Brother printer replace drum error is an error message that every Brother printer user will encounter. If this is your first time facing this problem, read on so we can lead you through the process of fixing the error.
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What Does it Mean When it Says Replace Drum on a Brother Printer? [Quick Guide]
When your Brother printer says “replace drum”, then it means your drum unit has gotten to the end of its lifetime. This usually happens when your printer has printed up to 15,000 pages.
The only way to solve this replace drum error on Brother Printer is to replace your drum unit.
Do I Need to Replace The Drum on My Brother Printer? [Quick Guide]
You need to replace your drum once it gets to the end of its life if you want to keep printing. You will know it is time for you to replace your Brother laser printer when the “replace drum” message is displayed on your printer’s LCD.
One reason why you have to replace your Brother Printer drum is to ensure that your print quality is maintained. If you ignore the “Replace Drum” message, your print quality will drastically reduce. There is no way to bypass the error message; therefore, you have to replace your Brother laser printer drum once you get the error message.
How to Replace the Drum on a Brother Printer – Brother Printer Replace Drum Error
Follow these steps to replace the drum on a Brother printer:
Step 1: Ensure your printer is switched on. Allow the printer to cool down for about 10 minutes if you were using it before now. This is because the internal parts of the machine will be very hot if the printer has just been used.
Step 2: Now, open the printer’s front cover.
Step 3: Carefully remove the printer’s toner cartridge & drum unit assembly. Place the unit on a flat surface; put disposable paper on the surface before you place the assembly on the surface.
Step 4: You will see a lock lever on the assembly, the lever is usually green. Now, push the lever down and remove the toner out of your unit.
Step 5: Remove your new drum unit from its packaging. Do not unpack the unit until you are about to insert it as exposing the unit to room light or sunlight can damage it.
Step 6: Put your toner cartridge into your new drum. Do this firmly and listen for a click sound, this sound means the toner has properly locked in place. When you insert the toner properly, the lever will return to its original position automatically.
Step 7: Take the toner cartridge and drum unit assembly back to the printer and carefully install it in the printer.
These steps apply to all Brother Printers with drum units, even DCP-series. So, if you are wondering how to replace the drum on Brother Printer DCP-12540DW, simply follow the above steps.
This video is a visual representation of the above steps.
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Why Does My Brother Printer Keep Saying Replace Drum After Replacing [Quick Fix]
If your Brother printer keeps telling you to replace the drum after you have replaced it, then it is likely you did not reset your printer’s drum counter. Your printer is not designed to automatically detect your drum when you change it. So, after replacing the drum, you need to manually reset its counter.
How to Reset Brother Printer Drum Counter
Do the following to reset your Brother Printer drum counter:
Step 1: Ensure your printer is powered on.
Step 2: Now, open the printer’s front cover.
Step 3: Next, press the “OK” button and hold it for about 2 seconds.
Step 4: Press “1” or the “Up” key. This will reset the counter.
Step 5: Finally, close the printer’s front cover.
Note: The only time you should reset your printer’s drum counter is after you replace the drum. Do not do these steps if you did not replace your drum unit.
How to Fix Replace Drum Error on Brother Printer – After Replacing Drum and Resetting Drum Counter
If you are still getting a Brother Printer drum warning after this, then you may have a drum unit that does not have a microchip. Most drum unit comes with a cartridge that helps the printer communicate with the unit.
When this chip is absent or damaged, the printer will be unable to identify the drum. Therefore, the Brother Printer replace drum issue will persist.
This is no reason to panic; in this case, all you need to do is to replace the drum.
But, if the problem remains unsolved after replacing the drum with a microchip that is not faulty, contact Brother Customer Service for further assistance.
Brother Printer Replace Drum Belt End Soon [Why & How to Fix]
If your Brother machine displays a “Belt End Soon” message, then the printer’s belt unit will soon reach its life end. In this case, you can get a new one and wait till you see the message that says “Replace Belt”. When you get this message, you have to replace the belt to fix the error.
How to Change Brother Printer Belt Unit
Use the steps below to change your Brother Printer belt unit.
Step 1: Switch off your printer.
Step 2: Lift the printer’s top cover handle and then open the cover.
Step 3: Next, remove the toner cartridge and drum unit assembly.
Step 4: Now, hold the belt’s handle, which is usually green, and then pull out the belt.
Step 5: Remove your new belt from its packing.
Step 6: Put your new belt into your printer.
Step 7: Put the toner cartridge and drum unit assembly back into the machine.
Step 8: Close the printer’s top cover.
The belt unit below is comapatible with the following Brother printers MFC9340CDW, MFC9330CDW, MFC-9140CDN, HL-3140CW, DCP-9020CDW, HL-3150CDW, and HL-3170CDW.
After you replace your printer’s belt unit, you have to reset the belt’s counter.
How to Reset Brother Printer Belt Counter
Do the following to reset the Brother Printer Belt counter:
Step 1: Switch on the printer.
Step 2: Use either the – or + key to select “Machine Info”, and then press “OK”.
Step 3: Again, use the – or + key to select “Reset Parts Life”, press “OK”.
Step 4: Use the + key to select “Belt Unit”.
Step 5: Finally, press “OK” twice.
The above are just some of the errors associated with Brother Printer Drum. If you want a more comprehensive article that deals with more Brother printer drum errors, then we recommend you read this article.
