3 mins, holding down the power button to drain the rest of the charge, then plugging back in while connected to the outlet. Once the printer was back on, I then popped the new one out and back in. This worked for Y and M, but as soon as it asked me to replace C, I put the new one in and the error came back. I did a reset, then popped the new C one out back and in once again. Error remained and now it won't show anything else. Part of me thinks the printer is confused because the new cartridges have been put in and taken out, then put back in. Is that what could be causing this? How do I get my printer to chill out?

Other info: My printer connection is via USB, not wifi, if that helps narrow things down.

Genuinely, I'm at my wit's end and super frustrated; any help would be awesome. Thanks.

[Raj_05]

Hi @juniperbloom,

Welcome to HP Support Community.  

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you. 

The error message you are seeing on your HP Officejet 6600 printer indicates that there is an issue with either the printer hardware or ink system. Here are some troubleshooting steps that you can try to resolve this error.

• Restart your printer: Turn off your printer, unplug the power cord from the back, and wait for 60 seconds before plugging it back in and turning the printer on again. This can reset the printer and clear any temporary errors.
• Check ink levels: Make sure that your printer has enough ink to print. Check the ink levels on your printer or replace the ink cartridges if they are low or empty.
• Clean print head: If your printer's ink cartridges are not clogged or empty, then clean the print head. Go to the printer's settings menu, select "Maintenance," and choose "Clean Printhead." This will clean any dried or clogged ink from the print head.
• Update printer firmware: Check if there is any firmware update available for your printer. Visit the HP support website and download and install any firmware updates for your printer model.
• Reset the printer: If none of the above steps work, then reset your printer. Press and hold the power button on your printer for at least 15 seconds. Then release the power button and turn the printer back on.

I hope this helps. 

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Alden4
HP Support

[juniperbloom]

Hi Alden4,

Thanks for your response.

I tried these options with no luck. Please see my notes below in blue, can you please help me?

• Restart your printer: Turn off your printer, unplug the power cord from the back, and wait for 60 seconds before plugging it back in and turning the printer on again. This can reset the printer and clear any temporary errors.

I did this, but when I turned my printer back on, I still see the Printer Failure error. The error will not clear, I cannot get to the settings screen at all.

• Check ink levels: Make sure that your printer has enough ink to print. Check the ink levels on your printer or replace the ink cartridges if they are low or empty.

I have replaced the ink cartridges. All four, and no luck. And, now I'm getting an additional notice that some of the BRAND NEW cartridges I just took out of the box and tried to put in are "damaged" and not accepted by the printer. HOW. They've literally never been used.

Does HP support replacements for the ink if they are still in Warranty? It says my warranty is good through April and May 2023 for these cartridges but your HP website "contact support" refuses to take me to any meaningful page to get help on my cartridges specifically.

Please let me know if there is anything else you can do to help, because I do not want to go buy more cartridges only for the same thing to happen all over again. It's costly and super wasteful. At this point it might just be cheaper to buy a new printer.

• Clean print head: If your printer's ink cartridges are not clogged or empty, then clean the print head. Go to the printer's settings menu, select "Maintenance," and choose "Clean Printhead." This will clean any dried or clogged ink from the print head.

I cannot do this, the error screen prohibits me from accessing any settings.

• Update printer firmware: Check if there is any firmware update available for your printer. Visit the HP support website and download and install any firmware updates for your printer model.

I have updated the firmware in the last week, no luck.

• Reset the printer: If none of the above steps work, then reset your printer. Press and hold the power button on your printer for at least 15 seconds. Then release the power button and turn the printer back on.

I did this, but when I turned my printer back on, I still see the Printer Failure error.

I'm quickly losing patience with HP products, this has left me very frustrated and I'm tempted to just drop this and go buy a different brand and be done.

[Raj_05]

Hi @juniperbloom,

Thank you for your response, 

Due to limited support, I would request you contact our HP Support and our Support Engineers should be able to sort this out. HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link.

https://www.hp.com/contacthp/

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance.

Have a great day!

Alden4
HP Support