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 | error 41 - MFC 5100C by Dave (12/16/04 5:12 PM) reply | +2 + / - | I've read and printed out the 14 pages on the hopeful 'error 41' fix. My question is, however, can we bottom line all the remarks and say whether it is simply worth the expense to attempt to fix the 'error 41' problem? I am hours away from taking my unit to the repair shop. So, is this the right move, or should I just drop it off at the dump and head for Staples or Office Max to get a replacement machine. (NOT Brother, of course. That's for sure!).
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Brother (5/9/05 2:13 PM) reply | + / - | For USA customers Brother has extended the warranty period for "Machine Error 41" to 24 months of proof of purchase or 30 months of serial number. Please call our toll free customer service support line at 1-800 284-4329 M-F to verify if your machine is within the warranty period. They will assist you on locating the nearest Authorized Service Center. If your product is within the extended warranty period, Brother will cover the repair cost to have your Print Head replaced. Brother has corrected the "Machine Error 41" error condition. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Best Regards,
Brother International USA
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by WhistleBlower (7/16/05 1:50 PM) reply | +1 + / - | Hey there all you poor people who are suffering the dreaded error 41!
I work for Brother customer service (although not for much longer!) and I want to help all you guys who are being screwed by Brother's cheapness in not developing a decent printhead in the first place. To be honest I think with all the warranty replacements and repairs it has cost them much more than the development costs! Anyway, here's the inside deal. I know "Big Brother" checks this forum and I don't care. You guys know you're in the wrong and you should be ashamed of the way you are treating your customers.
Ok. As I'm sure you're all aware error 41 is a problem that affects a LOT of Brother inkjet printers. It basically means the printhead is screwed and needs replacing. Despite what they say (and what they tell us to tell you guys!) it is a huge problem, and they know this. The good news is they have extended the warranty on it to 24 months by purchase date or to 30 months by your serial number. Additionally if you have had any warranty repair or exchanging for whatever issue you have another 6 months extension on the warranty coverage. My personal opinion is that this is not good enough. They know it is a problem and should cover anyone who has this problem, no matter the age of the machine. If your machine is out of warranty it's gonna cost you about $30 for the printhead and $80 for the repair... Brother should pay this but of course they don't. However, if you kick up a fuss and ask to speak to a supervisor. They will not cover your repair BUT they will send you out the equivalent in ink!!! Better than nothing but not good enough in my opinion. They screw up... they should fix it.
Some more advice to anyone who has one of these machines and hasn't had the error yet. Call in and pretend you do. They don't ask any questions... they'll set you up for a no charge repair straight away. Get yourself their new printhead put in. I actually think the new ones they've designed are a lot more reliable and you might as well cover yourself because I'd estimate about 50% of the units suffer this problem.
A couple more things. This problem is still there in their newer units - it just comes up under a different name!! If you get "unable to print" on a 420CN, 210C, 5440CN, 620CN it's the same crap again!
And I love their little money spinner on the color ink cartridges. If any of them are empty, you can't print out in black... even if you never use color. This of course is for your own protection because "it can damage your printhead trying to print without all the cartridges in there"! Whatever!! To be fair they need to make their money somewhere and the machines come pretty cheap to buy but still. Who really actually has a need for a color fax machine?!
If any of you Brother execs are reading this, please take some advice. Look after your customers... especially when you know that the fault is yours. OK, it may cost you to fix their problem but believe me if you take care of your customers they are going to come back and use you in the future. I know you have pressure from shareholders to make short-term profits but if you keep a customer happy they will come back and HAPPILY spend a lot more money on your products in the future. Surely you can see the business sense in this?! You are nothing without your customers. They will switch to other brands out of principle. I am not proud to work for your company, mainly due to the way you have treated customers with this problem.
To all you consumers. I hope I have been of help and if you have any questions I'll do my best to try and answer them. If I could ask you guys one thing, I know Brother have p***ed you off but please don't take your anger out on us poor people on the phones. They pay us way too little and wors us way too hard to be a sounding board for your frustrations. To be fair, the Brother machines aren't bad at all... but they really should take responsibility for their errors... well to be more precise their error 41s! Everyone is allowed to make mistakes, as long as they do their best to fit them!
Happy printing
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| Re: Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Anonymous (10/11/05 3:39 PM) reply | + / - | Whistleblower, I have just read your email and will call tomorrow to inform then that I have an error message. I have had 2 black fax copiers in the past and was extremely pleased with each. I bought a Lexmark and HP printer and was not so satisfied so I decided to purchase a brother because of my past experience. Big mistake, they are not the machine of yester year. I bought the 210C and returned it within a week and purchased the 5440CN. I have not had any problems with the machine except it eats ink like it is candy. I have read on the site about covering the ink sensors but all these machines were in the 300 series. If you could tell me where the ink sensors are located on the 5440 CN machine I would really appreciate the info. I don't mind buying ink cartridges but I have a real problem when the ink cartridge is only 1/2 empty at best. Also, I never print in color but I have to purchase color cartridges that mysteriously become almost empty. I have thought about trashing this machine and buying another brand but which brand would be better. I don't know... Thank you for being a Whistle Blower and standing up for what you know is the right thing to do. I know your mama would be proud of you and so are we that have read your email. MamaJen
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 | Unable to print MFC620cn by jaybird (11/13/05 8:05 PM) reply | + / - | Help? I need to print documents and I have a MFC 620cn and it was printing a 2 pg document and quit printing after page one....it displayed a message Unable to print see trouble shooting and maintenance...I unpluged it and re check all connections and I even Uninstalled it and reinstalled it? I'm afraid to take it apart....as it may void warrenty.
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 | Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by dougutz (11/30/05 1:43 PM) reply | + / - | i have the 34.99 answer to error 41 plus s/h dougutz2002@yahoo.com or 740-974-7669
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by guest (12/12/05 6:43 PM) reply | + / - | Hi I'm from Canada and all of you guys who've seen the error 41 are considered lucky because the MFC-4420C I bought doesn't even give me that error message! It just prints out blank without any warning! (It was only purchased a little over a year ago.)
I've replaced the ink cartridges 3 times already within the last 6 months. I figured it wasn't a huge deal since I bought extended warranty with the store I bought it from, Future Shop, and they usually are pretty good about replacing the entire thing if it still fails after the third try. Well not so! During the first two fixes, they fail to tell me what the problem was and now at the third fix, all of a sudden they call to tell me the print head is not covered, and that I would have to pay $361.01 to replace it.
What kind of service is that? And Brother what are you going to do for your Canadian customers? All I know is that I'm never going to buy another multi-function machine again and certainly not a Brother machine.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by BrotherGuy (12/21/05 1:40 PM) reply | + / - | All brother questions email me at Klael24@Yahoo.com i will help as best I can.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by BrotherGuy (12/21/05 1:40 PM) reply | + / - | All brother questions email me at Klael24@Yahoo.com i will help as best I can.
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 | Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by samsandra (12/31/05 5:04 PM) reply | + / - | To klael24@yahoo.com and whistleblower,
Thank you for your expert response and caring for us poor customers. Now let me get this straight, I'll call the 1-800 number and talk to a customer service rep (you) then explain my error 41 then they'll advise me of the nearest authorized dealer to fix my printer. Since my purchase (2yrs ago), I could not find my receipt however, I think I can obtian my credit card charge statement of the item. Is this acceptable? If so, great...please advise soon, I'm seriously looking at another manufacturer (although Brother has been in the family since the 70's) Please don't let me down.
Thanks
Sam
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Mad Texan (12/31/05 8:21 PM) reply | + / - | Well, I was plenty happy with my MFC 5100C that I rarely used. I am a teacher. I bought this crazy machine so I did not have to stay late at the school house to copy. I now copy ( well, I did) my masters at home and then, go to school and let the XEROX crank out the big numbers for my classes.
Recently, I bought some cartridges from Office MAX but, now they are at the minimum on my list. The cartridges were dried up. I did not know this until my copies started coming out all screwed up. I guess you now know my problem...they screwed my printer head.
This really could not come at a worse time. I need to scan a pic into the computer for a new job and fax a receipt to another company. And you brother execs think I am going to run to Krogers or Randalls/Safeway to get my stuff faxed. It would not be such a pain in the butt if Rita had not hit and crewed up the Office Depot in Galveston. They had a fire there during the Rita time while the rest of us were living on the highway for 52 hours trying to get to Dallas. We come home to a place that has not been touched except for the fires...of a few historical homes and the Office Depot. That was the ONLY reason I went to Office Max. If I could only find my receipt from there....I would make them pay for the dried ink!!!!!!!!and my printer.
But seeing that Brother ain't really a good brother I am going to buy an HP this time. If I can get one for 150. that lasts 2-3 years then, I will feel like I got my money's worth.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by moe  (12/31/05 11:49 PM) reply | + / - | Try the soaking the cartridge in hot water trick. That sometimes unclogs the print heads. It works real good on HP cartridges. Results on Brother are mixed. Since they aren't any good anyway, you can't make them any worse.
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 | Re: Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Anonymous (1/1/06 7:36 AM) reply | + / - | Ater reading several of the responses I did take out the print head and ran some alcohol over it. Yes, it was dirty. I got most of the ink out through alcohol, Q-tips, and lightly tapping on each hole-the pressure of the fluid being forced out. I ran some water through it-nothing. I put some hot water in a pie dish and sat the printer head in it and was able to get more. I need to get some fresh ink cartridges before I try running it.I am hoping that this is the only problem. And I am planning on ordering another head. I would much rather do this.
I cannot imagine repair people ripping people off with 80 dollar repair charges to replace these print heads. Sounds like I need to go into business.
My mom had a lexmark that had problems. We took to a local business machine repair and had to pay 45 bucks just to diagnose it. They promised to fix but they never really had it solved. This is when I suggested that she buy a Brother. Her Lexmark had a wheel problem... And yes thanks for your information.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by lynn lynn (1/14/06 3:47 AM) reply | + / - | I have had error 41 pop up on my MFC-5100C for months now and have so far been able to print and copy anyway by unplugging between each copy, but now it isn't so happy with that answer anymore. I don't beleive I have receipt/ warranty as this was probably more than two years ago purchase. Is my FAX hopeless? Time to just replace it?
I read of the one who soaked the print head in hot water. How do I access and remove the printhead?
Thanks for your suggestions...
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Anonymous (1/19/06 3:56 PM) reply | + / - | I HAVE THE SAME PROMBLEM SO ANY ONE OUT THERE THAT IS HAVING THIS ERROR 41 DON'T FEEL BAD.THISE IS THE SECOND TIME I HAD HAVE THIS PROBLEM.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Anonymous (1/20/06 9:10 AM) reply | + / - | Just called brother and tried to get them to send me a printhead. ALthough they offered to send a print head for free to a service centre, they refused to send it to me directly. I let them know that I would not pay a $1 more to get this printer fixed. Told them they could keep their print head.
When I asked them why the printer was not recalled, I was told that I could complain to the head office in Japan. By far the worst company I have ever dealt with.
Needless to say I will never buy another Brother product ever!!
I am also going to advise all my clients to do the same.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by nlopes (1/20/06 9:27 AM) reply | + / - | Just called brother and tried to get them to send me a printhead. ALthough they offered to send a print head for free to a service centre, they refused to send it to me directly. I let them know that I would not pay a $1 more to get this printer fixed. Told them they could keep their print head.
When I asked them why the printer was not recalled, I was told that I could complain to the head office in Japan. By far the worst company I have ever dealt with.
Needless to say I will never buy another Brother product ever!!
I am also going to advise all my clients to do the same.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by brotherfromanothermo (2/3/06 11:15 PM) reply | + / - | ummm...any brother with poor print quality or anything else wrong with the printhead you can just call in and lie about...tell them its error 41, when i had mine fixed, the guy at the shop couldn't make it come up at all...he just had to take my word on it that it was error 41...im not saying its a good thing, but hey,were all getting nailed with their inks
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| Re: Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by qmex99 (5/6/06 7:01 AM) reply | + / - | Any error 41 help would be greatly appreciated. I have a 5200C Brothers all in one.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by dougutz (5/18/06 5:55 AM) reply | + / - | the print head is bad we have them for 34.95 + s/h we are brother authorized service center
740-653-145
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| Re: Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by dougutz (5/18/06 5:58 AM) reply | + / - | whats your point, he could have tested the machine until the error came up and wasted even more ink?
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| Re: Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by dougutz (5/18/06 6:01 AM) reply | + / - | get a life! they have the fix for free you pay nothing just take it to the nearest repair center, problem solved. at least they have an answer, some companies could care less.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by anonymous (6/1/06 6:07 PM) reply | + / - | Does anyone know if you can hack the 5100C to use it as a scanner ? I've given up after 3 print heads in 3 years. But it does do decent scanning.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by LuckyMommie (9/30/06 4:21 PM) reply | + / - | I purchased my Brother MFC 5440cn at Staples 18 months ago. I have the "unable to print" error and of course NOTHING works. I emailed Brother 3 times and had 1 phone conversation with them. I was told that there was nothing they could do as it was past the warranty period, sorry. That was it. No mention of getting the print head replaced or taking it in for repairs. I cannot believe how they treat people.
I am looking for a Brother MFC 5440cn SERVICE manual on the net but aside from one that is sold for $10.99 (i dont have cc to buy online) I haven't found one. I figured I'd learn how to fix this piece of junk as I can't break what is already broke.
Ugh I am furious with them. I cannot keep buying printers every 2 years. That was my 3rd printer since 2000.
If you know where I can get a copy of a service manual so I can fix the print head I would appreciate it.
I'd also be interested in the Staples email address if it was for Canada. Great idea!
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by comjoe2 (12/24/06 8:26 AM) reply | + / - | Hi I bought my 3820 CN on Oct 12, 2004. since I purchased it I had the print head replaced under warranty three times. Now it went bad again. I will call Brother on Tuesday Dec 26 and see what can I get from them.
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| Printer no staying on - no error message by sotiris (12/31/06 8:10 AM) reply | + / - | Does anyone know if Brother does anything special with the US printers so that they won't work overseas? I bought an MFC-5440CN and sent it to my family in Europe, the printer has worked in stand alone mode twice the rest of the time it seems to go through the initialization then turns off. It's pluged to a high-end voltage converter and as I mentioned it was worked twice just fine.
The only thing displayed on the LCD is STD:RES and it makes a weird sound. The printer does this in stand alone mode, no USB and no LAN.
I had a similar experience with my MFC-5440CN but only when it was connected via the LAN and I was sending a document to print. This problem was resolved by the latest firmware update.
Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank you
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| Printer no staying on - no error message by sotiris (12/31/06 8:13 AM) reply | + / - | Does anyone know if Brother does anything special with the US printers so that they won't work overseas? I bought an MFC-5440CN and sent it to my family in Europe, the printer has worked in stand alone mode twice the rest of the time it seems to go through the initialization then turns off. It's pluged to a high-end voltage converter and as I mentioned it was worked twice just fine.
The only thing displayed on the LCD is STD:RES and it makes a weird sound. The printer does this in stand alone mode, no USB and no LAN.
I had a similar experience with my MFC-5440CN but only when it was connected via the LAN and I was sending a document to print. This problem was resolved by the latest firmware update.
Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank you
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 4820 C by NIKK786 (3/5/07 9:12 AM) reply | + / - | NEED HELP I HAVE BROTHER PRINTER MFC 4820C AND ERROR 41 HAS COME UP FOR THE SECOND TIME AND MY WARRANTY IS OUT.
COULD ANYONE ADVISE ON WHAT I SHALL DO. THANKS
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| Re: Re: error 41 - MFC 4820 C by Anonymous (3/15/07 7:24 AM) reply | + / - | Exactly the same for me. I kept mine going for another 6 months by unplugging it between uses, when you re-energise it the error has usually gone. Sadly, not any more, it finally came up with the error every time I tried that trick.
I've ordered a new MFC from someone else. Once that arrives I'll start dismantling the 4820 and try fiddling with the head but I don't hold out too much hope.
Probably cheaper to buy a new MFC from the many outlets on the net (avoid Brother!)
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Dale E. Cavanaugh Sr (3/15/07 9:26 AM) reply | + / - | hi i got me a cannnnnon works great and i got a place of my mfc5100c cost to much to fix and a waste of time.
from deep in the critter valley
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Johntenca (3/16/07 12:26 PM) reply | + / - | I got the 41 error code, called Brother and they said I need a new printhead. It's out of warranty. I read on this site how to clean/replace the printhead. My problem is I can't get the printer to park the cartridges in the remove position. And I no longer get the error 41 message when I plug/unplug the printer. Now I get the message: please wait, and nothing else no matter how long I wait. If I push a button, any button I get a beep. If I unplug it and open the cover, I can select remove cartridges, but then it reads "close cover". When I close the cover I get the "please wait" and back to the beep for any button.
Any help would sure be appreciated, I'm very near buying a new machine.
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by gel  (edited 4/1/07 3:15 PM) reply | + / - | To get at cartridges, turn on and as soon as you hear print head moving switch off power.
Lift lid and should find them out of park position.
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| Re: Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Anonymous (3/21/07 10:32 AM) reply | + / - | Worked like a charm. Cartridges can now be moved by hand. Thank you very much.
John
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| Printer Help by Anonymous (4/1/07 11:09 AM) reply | + / - | The printer maks this really ad noise, then says failed to iniate
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by BROTHERisLAME (8/13/07 11:46 AM) reply | + / - | This weekend, right after spending 60 dollars on Brother ink. (Ink which last 30 seconds after putting it in by the way) I look at my printer and notice Error 41. I called Brother this morning and was told by a tech rep that if I am out of my warranty.. this is not their problem. Are they serious? If this is a known DEFECT in their product, it is their problem REGARDLESS of when I bought it. I gave her the example of car manufactures who find a defect in their cars. They will issue a recall.. allow you to bring the car into the dealership for repairs.. and all FOR FREE!! why? Because they sold you a defective "product" I just noticed there is a class action lawsuit against Brother for this error 41.. I invite all of you to sign up for it. I sure did.
http://www.fazmiclaw.com/brother.html
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Anonymous (1/16/08 2:20 PM) reply | + / - | brother sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| Re: error 41 - MFC 620cn by nerrad (7/22/08 3:02 AM) reply | + / - | I have a MFC 620cn with error 41 , I'm fully aware of the fault and have tried everything to clear and clean the head. I have many other printers so the printing function is not required.
Is anybody aware if I can by-pass the print-head in total,
I.E > can I unplug the printhead OR access a page in firmware setup to ignore the print headhead and or check at startup so I can
JUST use it asa a scanner and outgoing fax???
Thanking youse
Darren
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 | Re: Re: error 41 - MFC 5100C by Pjforshort (9/8/08 9:37 PM) reply | + / - | this link is invalid. Do you have further information? I have a 5100C with dreaded error 41... not sure how old the machine is but it has been non-functioning and sitting on a shelf for a long time.
Thanks!
Pj
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| MF-420CN by dre1219 (2/27/09 4:54 PM) reply | + / - | I have a very difficult problem that won't go away. My machine continues to display the "unable to init. See troubleshooting and routine maintenance in user's guide." I have performed all the steps listed there in the user's manual - to no avail!!! Error message won't go away. Please help.
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