How to Bypass Low Ink in a Brother Printer

By Susan Reynolds

Keep your ink cartridges full to ensure good printing.
i printer cartridge image by hugy from Fotolia.com

Brother printers have an LED light that checks the cartridges for low ink. When a printer detects low ink, a message will pop up, both on the printer and the computer. Sometimes, it will give you an error message, even though the cartridge is full. Error messages are especially common if you are using re-manufactured cartridges or if you refill the cartridges yourself. There are three types of Brother ink cartridges, and each type has a different method of bypassing the ink detector. Take out the ink cartridge and check to see what kind of cartridge you are using.

LC41 Cartridge

Cover the "spine" part of the LC41 cartridge with a small piece of electrical tape.

Place the cartridge back into the printer.

Power off the printer and turn it back on to reset it. You should no longer receive an error message.

LC51 Cartridge

Cover the square-shaped hole in the bottom of the LC51 cartridge with black electrical tape.

Place it back into the printer.

Power off the printer and turn it back on to reset it. You should no longer receive an error message.

Toner Cartridge

Cover the tiny "eye holes" on a toner cartridge with black electrical tape.

Place it back into the printer.

Power off the printer and turn it back on to reset it. You should no longer receive an error message.

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