Bought off max #63 hp re manufact cartridges for my hp offjet 4650. Worked once and now hp disabled.

[Hman66]

I went to office max to buy cartridges for my officejet 4650. I had the real hp cartridges in my hand and the guy says I could buy the off max remanufactured for about $3 less for a little more ink so I did. I put them in and printed one picture then got an error message saying they needed to be re installed when in reality they were disabled. I re set factory settings but still can’t use them. Any help? 

[Bob_Headrick]

You might try cleaning the electrical contacts in both the cartridge and printer.  If that fails I would suggest returning them to "that guy" at Office Max for a refund.  

HP cannot control the egnerally poor quality of third party products, see the document here for information:  http://www.buyerslab.com/products/samples/HP-Inkjet-Cartridges-vs-Refilled-Cartridges.pdf 

[Hman66]

Hi Bob....I did clean all contacts to no avail. After googling this I found where HP can render the cartridges useless in ALL printers except for the initial one where they were once used. Now, after reading your link, it could be poor quality and Office Max was mentioned. Nobody will take them back after they are opened so I guess I’m out about $50 unless there is another solution. 

[Bob_Headrick]

What exactly is the error message you are seeing?  I would suggest returning the cartridges and insisting on a replacement. 

Genuine HP cartridges have a warranty, they would be replaced if defective.  Ask Office Max about their warranty.

[Hman66]

“Remove and reinstall the indicated ink cartridge, making sure it is correctly installed” then is states if I continue to get the error message to get new cartridges. I don’t have the box nor the receipt as it worked once to print a picture of my new grandson. 

[Bob_Headrick · Accepted solution]

The error message indicates an electrical issue with the cartridge or the connection between the cartridge and the printer.  If the issue was related to HP locking the cartridge to a particular printer serial number the message would be something like "HP Protected Cartridge Installed. Replace cartridge.".  That is an entirely different issue and is not what is going on with your cartridges.

To address the issue you are having the troubleshooting steps in the document here may help. If not I would take the cartridges back to the store and ask to see a manager.  

[Hman66]

Hey Bob, well I took my printer, with the ink cartridges still intact, back to Office Depot yesterday. Their tech support guy was nice and saw the error message and installed true HP cartridges and it worked fine. He refunded the price of the remanufactured cartridges and I bought the new ones. He said it occasionally happens. It’s so nice when a store steps up and does the right thing. Thanks for your input. 

[Bob_Headrick]

I am glad you had your issue resolved.  Please mark my post above as the accepted solution, this may help others with a similar issue find the solution.