I bought the HP OfficeJet Pro 8620 printer in 2015 and up until december 2019 it has worked perfectly. One day out of the blue, I recieved this error message: “The printhead appears to be missing, not detected, or incorrectly installed. Error code 0xc19a0023" . I reseated the printhead one time and the printer worked until next day, when the same error appeared. I followed HP’s troubleshooting steps 1. reset printer 2. reseat printhead 3 times 3. updating firmware, but no luck. I’ve disassembled the printhead and cleaned the contacts on PC board. I ordered this cleaning solution and cleaned the printhead, both soaking in the solution for some time and pushing the solution through. No luck. I then went on to buy this new print head from eBay, but the new one instantly gave the same error message.

Then I continued to troubleshoot some more. Since the new printhead failed I thought maybe the problem is in the printhead carriage inside the printer. I disassembled it and cleaned the contacts on the PC board. (This one is also possible to buy on aliexpress , but I’ve not done it). Everything looks ok. All the pins are undamaged. I’ve reset the CMOS battery on the main board, disconnected all cables and checked the cables specificly for the printhead carriage. I don’t have the equipment or knowledge to test if the cables actually work, but everything looks ok. Still getting the error message.

One last thing that I came by today on this page is that it might be the unoriginal ink that I installed for the first time last time I replaced my cartridges (about 3 months ago, I switched the last color from original HP to unoriginal). Could it really be the problem? Is it still worth a try to buy new original HP cartridges and will it even fix the problem? Or is the damage done already and not reversable? I’m a bit hesitant to invest more on this printer since I already blew up 72 EUR for the printhead…. Returning the printhead to China from where I live costs almost 40 EUR so it’s not worth the refund.

EDIT: I found an official statement from HP about a new firmware update removing Dynamic Security Feature which makes the printer fail when unoriginal ink is installed. However they explicitly say it’s only connected to a cartridge error message. Other error messages are not related. So in theory I’ve already solved this issue, when I updated my printer to the newest firmware early in the troubleshooting process. Both printheads give the same error message. This decreses my belief in buying new original ink to fix the problem…

EDIT 2: I found the old original HP empty cartridges I had before and installed them just to see if it would remove the error, but it didn’t. So now I don’t have to waste money on buying new ink at least…

Or am I missing something else? Thanks for helping out!

⟐ Commented April 01, 2026 at 5:39 MST

⟐ Commented October 30, 2018 at 3:00 MST

My printer is displaying the following message: “There is a problem with the printer or ink system. Turn printer off, then on. If the problem persists, contact HP.” Of course I have tried turning it off and on and doing full power cycles and resets, to no avail.

It’s worth mentioning that there was previously an internal ink leak. The black ink cartridge started leaking and so the printer head was bathed in black ink and it dropped down inside the case and even out of the bottom corner. So that’s what’s caused whatever problem this is, I guess. The ink is now dry and I’ve soaked up as much of it as I can, and removed the leaky cartridge.

Notably if I remove the print head completely, the main menu comes back (and complains about a missing print head, fine). All of the normal functions with, so Wi-Fi, scanning, etc all work as they did before.

Which leads me to the question, is this now a problem with the print head, given that everything seems happier with it removed? If I were to replace the print head with a new one, would that work? I know this isn’t the usual error message for print heads, but maybe it’s broken in a certain way?

Thanks for any advice?

⟐ Answered December 13, 2021 at 17:15 MST

⟐ Commented September 14, 2023 at 2:15 MST

I’ve been able to remove the left panel and back panel with no issues, just stuck on this side here. Anyone have any tips?

Thank you ahead of time for any help!

⟐ Answer edited March 17, 2021 at 3:07 MST

⟐ Answered January 05, 2026 at 13:41 MST

⟐ Answer edited June 18, 2024 at 21:43 MST

I have tried resetting, cleaning the print head, but the print head is not working, the main goal of this thread not changing the printhead. As i cleaned the print head for about 4 times and reset the printer it gave me an error and it started printing two pages error reports.

The real question is if it can print then the Print Head is not damaged and it can be used so i am here to see if there is any custom firmware or hack or anything else of that nature, in order to force the printer to make it work regardless of these errors at all! you know something like if it shows printer ink is low just so just press okay or back key and that should go away, and it should not stay there or stop printer from printing regardless.

Thats why i am asking for help here. If there is a way to build a custom firmware or is there any custom firmware? or if it is possible to hack and mod this? if so then i'd like to give it a try please :)

Thanks for yoru time guys. it seems it is not making much sense? i do apologies, it is not something normal to be honest :)

Kind regards

⟐ Commented April 02, 2024 at 3:12 MST

⟐ Commented September 04, 2023 at 16:07 MST

⟐ Commented September 28, 2021 at 0:49 MST

⟐ Answered April 06, 2021 at 13:16 MST

⟐ Answer accepted March 15, 2020 at 20:45 MST

⟐ Answered June 20, 2018 at 11:20 MST

⟐ Commented May 05, 2024 at 11:19 MST

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 (64-Bit)

When I start the printer (Officejet Pro 8620) I get the message "One our more cartridges appear to be damaged. Remove them and replace with new cartridges". When I open the frontdoor for replacement of the cartridges I get the message "The cover or door must be closed to print. Check that it is completely closed". The print head with cartridges does not move to the left and replacement of the cartridges is not possible. The Wifi blue lite is flashing.

Last firmware is installed.

What I have done without success :

• try to enter the set-up menu : impossible

• Hard reset by de-connecting the power supply : no effect

• try to move the print head with the hand : not possible

• use the HP print and scan doctor : can connect to printer with USB to computer but scan doctor gives the following message "printer error" under status...... and the advice to reset the printer.

• I removed the Cmos battery (and replaced it back) thinking that this will reset the software, but with no effect - same messages after start-up.

What else can I do in order to reach the cartridges and replace them ? Dismantle the printer in order to reach the printhead and cartridges ?

Thanks for your reactions.

I have been needing to scan many documents lately, but my USB keys have been full. And i cannot format them. I found scan to email, but i cant set it up with my gmail account.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!