Printer hack! Low Color ink and won’t print Black.

[@kellywattell4886]

Teacher here and have to say a huge THANK YOU! I am at home so didn't have tape but I did have some Expo markers to color over the little window and it worked perfectly! YOU ARE A TECHNOLOGY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I'm totally down to join any class-action lawsuits against Brother, since I've spent hundreds of dollars over the years on printer ink that didn't really need to be purchased.

[@aprilhaselbusch2817]

A marker was my first thought when he was explaining the window so thank you for clarifying that it does work.

[@mattr2325]

Dude, you rock! It's crazy that Brother makes us do this kind of craziness just to be able to print Black and white if that's all we want to do. What bums!

[@tweidig]

I agree and they do it ON PURPOSE to sell more inks. I literally threw my printer away and bought a black-white Laser printer. I just had enough from this manipulation.

[@simratrandhawa5620]

You are the best human being to ever walk this planet and you have also saved my life

[@sohaibal-youzbaky9507]

hahaha

[@Wanted797]

I'm curious. What were you printing....

[@victoriaserafim4742]

Unbelievable!!!!!! I'm from Brazil and you just solved my problem even after 9 years that this video was posted. Thank you very much

[@kylewarmack2837]

Worked like a charm on some cartridges that I KNEW to still have almost 50% ink left in them. You, sir, are a god among men.

[@SODWF]

Worked for Brother MFC-6890CDW cyan and yellow catridges using black electrical tape - good on ya mate, thanks for the tip!!!

[@7islander]

I realise this video is a little old but the info and how to are still good. My printer wouldn't print saying it was out of ink but the cartridge still had ink in it. Put some tape over the little window and it worked. Thank You for this excellent tip!

[@pako8626]

Thanks ! worked like a charm for our MFC-J430W. Used a black marker instead of the tape. brilliant trick!

[@Wanted797]

I've heard this works too! But didn't work for me.

[@adriaucarney326]

You are the best. Epson getting rich. We are trying to get rich to apparently but buying ink when there is no need sends you back financially. You have saved my savings account. I subscribe. Thanks!

[@cleartruth101]

Thank you that was a great tip. Little things mean a lot; preventing a trip to the store, putting out money before you have to, not to mention the convenience of being able to print a document you need right now. Not so little. You're a gentleman and a scholar.

[@brianlee5216]

Thankyou, worked perfectly. My brother cartridge looks very different but put the tape over a clear fin in about the same spot (also can see why my shaking the remaining ink was previously making it worse by pushing out of this ink window) . Makes sense when you take the full ones out to see what it uses as an ink guide. Thank you, during lockdown couldn't get more ink, this saved me

[@jascam1]

Works like a charm, all my colored cartridges (never used) were showing bad. I place black electrical tape over the plastic window on the cartridge and printer errors cleared up and started printing black on white. You are the man....tks

[@jenniferjako8594]

Thank you so much! You just made my day! Brand new cartridge wasn't registering - will be using this technique frequently.

[@ericahailstone6673]

Fantastic!! You folks who take the time to post really useful ways of solving stuff without forking out to Big Brother (sic) , are brilliant.

[@LMH61]

THANK YOU!! This worked on my Brother J4510DW! I didn't have colored tape, but I had some tiny stickers which did the trick. I spent so much time trying to get my printer to print--wish I had come here first!

[@danchen5759]

I was going to buy a new printer, but this tip just saved me time and money! Thank you!

[@alexisironman]

I love sticking it to these fucking rackets they run on us. WORKED LIKE A CHARM! THANK YOU!

[@galadriel-shire]

2023 and IT STILL WORKS. THANK YOU ❤

[@proudestmikey]

2016 and this video is still good. I just did it and it worked like a charm! Thank you!

[@tanello2]

when i got my brand new Brother MFC-5890NC after using it for some month, less then a year, it allready told me that i was out of yellow, i did yes print a lot of paper and photos but then i allso found the "window" and coverd them up with papertape, and after that they kept on working and working for many more months and i will buy new one once the old ones really will not print any ink on the paper, or the quality of the print will drop at some point. THE FACT is, that the "window" is so high, that half will be still full, when the system tells "empty". HOWEVER, later models of the same class( my friend got the same class but later model, and there i allso used the same idea, the brother have changed the tehnology, and there, the printer knew somehow that its still "half empty" and asked to replace it, so in the end it only worked on the older versions.

[@aprilhaselbusch2817]

Oooh Brother!! 🤦‍♀️ i sure appreciate this video!! Thank you so much!

[@kyanoang3l0_old]

The tape trick worked with our MFC-J3530DW's magenta cartridge. Printer started working again (and could still print magenta).

[@question-every-thing]

In 2023 this still works. Thanks mate

[@ishraziqbal1482]

omg thank you so much for this tip. you just saved me from buying another printer. my printer could not detect any ink in the cartridges and ive been going crazy for the past week trying to fix the problem. but thank you so so much.

[@SanketMakwana]

This worked for me! Thank you. For those going through comments I used a black gorilla tape and it worked like a charm. Now my printer thinks those cartridges are full!

[@toonlink20]

I just bought all new brother ink from amazon and after 14 prints it said blue was out ... bull-crap. Now at 40 prints with this fix and blue is working and now there is no problem :). I don't know if their cartridges are dried up or what but Im doing this from now on whenever i buy ink for my brother printer.Thank You!

[@Wanted797]

Just don't do it for too long, if it runs the lines dry and the colour does run out it takes a long time to fix and multiple 'cleans'.

[@kianoosh49]

You are GOD ! ! I was about to throw the printer out of the window, I stuck the black tape and as soon as I removed it, it worked! I guess the ink sensor was dirty and the tape did the job and cleaned it . YOU ARE AWESOME!

[@eyefulpower]

This is EXACTLY the workaround I need. THANKS!

[@salaatje666]

It refused to print because my black cartridge was "empty". And now it keeps printing, with black ink :D Thank you so much!

[@FrettieFingers]

i had to cover the side, otherwise it said cannot detect. Finally got it to work. Thank YOU!

[@md.saifulislam9155]

You just saved my day and my little service center business. Cartridges were full but still couldn't detect. Now, all four color levels are showing full. I can't thank you enough.

[@ENDEE666]

Thank you for this! Such a stupid feature! Why can't I print in black because I'm out of yellow??

[@MzRtS12]

thank you! you can't believe how much i hate that brother ink level warning especially when it usually has like 35% left in the cartridge

[@JaGenau112]

thank you! it fixed my issue of my MFC-J485DW telling me my black ink was out and not registering.

[@ledomc2007]

Thanks for the homie hookup

[@stuckinmygarage6220]

Thank you, Wanted797! You and Jez had the right answers and SAVED me MONEY! Best wishes.

[@mmanareledwaba7545]

Thank you soo much. You have solved my problems because I had such problems in the past and I end up buying color inks so thst the black ink can print. LOVE U LOTS BRO

[@JohanD1975]

I have a new MFC J480DW. The trick with the tape doesnt' work (anymore)...

[@ErnestoRubio1972]

i thing this is one of those best videos ever seen

[@deborahllucas]

This is exactly my problem but it's 2021 and the Brother cartridges aren't designed this way anymore & I can't figure out how to accomplish this hack on them. It's beyond sabotage design to not let you print black unless all the color cartridges are new & full! If I'd been aware of this I wouldn't have bought this color printer. Thanks anyway!

[@trinious2511]

Thanks a bunch. used red tape and it worked. I guess as long as the tape is not clear then it should work. thumbs up!!

[@ericahailstone6673]

(ps you do need a good fitting piece of insulating tape or something that will not let light through - I found another site that suggested a few layers of ink from a permanent marker : that doesn't work in the long run ... also point about watching for ink quality is a good one - as soon as it starts to fade, then do change/refill the cartridges)

[@PrimalMiltos]

Great trick. But if you only need to print on black you can switch the Printer Properties -> Advanced and click on the Grayscale radio button. You can do that for every application every time or you can change the setting from the Control Panel -> Printers so it will apply to all printing jobs. Now the empty (color) messages will still be there and you have to close or X them but the printer will print in just black. The fix on this video is better since it allowed me to utilize all remaining ink in my MFC-J8700DW color cartridges. And as mentioned in the video the printer's color channels will eventually dry out / clog and if left with black ink only for too long it will be a challenge to re-establish color printing.

[@wandarivera6739]

does it have to be colored tape or could it be clear tape

[@PrimalMiltos]

+wanda rivera It has to be colored so no light can pass through the tape.

[@neukoln6]

@@PrimalMiltos Does not work

[@PrimalMiltos]

@@neukoln6 What doesn't work? The black and white printing with empty color tanks?

[@neukoln6]

@@PrimalMiltos Exactly. Paper goes trough but does not print

[@user-zp5nc5mt4p]

It is not working for me eventhough I did everything as shown

[@johnggraves]

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! After performing manual cleaning, 1 cartridge would not properly load and the dreaded "Cannot Print" message appeared. Changing to grayscale via the brother Preferences in my PC did not work. Rebooting everything didn't help. This 'hack' allowed me to print (in grayscale) while I wait for another cartridge to arrive. Saved me 3 days of work!

[@Wanted797]

Glad it helped

[@abramsmitch]

Thank you Wanted 797!

[@wahihuha]

Just tried this a few minutes ago and it worked!!! 😱

[@DestinySilverBlood]

This is amazing!!!!! I still don't understand how I did not know that.

[@charlottezou558]

smart. It works. I have enough color ink left but it keeps telling me the ink is not enough. So I did this and I can still print in color.

[@seansethi196]

Tried black marker. Didn’t work but electrical tape did. Cheers mate!

[@NeacsuMarius]

What about LC 406 Inkvestment tank for MFC - J 4535 DW models ? Thank you !

[@TheMusicalSensations]

Thank you very much! Was proper stressing that I'd have to buy another printer after spending £119 on the one I got!

[@aaronspoor6425]

would have been a pbetter production if you showed the sensor where it showed the colours were empty and show that it shows its full now

[@worldhello8900]

Fantastic! works well on my MFC-J5720DW

[@melindahernandez8778]

Hi , I tried this but all I keep getting is a ? showing on each color

[@tommynguyen5642]

You sir... Just saved my ass big time. Thanks man!! *Liked* Absolutely brilliant

[@hienang2699]

This trick works perfectly! Thank you so much.

[@TheOzthewiz]

What do I do with MFC-J497DW? The "detection window" is at the top of cartridge, has a "float" inside. The "yellow" is low, compared it to the others and the float is in the same position as the full ones. It's interesting that every comment regarding "low ink", it is ALWAYS the "yellow" ink! What's up with that?

[@adrenaline681]

Tried to use black marker to paint out the window, didnt work. But with tape works great!

[@natthapatvongvaravipatr5494]

Thanks !!! This method worked and you just saved my lifebecuz i have my project that is due tmr

[@angplasticmo1]

It worked like a charm! thanks Buddy!

[@allynasteinberg9754]

This worked for tricking the printer to thinking I have full color cartridges but printing in black and white didn’t work after. I got a black page instead. Would love advice.

[@matveykozar8048]

Thank you for the brilliant life hack

Still fighting with Black cartridge, but Amazingly, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow detects 100% ink

[@SteveLockhartSLM]

Or you could go into your printer properties on your computer and select print B&W

[@rapidron]

Steve Lockhart just a heads-up that this doesn't work. The printer is set to not print if it doesn't like the ink levels. It's a crap trick from brother.

[@ianshepherd7214]

Good lord man - you just saved my life!!!

[@adelajasheidun9116]

How do I set the language of brother printer to English?

[@himanshuds]

Effective hack , worked for me! Thanks

[@dasiabenard2259]

OMG! you just saved mt entire life. Luv ya dude!

[@queen_b7713]

Thank You so much great tip.

[@handsonvaping5483]

can you just color it in with permanent marker?

[@TheSalami123]

This totally worked. Thanks so much

[@ahmedamer3850]

What if my catridge is full but it keep telling me there is not enough ink?

[@PajamaPants10102]

Works for Brother MFC J475DW - Thank you :)

[@theviron6]

Does not work on brother MFC J53300W

[@cherryblossom739]

THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU SAVED CHRISTMAS!!!!

[@SPOTBC]

Thank you. Extremely helpful.

[@trishmcelderry4762]

Unfortunately, that won't for the brother mfc j995dw. They changed the cartridges. I will buy a printer that won't let print in B&W when a color cartridge is low or out. That's just wrong!!!! thanks anyway.

[@applause5574]

it worked. thank you so much.

[@campersBR]

i did this till it eventually run out for good . Then , the error showed up again. I punched a hole and filled it back up but i'm still getting the error now . Any way around this ?

[@Wanted797]

Buy some new ink.

[@themurf8027]

Hey, My yellow ink was out and it wouldn't print with the black ink, which was full. Very frustrating. Your advice worked, but not for the printer model I have (Brother MFC-J475DW). However, all was not lost! I had to "think" like a computer. What was it looking for in order for it to work? Hmmm...........(light bulb moment)! I tried covering up ALL the color cartridges and left the black cartridge uncovered - and it worked! Woo Hoo! It went through it's "cleaning thing" (which took about 5 minutes), but then printed my test page in black ink! So thanks for the tip, because it led me to the "fix" for my printer model. I hope this helps other users with Brother printers. Just remember.........think like a computer, or like the idiot programmer who built it!!

[@Wanted797]

+The Murf Awesome! Just be weary like I say in the warning, if you run the line dry it will take a long while to get it back to printing with that colour again.

[@zhanweilee3154]

Works like a charm! thanks man

[@anekekusumawati1423]

It worked! Tahnkyou!

[@ramzanali1999]

Thanks 😊

[@Wanted797]

No problem 😊

[@css2006]

Excellent, thanks

[@aaronfitzgerald9109]

I tried that, and it still doesn't work :/

[@hannahbrad8556]

This worked for us! Thank you!!!

[@saintfrancis8202]

Does the tape have to be the same color?

[@Wanted797]

No.

[@TheCraftBoxElsecar]

It acutely works! thank you.

[@ahn1073]

Awesome experience

[@bartman464]

It worked! cheers my dude

[@mobilechan5022]

😃🙏🙏🙏Thanks a lot for your video. If I had watched your video earlier, I would not have wasted tonnes of my money on the color ink which is supposed to be needed even for black-color printing for all the BROTHER PRINTERS.😠😠😠

[@concord72]

you are a life saver, thanks!

[@tyanag9938]

It worked thank you!!!!!!!

[@jacobcuster95]

THANK YOU !

[@joycelondon1639]

Work out just right thanks

[@joycelondon1639]

2018

[@ciromcm08]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH MAN, IT WORKED FOR ME

[@tonyadler9896]

Thanks! Worked a treat.

[@user-ue9rm1fb1k]

Thank you ! it worked .

[@sassykosmo1793]

Thank you :)