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

[katherine73]

If you follow this video, you'll see how to disassemble the side panel to remove the formatter board. https://youtu.be/IVEc8LnM_sg

1. Disconnect all the cables from the printer, and if you have a dummy plug in the RJ11 port then remove it.

2. Open the cartridge door in the front of the printer.

3. Open rear service door (for paper jams) at the back of the printer

4. In the back of the printer, remove the single phillips (#2 size) screw.

5. Pry open the door starting at the back first, and use a spudger to pop the clips. Go slow. The video will help to show were the clips are.

The formatter board is held in-place with 4 phillips screws. You need to be careful when removing the paper ribbon cables - they are very delicate! For testing, you only really need two cables plugged in:

1. Top right (MFRAME) - Touchscreen display

2. Lower right (POWER) - Power connection

The rest are for other functions like USB, ADF, Scanner, & Printer Engine.

There's one test combination I haven't tried yet - removing the WIFI board and testing. It's held in place to the formatter board with a single screw. It just plugs via an 8-pin header. Should be easy for someone to test. I'm going to wait to do anything else until my new formatter board comes in though.

[Repairatrooper]

I have a question, has anyone tried to downgrade the firmware by having the .ful file on a USB stick inserted into the front USB and then power cycle the machine?

[katherine73]

Repairatrooper,

Firmware files for the M281 are in rfu format - not ful. If they are, then I don't know where to get them in this format. Otherwise, this printer doesn't allow for automated firmware upgrades via USB memory stick. AFAIK, Upgrades can be initiated from the touchscreen UI, web console, or even FTP (if it's enabled.)

But to answer your question, yes - I've tried. The memory stick needs to be formatted with FAT file system (and I placed the zenith.rfu firmware image on it.) I can get get the printer to see the memory stick for a hot minute, but it only pulls up the "print from USB" menu for a 2-3 seconds before jumping to the 49 error code (then it reboots.)

You can't prevent it from power cycling and there's no menu option for upgrading firmware from USB. If we could stop the reboot from occurring, I believe the firmware upgrade might be possible via USB cable/computer.

[Pabba]

I was advised by HP that USB flashing was only available on enterprise models and unavailable on consumer models such as the M281. Although, I would be interested to find out if anyone from the community has had any success in doing this.

[Repairatrooper]

@katherine73 , well it appears that they do use a different encoding than they do for the Pro 400 series and do not use the .FUL format. Too bad, that might have been a quick fix. I typically only work with 400 level products and higher, but seeing the number of issues here with the 281, was hoping to provide a possible solution. I will ask another question. When the 49 error occurs, does the machine always restart or does it stay locked in a 49 error until restarted? Thinking of another possible solution here. 

[katherine73]

Repairatrooper, no worries and thanks for the help!

To answer, it always reboots after reporting error code 49. It's like clockwork. I left it on for 5 hours hoping it might glitch out and get stuck on that screen, but it keeps looping.

Do you know of anyway to report this to HP or have any contacts there who this could be passed along to? It's literally been 18 years since I last worked there, so there's no one I know still there. I believe this is serious enough that someone in their engineering team should look at it. There's way too many bricked printers at this point.

[Repairatrooper]

@Pabba , that statement is not accurate as the Pro 400 series products can be manipulated to take a firmware update from a USB stick but is not the normal method of updating/downgrading those devices. This method would not be considered common knowledge in the community.

[JoopR]

I'm wondering if taking the little battery out would do something? And I also noticed on the bottom right it says: "FW upgrade".

This is how the mainboard looks like in my MFP-M281fdw

[katherine73]

The printer's firmware would be stored on persistent flash. The battery would just be for CMOS. Removing it will likely only cause the time/date to reset.

[katherine73]

Sorry, missed your comment regarding the FW Upgrade stencil on the board. It looks like a 2-pin jumper that was never populated when the board was assembled. It's probably a debug level option.

You could try shorting it wire or mini clip if you have one. It's worth experimenting given the formatter board is not working anyway. Your USB memory stick needs to be formatted with a FAT file system. If you have a Mac, I can tell you how to easily extract the firmware image for a M281 printer. If not there's links around with the rfu image floating around (pre-lock down for non genuine HP toner cartridges.) See if shorting it and then plugging in the USB memory stick with the image will do anything.

The other more interesting printing on that board is the debug header (non-populated.) Might be worth shorting that to see if the board boots differently. That's where I'd personally start. Once my new board comes in (tentatively scheduled for delivery on Saturday), I'll give it a try with my original board.