incompatible cartriges

[Mitty66]

officejet 4650 had trouble changing cartrige and got message incompatible cartriges.  Could I have damaged the contacts between the cartrige and printer?

[Dragora]

Hi Mitty66

An "Incompatible Cartridge" message is more often caused by a simple connection glitch or a tiny amount of debris rather than permanent physical damage.

The HP OfficeJet 4650 uses HP 63 cartridges, which have the printhead built directly onto the cartridge. This is good news: if you damaged the gold pads on the cartridge itself, you can just replace the cartridge. However, if you bent the tiny spring-loaded pins inside the printer’s carriage, that is a hardware issue.

1. Inspect for Physical Damage

Remove the cartridges and look inside the printer's carriage (where the cartridges sit).

• Check the Pins: Look for the small, gold-colored pins. They should all be standing at the same height and look symmetrical. If one is bent flat or pushed in and stuck, the printer cannot "talk" to the cartridge.

• Check the Cartridge: Look at the copper-colored pads on the back of the cartridge. Scratches are normal, but deep gouges or missing bits of copper can cause this error.

2. The "Pencil Eraser" Trick

Sometimes, a microscopic layer of oil from your skin or oxidation prevents a clean connection.

1. Clean the Cartridge: Take a clean pencil eraser and gently rub the copper contacts on the back of the cartridge. Wipe away any eraser dust with a lint-free cloth.

2. Clean the Printer Pins: Use a lint-free cloth (like a coffee filter or eyeglass cloth) lightly dampened with distilled water or isopropyl alcohol. Very gently wipe the pins inside the printer.

   Caution: Do not use paper towels or tissues, as they leave behind fibers that can cause more "Incompatible" errors.

 

3. Check for "Protective Tape"

It sounds simple, but if a tiny piece of the pink/orange plastic pull-tab remained on the gold contacts after you peeled it off, the printer will report it as incompatible because it can't detect the chip at all.

 

4. Hard Reset the Memory

Sometimes the printer "remembers" the error even after you've fixed the physical connection.

• With the printer ON, pull the power cord from the back.

• Wait 60 seconds.

• Plug it back in and let it go through its full startup routine before inserting the cartridges.

Fixing Incompatible or Missing Cartridge Errors on HP Printers This video provides a visual guide on exactly how to clean the electrical contacts and reset the carriage for 4600 series printers like yours.

I hope the above is helpful

If this helped you solve your problem, please mark my answer as the solution. Thank you.