Setup error: "New, unused cartridges must be used to start up the printhead.”

[VasundharaGaur]

Hello,

I bought a brand new HP Officejet Pro 9015e back in January this year and followed the instructions for the set up process. Before it could print the alignment page, I got the "remove and reinstall the indicated cartridge, making sure that it is correctly installed" error. I tried the following things: 1) Removed the cartridges, cleaned the copper chip and the colored contact spot, reinstalled, and restarted the printer multiple times and have received the same message. The first time this happened, the error popped up for only the Cyan cartridge, but at the second attempt the message indicated a problem with all (CYMK) cartridges. 2) I did a hard reset and still had no luck.

I eventually contacted HP support and after 1+ hour of troubleshooting and being unable to solve the issue, they said that they would send me new cartridges. However, I only received three (Yellow, Magenta, and Black). To avoid further delays, I purchased a new original HP 936 Cyan cartridge myself.

When I attempted setup with these new cartridges, I received a “Use setup cartridge only” error. I checked the labels, and none of the new cartridges—including the ones sent by HP and the one I purchased—were marked as “setup" cartridges unlike the original ones that came with the printer.

I then reinstalled the original cartridges, but now I’m getting a different error: “New, unused cartridges must be used to start up the printhead.” I have tried restarting the printer, updating the firmware, and cleaning the cartridges but the issue remains. I still haven’t been able to print even the alignment page.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @VasundharaGaur,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

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

Thank you for contacting HP Support, and we sincerely apologise for the frustration you've experienced. We appreciate the detailed description of your setup process and the troubleshooting you've already completed.
 

Based on your description, your HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e (sometimes referenced as part of the 9125e series, depending on regional bundling) is currently in initial setup mode, which requires the use of the original "Setup" cartridges that shipped with the printer to complete the initial ink priming and alignment process.

Since the original Setup cartridges were already inserted once and may now be flagged as "used" or have lost recognition due to the cartridge error, and the replacement cartridges are not Setup cartridges, here’s what we recommend:

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

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

VikramTheGreat

HP Support

[Pakurz]

My OfficeJetPro 9125e had a series of problems that HP support could not resolve. I reset my printer to factory defaults and now it asks for new "startup" cartridges and menu is locked. Restarting, disconnecting power, then restarting, nothing could get past "Replace Cartridges" message. Tip provided by HP is not accessible.

[VasundharaGaur]

Hi @VikramTheGreat,

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried touching "home", "back", "back", "home" as suggested but nothing happened. Is there something else I need to do or look out for to fix this? 

For context, I tried that combo and then opened and closed the cartridge door and it did not get rid of the error. I then took out and reloaded the cartridges and that did not help either. I also turned the printer off and on again but the error still persisted. I tried the above steps for both the setup and the replacement cartridges. Finally, I restored the printer settings to factory default but I'm still seeing the error. 

Am I missing any step here, or are there any other troubleshooting steps I need to follow? TIA!

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @VasundharaGaur,

Thank you for letting me know. Sorry to hear that you still have trouble. Could you please share the image of the ink cartridges currently installed in the printer, so I can try to check and find more help.

Take care and have a good day.

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

VikramTheGreat

HP Support

[Pakurz]

  Final thoughts from HP customer support:

"Final Thoughts: You’ve done everything right so far — this appears to be beyond user-resolvable."

After hours trying to get new HP to print, I finally removed the print head. Pic on left shows print head nearly covered with foamy black ink. Pic on right after gentle cleaning. Tried setup again, but same "gone wild" banging away inside that covered the print head AGAIN. Returned the printer and bought another brand printer that works just fine.  Bye-Bye, HP. You made something so difficult, I will not deal with this company again.

P.S. My first PC was a Radio Shack with 2 floppy disk bays bought in 1981. I have been a heavy user of PC's  (and printers) ever since. That is 44 years of heavy experience.

 

[VasundharaGaur]

Thanks @VikramTheGreat

Here's a photo of the cartridges. The 4 on the top are the setup cartridges that came with the printer, and the 4 on the bottom are the normal cartridges (the black, magenta, and yellow ones were sent to me by HP customer support, and I bought the cyan one online). 

[VasundharaGaur]

 

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @VasundharaGaur,

Thank you for sharing the images of the cartridge's Please perform a Hard reset and HP Firmware update, use regular HP Ink cartridges, and try the steps that were shared in the previous posts.

Please remove the Cartridges from the Printer if possible, and try a Hard Reset. Do keep us posted to help you better

** Hard reset:
1. Turn the printer on if it is not already on.
2. Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you continue.
3. With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.
4. Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
5. Wait at least 60 seconds.
6. Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet.
NOTE: HP recommends connecting the printer power cord directly to the wall outlet.,
7. Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer.
8. Turn on the printer if it does not automatically turn on. The printer might go through a warm-up period. The printer lights might flash, and the carriage might move.
9. Wait until the warm-up period finishes and your printer is idle and silent before you proceed.
 

HP Smart App: Please uninstall the HP Smart app --> restart the Device, Wi-Fi router and printer, --> reinstall it and add the printer.
 

HP Firmware Update: Please update the Firmware from the link. This will help to update the firmware on the printer or devices.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

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

VikramTheGreat

HP Support

[VasundharaGaur]

Hi @VikramTheGreat,

I removed the cartridges and did a hard reset as suggested, waited for the printer to become idle, and then inserted the normal HP cartridges when prompted to do so. When the display flashed the "Use setup cartridge" error, I followed the earlier instruction to touch the "home, back, back, home" options on the display. But just like before, nothing happened. I took the cartridges out and re-inserted them but that didn't change anything. I did the whole process again (starting from the hard reset step) but that didn't make any difference either.

Can you please help me figure out how to do a firmware update? There was a time when I could navigate through the options on the touchscreen to do that, but it is now stuck at the "Use Setup Cartridges" message (see image) and I cannot go anywhere from there -- I can only scroll up and down, but there is no "back", or "next" option, and the other buttons (home, back, and "?") on the panel are unresponsive as well. 

 

Thanks in advance for your help!