Why does my Brother printer not recognize my ink cartridge?

Whenever your printer is not detecting the ink cartridge, there could be several reasons behind it.

The first and most common reason is that you might be using a third-party or refilled ink cartridge. Brother printers often cannot read these cartridges properly, so it’s best to use only original ink cartridges.

If you are already using an original ink cartridge, make sure that it is compatible with your specific printer model. If it isn’t, you will need to replace it with a compatible one.

Also, ensure that you have removed the protective tape from the cartridge before installing it in your printer.

Sometimes, the printer may fail to recognize the ink cartridge due to a toner-related issue. In such cases, make sure your printer can properly detect and communicate with the toner cartridge.

Once you make these adjustments, your printer should start working fine.

So we know what causes the printer not recognising the ink cartridge. Now it’s talk about how to fix this kind of error on your printer.

1.     Turn Off and Restart Your Printer

Whenever your printer is not recognising the cartridge, you should restart the printer once. Often, this problem helps in detecting the ink cartridge on the printer.

1. First of all, you need to turn off the printer by pressing the power button.
2. Now Unplug the power cable and wait for 60 seconds.
3. Plugin the cable and then power on the printer.

Once you will restart the printer, it should detect the ink cartridge now.

2.     Use the genuine Ink only-

If you are using a third-party ink cartridge or refilled ink cartridge on your printer. It will not recognise that machine. As a result, you will see cartridge not found error.

So you should install a new cartridge on your printer. After that, you should restart the printer. It will start working fine on your device.

3.     Remove the protected tap -

When you buy a new ink cartridge, it is shield with the plastics to protect it’s Chip. While installing the cartridge into your printer, you should remove that plastic and protected tap from your cartridge. Also, you need to ensure that there is no objects available on the ink cartridge.

4.     Clean the Cartridge and Printer Chip Contacts

Both the cartridge and the printer have small metallic contacts that communicate with each other. Over time, these contacts may get dirty or corroded, blocking detection.

• Turn off the printer and unplug it.
• Remove the cartridge carefully.
• Use a lint-free cloth slightly dampened with isopropyl alcohol.
• Gently wipe the gold contacts on the cartridge and the corresponding contacts inside the printer.
• Let them dry completely before reinserting.

Once everything is back in place, restart the printer and check if the issue is resolved.

5. Reset the Printer’s Ink Cartridge Memory

Brother printers often remember the last cartridge installed. If you refilled or replaced a cartridge, the printer might still “think” it’s the old one.

You can reset the cartridge memory:

• Turn off your printer.
• Open the cartridge access door.
• Remove all cartridges.
• Wait for about 2–3 minutes.
• Reinsert the cartridges one by one, making sure they are seated properly.
• Close the door and power the printer back on.

In some models, you can also perform a “purge count reset” or “ink counter reset” from the printer menu. Check your user manual or Brother’s support site for model-specific instructions.