How to reset consumables like toners fuser units and belts for a Brother printer

Have you ever had the idea that when your printer says you are out of toner, or your fuser is end of life, it might not be true... Well it most likely isn't true! Most manufacturers make their cartridges and toners in a way that it will stop working at the moment they think they cannot guarantee it's full working order anymore. This is quit absurd, imagine manufacturers from other items do this, you might get a car that stops when it reaches a 100.000km because they can't guarantee it would work any longer.

However! There is a solution to this problem. Since I own a Brother printer and found out how to do this I will share it with you. This might also be possible with other printers from Brother or other manufacturer, but since I do not own them I cannot tell you how to do that.

Note: Keep in mind that you obviously one day have to replace your toner and other consumables like the fuser unit. Just keep a sharp eye on your print quality, when you see it getting worse you should start thinking of ordering replacements.

It is always a smart thing to write down the pagecounter when you have reset your printer so in the future you know this information and can use this information to troubleshoot if needed.

There are multiple options for your printer, not every printer works the same and there are also some other exclusions for some printers like when you already get the message your out of toner there should be followed another method to get in the menus, so please pay close attention, and if one option doesn't work for you, please continue reading and see if another will.



If this manual was of use for you, please let me know! A message is always much appreciated!

Resetting Toners

Methode 1: (this doesn't work in most cases)
Find and cover the lens in your tray or your toner.
This lens reads out your toner level and passes it trough to give a signal when the manufacturer thinks it might be low or reaches it's date. Note, some toners use an electric strip to contact with the tray, I'm not sure if you can cover this with lets say a piece of paper, if someone know please leave in the comment!

Methode 2:

MFC 9840,MFC 9440,MFC 9450,MFC 9320cw,MFC 9325CW,MFC 9460CDN,MFC 9560,DCP 9010CN,DCP 9055CDN

There is a hidden menu in many printers you can only access with a certain key combination. For a lot of brother printers from the MFC and DCP 9xxx series this will work.

Before you start, first check which toners you have (this can be seen on top of the toner), When finished close the printer again and start following these steps.

Step1: Open the door to access the toners, you will see the "Door is open" message on your screen.
Step2: Press the clear or back button on your printer, this will bring you in the toner reset menu.
Step3: You can scroll trough the menu, and you will see the following options

B.TNR-S – Black toner small cartridge (TN-110)
B.TNR-H – Black toner high-capacity cartridge (TN-115)
C.TNR-S – Cyan toner small cartridge (TN-110)
C.TNR-H – Cyan toner high-capacity cartridge (TN-115)
M.TNR-S – Magenta toner small cartridge (TN-110)
M.TNR-H – Magenta toner high-capacity cartridge (TN-115)
Y.TNR-S – Yellow toner small cartridge (TN-110)
Y.TNR-H – Yellow toner high-capacity cartridge (TN-115)

Step4:  select the proper cartridge, you can see the cartridge type on the top of your toner as mentioned at the start. and press OK.
Step5: Press clear or back to get out of the menu and close the cartridge door again.

Aberrant printers

A few printers in this series don't use this method, such as the MFC 9970cdw.
Im not sure if other printers have the same issue, if you know please leave a note in the comment section!

MFC-9970 CDW
Step1: Open the cartridge door
Step2: Press 1
Step3: Select your cartridge and press OK
Step4: Close the door

If you already get the message you are out of toner, you cannot enter this menu this way, you have to do as follow:

Step1: Open the cartridge door
Step2: Power off, wait 5 to 10 seconds and power back on
Step3: Your display will tell you to close the door, don't, press 1
Step4: Select the toner and press OK
Step5: Close the door


DCP-9020CDW, MFC-9130CW, MFC-9140CDN, MFC-9330CDW, MFC-9340CDW
Step1: Press the Fax button to bring up the numeric pad, remember where the * buttons is, but do not press it! (it will not be visible later on when you need it)
Step2: Press Home to return to the main menu
Step3: Open the cartridge door
Step4: Press and hold the button when the * should be, after 5 seconds the rest menu appears
Step5: In the menu you will find the options to reset the color and counter
Step6: Select your option, it will say accepted when done.
Step7: Exit the menu and close the door


HL-3140CW, HL-3150CDN, HL-3150CDW, HL-3170CDW
Step1: Open the cartridge door
Step2: Simultaneously press Secure and Cancel
Step3: In the menu you will find the options to reset the color and counter
Step4: Select your option, it will say accepted when done.
Step5: Exit the menu and close the door


HL-4040 and 4050
Step1: Open the cartridge door
Step2:Press and hold Cancel, then click Reprint (press and let go while still holding cancel), after that release Cancel to.
Step3: In the menu you will find the options to reset the color and counter
Step4: Select your option, it will say accepted when done.
Step5: Exit the menu and close the door

Resetting other consumables like belt and fuser unit

MFC 9840,MFC 9440,MFC 9450,MFC 9320cw,MFC 9325CW,MFC 9460CDN,MFC 9560,DCP 9010CN,DCP 9055CDN

Step1: Press 3 and 9 at the same time
Step2: Select the item you want to reset and press OK

Drum
Belt Unit
PF Kit MP
PF Kit 1
PF Kit 2
Fuser
Laser

Step3: Exit the menu

Extra info:

A list of printers where these menu methods have been tested on and have been found working:

MFC 9320
MFC 9325
MFC 9440
MFC 9450
MFC 9460
MFC 9560
MFC 9840


DCP 9010
DCP 9050

CN, CDN, CW or any other addition does not make a difference, it should work on all the models.


Weight of a toner according to the Brother manual.
Take note: when your cartridge weighs 595g, it is “empty”, as you can guess it is not, there is still 60g of toner inside. You cannot get it completely empty because it would result in very bad prints when you reach 0 grams left.

(TN-110, TN-130, TN-150) BK (2.5K) Y (1.5K) M, C (1.5K)
Brand New Toner Cartridge Weight 645g (±10g) 630g (±10g) 625g (±10g)
Toner Weight at “Brand New Toner Cartridge” 110g 95g 90g
Toner Cartridge Weight at “Toner Near Empty” 615g (±10g) 615g (±10g) 615g (±10g)
Remaining Toner Weight at “Toner Near Empty” 80g 80g 80g
Toner Cartridge Weight at “Toner Life End” 595g (±10g) 595g (±10g) 595g (±10g)
Remaining Toner Weight at “Toner Life End” 60g 60g 60g

(TN-115, TN-135, TN-155) BK (5K) Y (4K) M, C (4K)
Brand New Toner Cartridge Weight 695g (±10g) 675g (±10g) 670g (±10g)
Toner Weight at “Brand New Toner Cartridge” 160g 140g 135g
Toner Cartridge Weight at “Toner Near Empty” 615g (±10g) 615g (±10g) 615g (±10g)
Remaining Toner Weight at “Toner Near Empty” 80g 80g 80g
Toner Cartridge Weight at “Toner Life End” 595g (±10g) 595g (±10g) 595g (±10g)
Remaining Toner Weight at “Toner Life End” 60g 60g 60g

(TN-115, TN-135, TN-155) BK (5K) Y (4K) M (4K) C (4K)
Brand New Toner Cartridge Weight 685g (±10g) 681g (±10g) 653g (±10g) 670g (±10g)
Toner Weight at “Brand New Toner Cartridge” 150g 146g 118g 135g
Toner Cartridge Weight at “Toner Near Empty” 615g (±10g) 615g (±10g) 615g (±10g) 615g (±10g)
Remaining Toner Weight at “Toner Near Empty” 80g 80g 80g 80g
Toner Cartridge Weight at “Toner Life End” 595g (±10g) 595g (±10g) 595g (±10g) 595g (±10g)
Remaining Toner Weight at “Toner Life End” 60g 60g 60g 60g


 Notes from Brother:
- You can print about 500 pages with 10g toner. (A4 size, 5% coverage, continuous printing)
- Toner cartridge weight is without the package and the protective cover.
- Toner weight may vary ± 1g.
- The molding is different on each model so that the container weight is different.






If this manual was of use for you, please let me know! A message is always much appreciated!




Keywords:

DCP-1000 DCP-8020 DCP-8040 DCP-9040

HL-1650 HL-1670 HL-1850 HL-1870 HL-2030 HL-4040 HL-4070 HL-5040 HL-5050 HL-5070 HL-5140 HL-5150 HL-5170 HL-5250 HL-8420

MFC-8220 MFC-8420 MFC-8440 MFC-8640 MFC-8820 MFC-8840 MFC-9440 MFC-9450 MFC-9840