Brother MFC-9840 Toner Reset

I like the Brother MFC-9840 printer, but it’s got a really irritating problem: it gives up way to easily when it comes to toner. Often there’s still around 33% of the toner left in the cartridge when the printer comes up with the dreaded “Toner Life End” message.

It appears there are two solutions: #1 (which didn’t work for me) is to tape a bit of black tape over the window of the toner cartridge, or over the hole for the sensor in the toner tray. I left the tape on just in case it would do good in the future.

Here’s an article with a picture of the toner hole: www.kineticcomputer.com/tips/1107-excessive-low-toner-warnings-on-brother-laser-printers-and-copiers.htm

#2, which I found at www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/laser/39806 proved to solve my problem. Here it is:

1. With power on, open the toner access main door. You will get a “Cover is Open” message on the LCD.
2. Press the “Clear/Back” button and you will be taken to the toner “Reset Menu”
3. You can then scroll through the reset options for the printer’s toner cartridges:
   1. B.TNR-S - Black toner small cartridge (TN-110)
   2. B.TNR-H - Black toner high-capacity cartridge (TN-115)
   3. C.TNR-S - Cyan toner small cartridge (TN-110)
   4. C.TNR-H - Cyan toner high-capacity cartridge (TN-115)
   5. M.TNR-S - Magenta toner small cartridge (TN-110)
   6. M.TNR-H - Magenta toner high-capacity cartridge (TN-115)
   7. Y.TNR-S - Yellow toner small cartridge (TN-110)
   8. Y.TNR-H - Yellow toner high-capacity cartridge (TN-115)
4. Select the cartridge size you have and the colour you want to reset, and press OK. Since I had small cartridges, I used the S options for all three colours.
5. Each cartridge must be reset individually. Press “1” to reset.
6. Press “Clear/Back” to get out of the menu, then close the door.

According to the link at fixyourownprinter.com, this works on the Brother MFC 9440 as well.

I wish I’d found this before I replaced my black toner cartridge!

Update: 2013-12-12 - I just learned that it’s possible to reset the values for other consumables on the printer as well. Hold down both 3 and 9 at the same time, and you’ll get a menu to reset: Drum Belt Unit PF Kit MP PF Kit 1 PF Kit 2 Fuser Laser

I haven’t had to do any of these yet, but will remember it for when the time comes!