How do I change the region of my HP Printer? May 17, 2010 09:53 by Matt Bird
Boys and girls, it is roleplay time:
Sad customer: "I purchased my HP printer in America before I moved here, can I use your cartridges in them?" StinkyInk: "Unfortunately not, your printer will only work with cartridges from the US." Sad customer: " *obscenities at HP* ....Is there any way around this?".....
This is a common scenario. A major relocation will render your HP machine defunct, as HP regionalise their printers. This means a UK printer will need cartridges from the UK, Australian printers will need Australian cartridges etc etc.
It was previously thought there was no way around this, and HP themselves advise you to dump your printer and purchase a new one (Earning their #1 industry recycling award right there!)
However, never underestimate the power of the people! Michelle Sullivan, after moving from Australia to Malta, discovered her HP C7180 no longer worked. And she did not approve. In fact she pushed so much, she drew global attention to HP saying "wait, no, it is possible to re-regionalise your machine". So if you are planning on moving abroad, or are sitting in your lounge using an American printer as a footstool, your wait has come to an end!
How To Change Your HP Printer Region
Step 1
Phone HP customer services on the relevant contact number found here:
Step 2
Ask for the steps to re-regionalise your printer, and they will tell you the numbers needed off your printers Test Print
Step 3
Run a test print, and either contact them by phone or their Live Support area found here:
Step 4
Give them the requested details, they will reply with where to go in your printer settings to enter a special code they provide. This will give you a response code to reply to them with.
Step 5
Turn your printer off for 2 minutes. Restart it, and hey-presto you will have switched the region of your machine.
Remember that once you switch you can only use that region of cartridge now, and each printer can only have its region compatibility switched 3 times before the region is locked. So if you are converting your US printer to use UK cartridges, try not to move back to the US :-) We hope this helps, and you can avoid this downfall of printing. Have you had any experiences similar to this? Comment and let us know how you've been let down or messed around, and see if anyone in our great community can help.
12 Responses to “How do I change the region of my HP Printer?”
May 18, 2010 21:46
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June 07, 2010 05:58
Interesting facts. thanks for the info!
January 31, 2011 15:36
Just moved from Japan to Europe and my printer, bought in Japan but a model available in Europe, wouldn't use what the HP website claimed were compatible cartridges.
I was on the verge of bursting an artery until I found this article: telephoned HP (long story...) and indeed, after some nudging, they admitted to being able to re-regionalise my printer.
Many thanks for sharing the info.
February 01, 2011 09:01
Glad to be of help!
How many nudges did HP take dare I ask? Great that your printer is working now :)
March 04, 2011 19:21
Err, actually it's still not working.
After three days of trying, I finally reached a technician who was able to help, but I had to circumnavigate the bear traps of the HP customer 'service' telephone menu system by being economical with the actualite, ie lying.
She was superb. Problem was, I had my printer set up wirelessly, and you need a cable. She gave me a case number and I phoned back (again circumnavigating by lying) with this case number once I'd extracted the cable from the movers' boxes. I got a different but similarly helpful colleague, who was only briefly stumped by my having a Mac.
Problem was, the HP printer utility software on my Mac just wouldn't generate the clickable link that was needed. He spent 20 minutes busting a gut to set up a printer and Mac at his end so he could replicate what I was seeing, and told me exactly what I needed to do: download latest drivers, install, what links to click etc. He also generated the codes I would need to re-regionalise.
Sadly, I've downloaded, updated, installed, tried everything, and I cannot get the correct link to the printer driver in the HP utility software.
I am girding my loins for another attempt at scaling Mt Impossible, aka HP customer service. I may try to do this using my husband's PC -- may be more familiar and therefore easier for HP?
So I guess the answer is: the first-line people are trained to help only if you in warranty or willing to pay; once you get through to the right people, they are great, but getting there is soul-destroying.
It took two days and three people to extract an admission that re-regionalisation was indeed possible and free. Once I had that information, it was easier to get to speak to someone BUT always only after lying to get around the restrictive customer 'support' telephone menus.
Twice I had to come over all huffy, ask for the supervisor etc, when the initial person told me that there was nothing they could do and I would have to buy a new printer...
Deep breaths.
March 07, 2011 09:28
Hi again!
We receive complaints of nightmarish customer-service from HP almost daily now, it's becoming famous.
I know when I was looking to solve an issue with my P1102w, I actually gave up and strived to fix it myself as their help system was so terribly designed - and you're quite correct, once you reach someone it's actually not bad at all, it's just getting to that point!
Did HP have any idea why you cannot generate the correct link? I have to say the tests I ran for this were all on Windows machines, and I would be amazed if they have not implemented this correctly with Macs.
We have access to some Macs in the office so I may attempt to replicate the issue you are having and see if we can find a workaround. Let us know how Mount Impossible goes for you, good luck and we hope it gets sorted!
March 19, 2011 06:40
You seem great at helping so I will try as I am now also desperate ...
I have a 3 year old HP Photosmart D5160 printer purchased in the UK and we have now moved to Australia. I have since gone through my supply of cartridges and purchased the recommended Australian versions 98/95.
A very long call with HP was unhelpful as they said my printer was now 'legacy' and I should try their website .... that was a farce as the website, now having spent 3 days searching it and Google, has nothing for this printer.
Do I ditch it .. it is a great printer ... or do I pursue?
March 21, 2011 11:20
Hi Bronwyn,
Unfortunately with the release of windows 7 a significant number of printers more than 3 years old were added to the Legacy list instead of making them 7-compatible, even though they are still great little printers.
It all sounds very frustrating! Did you directly request the regionalisation code from the HP service individual? If they pointed you to the website they may have mistaken your request for a driver etc.
I would recommend phoning them again, going through the horrible fuss of getting to a human, and making it quite clear that you:
a) want to stick with your existing HP printer and HP inks
b) are aware of the printers being regionalised
c) simply want their help in doing so.
Not that I feel you'd have to get their attention, but mentioning a new shiny Canon printer you have been offered if you can't get your D5160 working might speed up their willingness to help you.
If they can't provide this then, bar moving home from Australia, I fear you might be stuck and forced to buy a new printer.
Apologies we cannot be more help, and good luck with this problem. Let us know how it works out for you!
August 09, 2011 16:42
Thanks guys, it worked for me....
As instructed by HP Total care team, I held the power button of my HP PSC 1510 all in one printer whilst I took of the power cord from the back and then after 30 seconds plugged it back again. Then I held the cancel/resume button and pressed the Start scan-color button to get my 'TAP 10' results.
The HP assistant asked me for the following :
Line 11 : Serial No.
Line 21 : PG
Line 52 : ID
Line 62 : ID
Line 25 : RX
She then gave me a 4 digit code (0468-8663-3999-8086). I opened 'Devices and Printers' from the Start menu, right clicked the printer HP PSC 1510 and selected 'Printer Preferences', then on any of the windows, double clicked the 'HP logo' at the bottom left of the screen whilst holding the CTRL button. It opened a window and I put in the code in the 4 boxes, then confirmed the total value in box 51 to the assistant who confirmed it. Then selected ok and closed the windows.
I then resarted the printer, and lo behold it was regionalised, working perfectly fine....!!!
Thanks guys...
Cheers,
Neil
August 28, 2011 21:21
I went through this once. Now I've moved again and are relucktant to go through this again as it took me a lot of telephone calls, a month of time, a lot of agravation and so probably a year from my life.
Probably I'll buy another printger instead. Not HP. Hopefully the other brands don't have regionalized ink.