HP 6970 NEVER shuts down; display keeps spinning 'shutting down'.

[tmmVermilion]

I have only had this printer 5 months and it is not heavily used; I am the only user and it is on a home computer used sparsely.  Very frustrating that this has happened several times already.

I just tried to print 1 page from an open Adobe Acrobat document. The printer flashes that there may be a paper jam, then flashes that the printer needs to be turned off and on. I press the printer on/off button and the display shows 'Shutting down' with a spinning round arrow, but it has been 30 minutes and it is still spinning.  

I then tried to unplug the power cord, waited 3 minutes, then plugged back in. The display tells me the printer was not turned off properly and I could damage the printer (catch-22).  Then it goes into spinning mode again.

I have a Wired connection.

I suspect if I restart my whole system it may work again, or one time I left it spinning overnight and I believe it stopped and I was able to print that time. 

Did I mention this has happened almost every time I try to print?  I need to figure this out before I urgently need something printed. 

Thanks ~ Terry Melcher

[edit]

[MKazi]

@tmmVermilion

Welcome to HP Support Forums. 🙂

I understand that you have an HP OfficeJet Pro 6970 All-in-One Printer and it does not shutdown and displays a message as "shutting down". The printer flashes that there may be a paper jam, then flashes that the printer needs to be turned off and on. Not to worry, I'll be glad to assist you with this case.

I would like to know the following information to assist you better.

• Did any hardware changes take place on the printer recently (paper jam, ink cartridge replacement, etc.)?
• Is the printer able to make a photocopy successfully? If yes then it indicates that the printer and ink cartridges are all fine. 

While you respond to that. I recommend you to perform the following steps to isolate the issue and arrive at a fix: 

• Disconnect the power cable from the printer while the printer is still ON.
• Disconnect any other cables if connected the printer.
• Press and hold the printer’s power button for 15 seconds.
• The printer should be directly connected to the wall outlet and not to a surge protector.
• Reconnect the power cable to print and the printer should power ON by itself. If the printer doesn’t power ON then please manually power it ON.

Please download and install the firmware update for your printer via this link: https://hp.care/2pU3yqr

You may restart the printer once the firmware update is installed successfully. 

If the issue still persists then you may reset the printer. A private message has been sent with the reset instructions.

Hope this helps. Feel free to keep me posted for further assistance.

Good luck! 🙂

[tmmVermilion]

I had not even used the printer for probably 2 weeks before this incident: so no paper jams, no cartridge changes. 

I cannot answer the question about whether a photocopy was possible as I intended to take my printer off our home network anyway, so did that before I saw this reply, and all is good right now.

Thanks!

Terry

[MKazi]

@tmmVermilion

You're most welcome.

I'm glad that the printer is working fine and hope it stays that way,

BL means the bottom left of the printer's screen. It is the return arrow symbol. My bad as I did not mention it.

The photocopy is a stand alone functionality on he printer irrespective of whether it is connected to a computer or not. But I don' think it is required to be tested now because the printer seems to be good. 🙂

Happy printing! 

[tmmVermilion]

MKazi, I clicked on the https://hp.care/2pU3yqr link you provided, intending to install the firmware but received a warning screen from this link below. It says the link has been identified by bitly as being potentially problematic. 

I have never seen this before; I am running Norton on my pc.

Is there another way to get to the file to install? Can I just search for updates for my HP6970 printer?

Thanks ~ Terry

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/hp-officejet-pro-6970-all-in-one-printer-series/8289585

[MKazi]

@tmmVermilion

You're welcome Terry.

The is genuine which I provided. However, the direct link to download and install the firmware is here: https://support.hp.com/in-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-officejet-pro-6970-all-in-one-printer-series/828...

NOTE: As the printer is working fine now, I suggest you not to update the firmware as of now.

Keep me posted for any further questions.

Cheers! 🙂