Non-genuine cartridges on XP-860

[Jeannot le Marcheur]

After two years using the same make of compatible cartridges, this printer stopped mid-print with a prompt "It looks like you are using non-genuine ink cartridges".

Having periodically received this prompt before, I followed the usual procedure of initiating the "replace cartridge procedure", releasing and reseating the cartridge and continuing the print-run.
This prompt would always pop-up and I would clicked through, before it continued the run trouble free.

This time, it just cycles back to this prompt, refusing to accept the cartridges.
I cannot even have the cartridge carriage move to the position where I could remove/change
these cartdridges.
The printer is litterally stuck in a kind of "wells condition".

Has anyone already encountered this problem,
and better, could suggest a solution ?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help.

Jeannot le Marcheur (french equivalent for Johnnie Walker)

 

[VA1DER]

I'm sorry, I don't have an XP-860 so all I can offer is some generic experience with my own Epsons and some speculation. Epson has been aggressively clamping down on refillable cartridges. They want people to pay them their Eco Tank overhead price for a refillable printer, and they want to control the feature set available on those printers so they don't compete with their business line of printers. For example, many of the wide format Eco Tank printers don't support borderless printing, even though their non-eco-tank versions do, because Epson doesn't want someone to be able to print limitless borderless posters and brochures. Epson is very canny this way.

I have refillable cartridges for my WF-7720. The first few times I used them, the printer didn't even know they weren't originals. Then after one swap it figured it out. Luckily my printer's firmware dates from before Epson got so aggressive, and it still allows me to use them. After, of course, jumping through their dire "are you sure you want to use these cartridges - they cause cancer, kill babies, and spread COVID" warnings. Other printer firmwares aren't so lenient. Sounds like yours is one. Epson uses cartridge serial numbers and keeps a record internally of all the serial numbers it sees. Auto reset chips will cycle that serial number when they reset themselves, but it's possible that your cartridges picked one that your printer had a record of and now the printer has figured it out. It's also possible that your printer got a firmware update from Epson that is smarter at detecting aftermarket cartridges.

Occasionally some aftermarket cartridge chips will fail, or because the cartridge itself is cheaper plastic, they come slightly unseated. Usually this only affects one or two cartridges at a time, though, not all of them at once. This is why I'm leaning towards a firmware update on your printer. I do know that the XP-860's firmware has no "chipless" mod available for it, and that most of the Epsons for which this is the case have firmwares with good encryption and which occasionally "phone home" to Epson for updates, even if you've turned off updates. Epson Canada's support page for that printer has a big "Learn More about important security updates" warning. Epson has been known to use "important security updates" as an excuse to put out cartridge chip updates.

It may be worth it to fork out for a new set of cartridges. Ali Express carries them. So does Inkowl. Interestingly, both label them as only for the XP-850, not 860. It's also worth it to drop Inkowl an inquiry. This sort of thing is their bread and butter, and they are professional - they may know more about the XP-860 specifically.

If you do find out more, please come back here and post your experience for posterity. I'm quite interested myself.