For HP PhotoSmart printers with Fax capabilities, use this guide.
Are you experiencing the ink system failure on your printer? The error is
caused by air getting in the ink tubes feeding the system. This is normally
cause by refilled cartridges but can be caused by any cartridge that goes very
low on ink and then tries to reload ink. This reset procedure does have to be
performed with a full cartridge installed. The following reset procedure will
correct the issue by purging the ink tubes and flushing any air trapped in them.

Please perform the following steps in order:

1. Press and hold the “*” key.

2. Press the “#” key and release both keys.

3. Display should say “Enter Special Key Combo”

4. Press and release in sequence the “1”, “2” and “3” buttons.

5. Screen should say “support” R0631M”

6. Press and release the right arrow button until the display says “System
Configuration Menu”.

7. Press and release the “OK” button.

8. Display should say “Hardware failure status”. If not there already, Arrow Key
over to “Hardware failure status”,

9. Press and release the “OK” button.

10. Display should say “Hardware failure status: Clear. Press OK to clear”.

11. Press and release the “OK” Button. Message changes to “Hardware failure
status Cleared. Press Cancel to continue”.

12. Press and release the “CANCEL” button as many times as necessary, so that,
either the “Welcome to Photosmart Express” screen appears, or, the “Ink System
Failure” screen appears. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO PRINT AT THIS STAGE.

13. Using the Power Button, turn the unit OFF and unplug the power cable from
back of the printer and wall outlet.

14. Wait 30 seconds for the power to get discharged and then plug the power
cable into the wall outlet first and then into the back of the printer

15. Turn the unit on. The printer may display message “USE POWER BUTTON TO
SHUTDOWN THE PRINTER” followed by “PRESS OK TO CONTINUE”. Press OK. The Printer
will start the “ONE TIME INK INITIALIZATION PROCESS”. Allow this process to
complete and do not interrupt. Once the initialization process is complete, the
printer will print out a Diagnostic Page.

16. Press Setup menu on the All-in-One then scroll using the arrow key and
select Print Report then select Self Test Report.

You should be back up and running.

If you feel this solution helped and you feel like supporting this site please
use the button below to send a donation. This helps us keep the site running so
we can keep adding content to help users like you.

From our feedback on www.fixya.com

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54 Comments on HP Photosmart “ink system failure” #1

chris on Sat, 27th Feb 2010 10:53 am


Incredible, I called HP and they said its a hardware issue and I need to send in the printer. I was about to go buy a new printer. This took me less than 60 seconds to do and it saved me hundreds of $$$$.

Jessica on Wed, 21st Apr 2010 6:03 pm


Yes totally AGREED !!!!!! I contacted my warranty they offer me a settlement of 100.00 for a 350.00 printer. I did the diagnostic test and now my printer is up and running fine.

kamaran on Sat, 24th Apr 2010 11:04 am


Thanks a lot , you are great man
My problem was solved less than 5 minuets
and now works fine

admin on Sat, 24th Apr 2010 12:15 pm


I’m glad we could help you. Is such a shame that HP does not give this information out.

Katherine on Fri, 2nd Jul 2010 11:13 pm


Thank you so, so, so, much! I can not wait to tell my husband that I fixed our printer. We thought this one was toast. Bless you!

Bree on Tue, 31st Aug 2010 5:05 pm


THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I was on the phone for over an hour with HP for them to tell me there was no way to fix it and that I needed to buy another $185 printer. I was so upset. Then found your info and it worked perfectly!!!! AMAZING!!!!

Flor on Thu, 30th Sep 2010 4:35 pm


This is so genius! My boss and I were a week without a printer. We were getting ready to buy a new one when we came across this. The directions were super easy! I love this, and hate HP Tech Support for trying to charge me a bundle of money. Good job! Two thumbs up!

Valerie Salsgiver on Tue, 5th Oct 2010 10:06 am


You people are absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for helping me to fix my HP Photosmart printer. HP tech support told me that I needed to purchase a new printer and that they could not help me. I did what you suggested, and it worked. You’re the best!

martine92 on Wed, 6th Oct 2010 8:58 am


Merci, j’arrive de nouveau à imprimer.
Merci beaucoup

Ann Kucharski on Sun, 24th Oct 2010 6:10 pm


Thank you so much. . .this was the final attempt at repair and i am so glad my husband found this site. . . .it works perfectly now! I called HP and the tech basically told me that he refused to help me because i was not using HP inks. . i got refills way cheaper!! I followed the instructions to the point. .. it was very easy to do and follow. . .thanks again!!

Dennis Colbert on Wed, 26th Jan 2011 11:34 am


Awsome!!! This worked like a champ. Didn’t take much time at all. Printer is working again. We thought we needed to spend more money on a new printer…this is so helpful! Can’t thank you enough.

Theythinkimatechguru on Thu, 27th Jan 2011 11:46 pm


Oh my bloody goodness!! One of my clients was not using her Photosmart c7250 AIO printer anymore and asked me to “dispose” of it from her office (they were cleaning out some “older” computer stuff)

I took it back to my office, got online researching the error message and came across this site. Did the procedure and it worked!!

Thanks . . . and Cha-Ching!!

Tammy R. on Tue, 15th Mar 2011 7:28 pm


OMG! I tried several steps. Tried to get online help with hp. Lost connection. So hp sent me any email with the same steps you have here. Tried it. It didn’t work! When I finally got through to hp online, we did several steps that didn’t work. They also tried to sell me another printer…. I did a search on the problem and found your sight. You explained that air can get in the line with low ink cartridges, so I made sure they were all full and ran test by your instructions and it WORKED!!!!!!!!! Thankyou

Jan on Fri, 12th Aug 2011 7:45 pm


YOU SAVED MY REAR!! Worked like a charm! Donation made! Thanks a million!

Rich on Fri, 9th Mar 2012 4:27 pm


Our C6180 stopped printing on Sunday and I went out of town until this afternoon. Googled ‘HP C6180 photosmart printer problem’ and one of the selections was yours. 5 minutes, maybe!!!! Amazing! Absolutely wonderful! Donation should already be there through PayPal. I had already stopped to check prices on a replacement printer……. Thanks!.

LUANNE on Fri, 13th Apr 2012 10:47 am


WONDERFUL….the only thing is when the “support” code popped up (#5 step) it was R063″2″M…instead of “1″
AND step #12 the Initialization process started during this step, so I let it run the course THEN shut off, ect. Thank YOU!!!!

UW on Wed, 9th May 2012 9:59 am


WONDERFUL ADVICE – PROBLEM WAS SOLVED WITHIN 10 MINUTES. NO WAY TO GET IT SOLVED USING THE SUPPORT OF HP. THANKS A LOT

Orsi on Wed, 6th Jun 2012 3:58 am


Hi there! Thanks so much for this tip. I haven’t tried it yet as you say full cartridge is needed and for the moment one of the color cartridges is empty. So as i understand I shouldn’t try it before installing a new one? Or do you mean the black should be full? Please advise.
Regards
Orsi

CCL_TECH on Thu, 7th Jun 2012 6:46 am


Both cartridges need to be full for the printer to do a full purge and calibration.

Orsi on Thu, 7th Jun 2012 5:13 pm


Thanks for your answer! Still wondering what I have to do: I have a , there are 6 cartridges (black + 5 colors), do I have to replace them all? And what shall I do with the hal-filled cartridges? They wouldn’t dry out? (Disposing them would be a vaste, wouldn’t it?) Thank you for further advise in advance.
Orsi

Orsi on Thu, 7th Jun 2012 5:15 pm


Sorry, the model name was missing: I have a Photosmart C 6100.

Orsi on Wed, 13th Jun 2012 9:13 am


Still waiting for help. Do I have to replace all the 6 cartridges?

admin on Wed, 13th Jun 2012 3:48 pm


Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Yes You will need to have full cartridges installed in the unit because all of the colors will go through the line purge.

Orsi on Wed, 13th Jun 2012 4:22 pm


Great, thanks, so I will buy a full set of cartridges. Do you think I can store the half-filled cartridges and use them later? Thanks! Regards

admin on Wed, 13th Jun 2012 10:10 pm


Yes, You can use the older cart after the purge.

Orsi on Fri, 15th Jun 2012 6:24 am


thank you!

Orsi on Sun, 17th Jun 2012 4:29 pm


I’m stuck at step 12. Everything worked fine until then but after pressing Cancel (on my device it’s “annuller” many times I still have the message “Welcome to Photosmart Express” on the display. So, even if this might be dangerous to stop the procedure at this point, I didn’t continue doing your steps, I rather wait for further advice. Thanks a lot!
Orsi

Orsi on Sun, 24th Jun 2012 5:37 pm


Hi there,
I’m a bit disappointed . Followed your advice, bought the whole set of cartridge but still, I can’t print yet (for 3 weeks now). Stuck at step 12, see my messages above. Looking forward to your kind advice. Thanks,
regards
Orsi

Phantastic on Wed, 18th Jul 2012 11:07 am


Worked like a charm. Got the printer from one my client for recycling. glad to have it working.

JP on Wed, 5th Sep 2012 10:10 am


Voila!!! Many thanks. I had the same poor experience with HP tech support as did the others. Thanks for posting. Your website is listed in My Favorites.

Orsi on Sun, 9th Sep 2012 1:26 pm


I still don’t have neither a solution, nor any help on this site since my comment 27 (see comments 27-30). I would appreciate any help. Thanks in davance!
Orsi

Jerry on Tue, 2nd Oct 2012 10:14 am


Thanks admin for your step-by-step guide. It worked perfectly with one minor variation for my HP photosmart C7200 all-in-one model. When igot to your step 5 I got a different support code beginning with a V but using the right arrow button got me no where. So on the next try at step 6 I pressed the left arrow button until system configuration menu came up then followed the rest of your steps. It appears to have solved the problem. I am not sure how you came up with this solution but I am sending a $ donation to help you keep up the good work. I am extremely disappointed in HP given the reviews I have read here and their lack of help to me on their website. I will not likely purchase another HP.

Best regards,
Jerry

Andre on Wed, 12th Dec 2012 1:58 pm


Thank you soooo very much. Fixed my issue on the HP Photosmart C7280

Keith Teruya on Thu, 20th Dec 2012 12:31 am


12/19/12 Thank you so much! I followed your instructions and a printer I thought was completely beyond salvation is now up and running! I made a donation. Please keep up the good work!

ron anderson on Sat, 22nd Dec 2012 8:19 am


C5180 is now fixed. followed the steps found for HP Support Forum question 1278575 (after looking around here for awhile).

thanks to all the staff here and for making so many problems fixable.

Stass on Thu, 10th Jan 2013 9:25 pm


I have the HP Photosmart 3310 All-in-One and had same issue, except that instead of the “Support R0631M” I got a “Support R0046″ and did not have the “System configuration menu”. So after researching for hours I combined different methods:

Take all cartridges off and put them back. Unplug power cord and plug again.

Reset by holding “Ok” “Cancel” “Color” and “Black” while turning the printer off, wait 60 seconds and while turning ON hold “Ok” and “Cancel”; do not interrupt and once it stops reseting try a self test report, then “clean printhead” and voilá!

Thanks and good luck!!!

CCL_TECH on Thu, 10th Jan 2013 9:36 pm


Thanks for the information. I am sure our readers will find the updated information useful.

BBRAD on Tue, 15th Jan 2013 10:57 am


Thank you very very much. I followed instructions and although screen did not say support R0631M I continued on the instructions. My did not go through the onetime ink initializtion process but it did start working.

Hopefully it will keep working. Thank you.

Lim WK on Thu, 17th Jan 2013 11:11 pm


Thank you very, very much for the solution. I tried another solutions and they didn’t work until I tried the one found here. Just one try and my printer gets working. Now I have to fix the colours problem as I didn’t have full cartridges when I used your solution – didn’t read all the replies below it. But at least my C6180 printer is working now.

AB on Mon, 21st Jan 2013 9:21 am


This has not seemed to worked for my hp officejet printer. I cleaned the printhead, did all these steps and it is printing very lightly or nothing at all. My ink is more that half full and idk what the problem is. please help!

admin on Mon, 21st Jan 2013 1:46 pm


Hello,

Which model printer do you have?

AB on Mon, 21st Jan 2013 1:49 pm


It’s a HP officejet 4 in 1 Model E709a

Lim WK on Wed, 23rd Jan 2013 10:02 pm


After fixing my HP printer C6180 ink system failure Oxc18a0206 problem using the “*” “# “….solution above a few days ago, now, I have another ink system failure Oxc05d0381. The solution does not work for this error. My C6180 does not print at all. I would appreciate any help to fix this problem!

Cirilo Valenzuela on Mon, 25th Feb 2013 8:32 pm


I have a C309g printer with a touch screen display and have the ink system error. How do I perform the reset procedure described above without a keyboard.
Thanks

sajad on Sat, 2nd Mar 2013 5:50 am


I have the same error, but how can i press * and # key when there are no keys in printet.

admin on Sat, 2nd Mar 2013 8:54 am


What model printer do you have?

sajad on Sat, 2nd Mar 2013 8:57 am


Hp photosmar C6283

admin on Sat, 2nd Mar 2013 9:54 am


Ok,

Try the other reset that can be found here: http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/hp-photosmart-ink-system-failure-2/ It should work for that model.

sajad on Mon, 4th Mar 2013 3:32 am


Its not working, same error..

Nancy Harp on Thu, 21st Mar 2013 8:02 pm


I have a HP C7250 and am getting error C7250 Ink System Failure 0xc19a0007. I have tried the above troubleshooting resolution quite a few times without this error resolving itself. I also took out all the printer ink cartridges. Waited 2 min. and put them back in. Same C7250 Ink System Failure 0xc19a0007. I’ve installed new drivers and still isn’t working.

evaristo carbajal on Fri, 22nd Mar 2013 6:15 pm


omg i honestly thought my printer was SOL thank you sooo much

Haitch on Sat, 30th Mar 2013 1:51 am


Hi,
the information about the the “ink system failure” works fine with most photosmart HP printers, but some of these printer will not work with the right arrow…
after you get to stage 5… the ”R0631M” on screen, you may get ”R0632M” INSTEAD…
using the right arrow will not work at this stage…use the left arrow instead, and you should get to stage 6…
this happens on my C7180 HP printer…
hope this helps someone…
cheers
Haitch

Jerry on Tue, 2nd Apr 2013 10:22 pm


I went through the process described above in its entirety. At the end, my C6180 displayed a “replace the following empty ink cartridge to resume printing”. I just replaced all of the cartridges. Does this indicate some sort of other problem?

CCL_TECH on Tue, 2nd Apr 2013 11:25 pm


The cartridge indicated my be defective. Did you install the new cartridges right before you did the reset procedure?

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