CN045AN does not work with OfficeJet Pro 8600 N911a

[pjziek]

I am having the same problem.  I have an HP Officejet Pro 8600 and have been trying to install new unopened boxed HP black cartridges (950XL) that have a designation of CN045AN on the cartridge.  The appear to be identical to my old used cartridges that had a designation of CN045A.  I get the header message on the printer: cartridge is incompatible and a more detailed messgae that the cartridge in not intended for use with this printer.   I also see this with a new Cyan cartridge (951XL).  Both boxes show a Z10 designation and the message For use only in US and Canada, and both have the "AN" suffix on the cartridge rather than the "A" or "AE" .  I have tried everything the HP website recommends including updating firmware, replacing the driver app on my Windows 10 laptop, powering the printer down and then back up, removing and reseating the printhead...  Nothing seems to work.  So my questions are:

- Are these counterfiet cartridges (one syas Mayalasia and another China)?  I tried checking with the QR reader on my phone but it doesn't go to the HP site or doe anything.

- Is there a way to get around the HP validity check or force it?

- How do you tell a valid cartridge without opening a box and testing it?

- Is HP doing anything about this issue?

[Bob_Headrick]

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@pjziek wrote:

I am having the same problem.  I have an HP Officejet Pro 8600 and have been trying to install new unopened boxed HP black cartridges (950XL) that have a designation of CN045AN on the cartridge.  The appear to be identical to my old used cartridges that had a designation of CN045A.  I get the header message on the printer: cartridge is incompatible and a more detailed messgae that the cartridge in not intended for use with this printer.   I also see this with a new Cyan cartridge (951XL).  Both boxes show a Z10 designation and the message For use only in US and Canada, and both have the "AN" suffix on the cartridge rather than the "A" or "AE" .  I have tried everything the HP website recommends including updating firmware, replacing the driver app on my Windows 10 laptop, powering the printer down and then back up, removing and reseating the printhead...  Nothing seems to work.  So my questions are:

- Are these counterfiet cartridges (one syas Mayalasia and another China)?  I tried checking with the QR reader on my phone but it doesn't go to the HP site or doe anything.

- Is there a way to get around the HP validity check or force it?

- How do you tell a valid cartridge without opening a box and testing it?

- Is HP doing anything about this issue?

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What country are you in?  If you are in the US or Canada the proper cartridge is the one you have, the Z10. 

Unfortunately if you ever put a -Z20, Z30 or Z40 cartridge in your printer it has "locked" itself to that region.  If your region is Z10 you will need to Contact HP to request a "Regionalization Reset". There should not be any charge for this, it is covered as part of the cartridge warranty. You will need to have access to your computer and printer while on the line with HP. You will also need to have a set of cartridges for the new region, once the reset is complete cartridges from the original region will no longer work.  HP's web page on the subject is here.

[pjziek]

Bob:  Thanks for the solution.  I will try it, but have the following question because I don't ever remember seeing a Zxx designation on any of the older cartridges I used (does not mean it wasn't there).  Is there a way to tell what "region" my printer is set to if it is not Z10?  Is the Zxx designation a new program?  I don't remember seeing this on any prior cartridge I have purchased in the past.

[Bob_Headrick · Accepted solution]

What country are you in?

If you still have cartridges that will work you can print a test page:  from the home page scroll to the side to the gear icon.  Select this, then scroll down to the bottom for Reports, select this, then select Printer Status Reports.

This will print a status report.  Line 6 will show the current printer zone.  

The cases I have seen tracked down were the result of folks buying (genuine) HP cartridges on Amazon and at some point got a cartridge for the "wrong" region.  In the early days of this regionalization it may have been easy to order and/or install cartridges for the wrong region.

The regionalized cartridges were first introduced (rather quietly) in January 2017.  I did not hear about this until late March 2017 when this issue started showing up in the forum.

[pjziek]

I did get through to the HP helpdesk, and they remotely reset my printer to the proper zone, i.e. Z10 for me.  THank you for the advice.  Does any one know why HP implemented the zone cartridge?  I asked the help desk person, but only got a vague response about regions needing special cartridges that I find hard to believe.

Can anyone tell me the real reason HP implemented this? It looks like an attempt to force people to buy directly from HP or their major distribution points or possibly an attempt to curb counterfiet cartridges.  It certainly does not look to be a benefit to consumers.

[Bob_Headrick]

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@pjziek wrote:

[snip] Can anyone tell me the real reason HP implemented this? It looks like an attempt to force people to buy directly from HP or their major distribution points or possibly an attempt to curb counterfeit cartridges.  It certainly does not look to be a benefit to consumers.

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I am glad they were able to get things resolved.

The  HP statement on the issue is in the document here, which near the bottom of the page says: "The new regionalized ink cartridges help protect you from HP ink cartridges sourced through non-official distribution channels, for which HP cannot control transportation and storage conditions. This helps ensure quality and decreases the chances of an ink cartridge being counterfeit."

It is probably not a coincidence that this was introduced after attempts to introduce firmware to block the use of third party 950/951 cartridges were rolled back after poor market reception.  

[jsaba]

Information shared by Bob Headrick is exactly correct.  The only challenge you'll have is a) actually getting through to HP and b) convincing the individual you happen to get on the phone that this is a well documented issue.  Otherwise it worked exactly as described below:

• Printer was purchased from Costco
• Ink purchased from Amazon
• Until recently, the ink you bought (Zxxx) didn't matter as long as you bought genuine HP Ink with correct Part#
• The minute I inserted the latest cartridge from Amazon (CN045AN - Z10 ), the printer refused to print (stating cartridge was incompatible) 
• Once I finally got through to HP (by calling 800-474-6836), they did a desktop share with me, web'd into my printer, and entered a series of support-only codes and reset the regionalization.
• 3 hours later (after researching and t-shooting for an hour and half on the phone), I was back in business.

NOTE: I was lucky enough to have a complete set of the new Z10 cartridges on hand.  If I had not, i would have been SOL.  You MUST have these available in advance.

John