Color LaserJet Pro MFP-M281fdw shows 49 Service Error after firmware update from 20th October

[Djoka60]

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@Don256 wrote:

My board doesn't have the pins either. Did you get yours to work? I'm not sure which pins to touch to force it into firmware update mode.

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Follow instructions for boards without pin here:

[content removed]

Scroll down for images to the text "European Models do not have pins, you’ll need to jump the pads in the middle ".

[ClearToSend]

Formatter Board

Just above the box with the "FW Upgrade" pins is a row of four contact pads.  You need the second one, which is located just north west of the 'R' of 'R164'.  You will see in my photograph that the surface is rather scratched where I have used this pad quite a few times.  A paperclip (suitably bent) fits nicely in the earth socket of the jumper location marked with the earth symbol (immediately below the '64' of 'R164') and the other end can be manoeuvred into position over the second pad so you can hit the power button with your free hand.  Takes about 5 seconds for the "Ready 2 Send" prompt to appear and then you can release the  paperclip.  Good luck!  It's small and fiddly but you will know quite quickly if you have been successful. As the other poster has advised have a look at the guide on [content removed]

[Don256]

Thanks for nothing HP. The true IT masters are on this thread. Thank you to everyone who shared their expert knowledge on how to fix this.  Thank you IT Bacon for creating a website with the steps defined with pictures easy enough that most people can fix it themselves. Thank you to Djoka60 and ClearToSend for quickly answering my reply on which pads to touch. 

FYI, I figured I would give HP a chance to fix my printer before I took it apart. Big mistake. I should have saved myself the headache. It was hard enough to find a number to call them without having to pay $19.99 to get support. Then they did me the favor of waive it so they could troubleshoot my problem. After trying to connect with a usb cable and usb stick they told me I would have to buy a new printer since it was out of warranty. No help after they were the cause of my problem.

[Repairatrooper]

@ClearToSend I am not convinced that this will solve the problem for everyone. In the case of my customer's unit it will show the Ready2download prompt and then restart instantly and return to the 49 error. I think some formatters are just too far gone to recover. Hopefully for others this works.

[Don256]

When I fixed mine this morning it failed using the firmware update I downloaded from HP named cljmfpM280fw_20220414.rfu. It gave me an error on the printer screen even though the message in command prompt said it loaded successfully. I tried the one from IT Bacon's website (cljmfpM280fw_20220414.ENG.rfu) and it worked. 

[ClearToSend]

I think everyone's case is different to be fair.  Some have been "lucky" and the firmware update has been successful.  I suspect those who have been lucky had the setting for "allow downgrade" set to "yes" which allowed the firmware to stick.  In my case, I have interesting news.   Mine went from the 49 service error to apparently downloading the firmware successfully but then asking "resend upgrade" which hung the machine.  I placed my new formatter board in another M281 and that booted up successfully indicating firmware 20220414, which was what I had downloaded to it and it printed.  I figured that something else has been changed and decided to replace the "engine controller unit", which is the main board on the machine.  A lot more dismantling, but it has finally FIXED the issue and I can print and scan again.  So maybe if you have the "resend upgrade" error you will need to replace the main board and I would guess that maybe the formatter board would be OK as it is, but to be safe I guess change both boards as I have.  Don't rely on this advice though as I didn't try a single board replacement, but it is an interesting observation that maybe others on this forum would like to know about.  I will wait for the "Early December" firmware upgrade and try that on the problematic board to see if it resolves it.  I will need the .RFU file rather than an .EXE file though as I can only load the firmware via the USB at the back of the machine because it is 'offline' so that might be a problem.  Anyway, the new Firmware hasn't yet arrived as of the 15th of December.  Hope this helps.  

[incith]

Some of y'all's comments really.. thank you 🥰

Merry Christmas!

@HP...we're just trying to help each other here.

[ClearToSend]

New firmware has appeared on the HP drivers site.  This might work for some of you where other solutions have not worked.  Bearing in mind you are probably on this forum because of the previous Firmware problems, you may not be willing to try it, but just letting you know it is out there.  M280_Series_FW_Update-20221207.nativeofficefonts.exe  is available from https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-color-laserjet-pro-m280-m281-multifunction-print...

Of course it is very likely to have "Dynamic Security" built in and that may not allow you to subsequently downgrade your firmware, but hopefully you will be able to use HP cartridges and not be told they are "fakes" as was the case with the 20221010 firmware.  If anyone can extract the .RFU file from the .exe file I would be very interested as the .EXE file is of no use to me as the printer never gets to "Ready" mode (the 'resend upgrade' problem).

[katherine73]

ClearToSend, Try this: http://ftp.hp.com/pub/networking/software/pfirmware/cljmfpM280fw_20221207.ENG.rfu

[ClearToSend]

Thank you @Katherine73!  Have now installed that firmware with my previous board(s) and can report that it downloads to the Formatter Board and I get the "Complete 'smiley'" message which all seems good.  On re-booting however, it stops at the "Resend Upgrade" yellow triangle error that I was getting before.  I suspect, therefore, that the previous 20221010 firmware upgrade also affected something on the "engine controller unit" (the main circuit board).  I am fairly certain if I moved the formatter board to a printer without the "Resend upgrade" problem it would boot correctly, as other boards with earlier re-sent firmware (the cljmfpM280fw_20220414.ENG.rfu version) worked properly on a different printer.  I think anyone with the "Resend Upgrade" yellow triangle error will need to consider replacing the "engine controller unit".  I also want to thank you for the link to the m281-repair-manual-1.pdf which helped me to exchange the engine controller unit (ECU) from another printer I obtained as "spares or repair".  Just in case it wasn't clear from earlier posts, I have managed to get my original  printer working again having replaced the ECU board and Formatter Board.  HP updates firmly switched off!  My machine now accepts the previously rejected brand new genuine HP cartridges.  Tempted to sell the spare formatter board, but for me, that wasn't the whole problem so maybe I will just leave it in the cupboard...