How to ask a question on this forum to get the best answer fast.

Repairatrooper · ‎10-05-2020

There are plenty of articles on "How to post a question" but I wanted to create one from the view of an expert so that you can post a question that provides the information that makes answering your question quick and easy and provides the best answer the first time. Here are some dos and dont's to keep in mind.

Don't add an unrelated question to a post, especially one that has been marked as accepted. Your post can easily be overlooked because it does not show up as a new question needing a reply.

Do provide the exact model number. Even in the same family of printers, there are different features such as control panels with touch and ones without.

Do provide as much detail about what happened before your printer stopped working, even that fact that Fluffy the cat tripped on a cable could be significant.

Don't say my printer does not work. That tells us nothing and results in Experts having to ask questions back and forth.

Do describe anything you have tried already, if you do not you are likely to get a list of basic steps that you have already covered. I for one never assume a poster's level of technical competence and start at square one.

Don't post: I have tried everything I could find on this forum. That does not provide any guidance because 5 people searching this forum are likely to find completely different information.

Do tell us if you are using 3rd party toner or ink. We know people use 3rd party for a variety of reasons and none of us are here to judge, but the advice I give a user of OEM cartridges is likely different than the advice I give someone with off brand cartridges.

Don't lose your cool if the answer does not solve your problem right away. No one answering questions here is infallible and it might take two or more tries to resolve your issue.

Do mark an answer as an accepted solution if it solves your problem. Most of the subject experts here volunteer their time and having to answer the same question over and over consumes valuable time. An accepted solution means others searching the forum might find the answer without having to ask a question which is better for everyone.

MA1975 · ‎10-05-2020

What is the best HP printer for home use as well as sublimation(heat transfer)?

ScottAlbrecht · ‎10-15-2020

Clue that your support system may be flawed... a post on how to use it. First, this is NOT a dig on the author of this post. Its a dig on HP. I'm not using a free open source product and the reason I lose my cool is because HP pawns off their support responsibility to the community forum. This is a commercial product and I expect to be able to call in and get immediate help from a trained HP employee without having to jump through a number of time waster hoops. Community forums are for products and services that don't have support.

Furthermore, nearly if not 100% of my inquires are not "how-to" use questions they involve design problems or actual product defects. I post not for a solution but to hopefully make HP aware they have a problem since they don't have a formal process (they should) for doing this... at least one that I could find which means if it exists this is another failure. I also post so that if someone is doing product research they will see the issues that reasonable technical folks are having to make informed buying decisions.

It is not the responsibility of a paying "target" customer to learn how to avoid glitches in the product, get features to work, or anything more a phone number, email, or link to get support on their products (a good process will guide them through the steps you outline). Requiring such actually just shows bad and inadequate product design and company operational practices; they underscore areas the company is failing in.

Thank you Repairatrooper as a non-HP employee for helping HP and us work around their inadequacies and failures. I hope you are not upset with this post. I do mean this as a sincere thank you but if HP was doing their job there would be no need for a community support forum for in warranty products and all this same content here would be curated by HP support and their support process. HP also has to understand that if my HP product is under warranty I do NOT expect to have to waste lots of time searching knowledge bases and posting in community forums; especially when it is clear that my problems are due to poor design, lack of care and testing of their products.

The_Fossette · ‎10-23-2020

@PennyMcK

I reviewed your post and I understand that you are getting use setup cartridge error on the printer.

Don’t worry, I assure you I will try my best to get this sorted.

I recommend you follow the steps in the below article and check if it helps.

https://support.hp.com/in-en/product/hp-envy-photo-7800-all-in-one-printer-series/9073159/model/1648...

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

P.S: Welcome to the HP Support Community 😊

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!

Stay Home – Stay Safe

krgrannis · ‎10-23-2020

I have a HP OfficeJet H470 mobile printer. Been using it with a MacBook Pro for two years and its has worked fine. Today it will to print and sends the message will not communicate with computer. I unhooked the printer and took it to another Mac computer and hooked it up and downloaded the software and it works fine. Then I tried to remove the HP software from the MacBook but it will not delete it. So, I downloaded the latest version of software for the hp470 and installed it but the printer still will not print.

StewieB · ‎10-25-2020

Appreciate the helpful info 🙏

eds43 · ‎11-23-2022

where do I place 4x6 photo paper in my envy 6032 front loader tray?. I have tried the front also tried where the lines in the middle of the tray where it says 4x6 just keep getting error and out of paper

Craftinator-73 · ‎12-15-2022

I installed Cricut Design Space and I have Windows 10. When I go to open up the app, it tells me, " I need Windows 7 and above." Help here!

Kloep · ‎02-25-2023

Hi had a problem with my printer not printing color from Windows update. So I tried everything from HP and fixes from others. So finally I went old school. Install disc with the computer wired to my laptop. Presto all tools pref color grayscale,monochrome is now available again. So try USB. It worked for me despite the Windows updates. 😁