m252dw toner tray stuck

[eakers]

Hi, I have a m252dw laser printer that I've had for a few years, and have always used HP toner. We purchased more toner (like $500 worth!) and went to open the drawer to change out the black, and the drawer wouldn't budge. The tray goes up when the door is opened, and the blue lever will disengage the lock on the right, but then....something is stopping it on the right side. I've tried everything I can think of, including the "butter knife trick," calling HP, updating the firmware, googling every term I can think of, and the best I can find is a recommendation for tricking the cartridge lock error (even though I have genuine HP ink). Nothing works. I'm at my wit's end, and really don't want to give up because we just invested in all this toner. 

My call to HP was especially frustrating: she told me that there is no way to open the drawer except by the blue lever. She then told me to pull harder, at which time the blue lever broke. Grrrrrrr. Then she said that there is a program where HP *might* replace my unused toner with toner for a new printer, but that I needed to buy that new printer first, through them, and then they would send me to their escalation department, where they would CONSIDER whether or not to exchange the toner. Which they probably won't, since we opened the box before pulling out the toner tray. 

I'm using an iMac, several iPads and iPhones and an IBM Thinkpad to print. Have never had an issue with any of this before now. In fact, it still prints, just not with the black cartridge, which is now empty. 

Is it possible that I need to revert to old firmware? It does feel like the firmware/software is telling the machine to keep something that comes down from on top of the cartridges to stay engaged with the cartridge. If I do need to revert, any ideas where I might access the old firmware? 

If it's a physical problem, any ideas on what I need to dislodge or reset to get the &*%^FSD&% door to open? I'm not opposed to taking it apart, since it's now an unusable hunk of junk, and I've got nothing to lose. Especially since the HP rep guided me into breaking the handle!

Any advice is appreciated!

[Jay_G24]

Hi @eakers,

As this is a hardware issue, I’d recommend you contact HP Phone Support in your region regarding service options for your printer.

Follow the instructions below to reach them:

1) Click on this link - https://support.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp

2) Select your product type below.

3) Enter the serial of your device. 

4) Select the country from the drop-down. 

5) Select the chat or get phone number options based on your preferences. 

6)Fill the web-form and proceed further.

If you are having trouble navigating through the above options, it's most likely because the device is out of warranty. If yes? please send me a private message with the region you are contacting us from. Check next to your profile name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it.  

Have a great day! 

And, Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

Please click “Accept as 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!

[eakers]

Hi, thanks for the help. Unfortunately, I finally received word from HP that the stuck toner tray was “out of their hands” and that nothing could be done. Since I had $500+ in toner for the machine, we decided to just buy another one of the exact same model (not a great option, but it’ll work for now). The problem is that I put our existing GENUINE HP toner cartridges into it, and it’s refusing to give me supply levels, and gives me an error saying that “used or counterfeit” cartridges are in use. 

Any ideas?

Thanks!