How to Install and Calibrate HP 203A, 205A and 216A Colour Toner

If your HP Color LaserJet Pro keeps showing the toner warning after you've changed it, it's nearly always because the internal counter hasn't been reset, not because the cartridge is faulty. The printer counts pages; it doesn't measure the actual toner left. With a new chip, that counter goes back to zero on its own.

First things first: our toner already comes with a new chip

And this saves you 90% of the hassle. Our compatible toners leave the factory with a new chip, which is exactly the part that carries the counter. When you install the cartridge, the printer reads that chip as if you'd just bought a brand-new one and resets the level by itself. In most cases you don't have to go into any menu or press anything unusual: you put the cartridge in, close it up and you're done.

Choose yours based on your model:

• HP 203A CF540A compatible colour toner — for M254dw, M254nw, M280nw, M281cdw, M281fdn and M281fdw. Yields 1,400 ISO pages for €12.99, around €0.01 per page. If you have one of these, take a look at our HP 203A toner guide for the M254 and M281 too.
• HP 205A CF530A compatible colour toner — for M154a, M154nw, M180n, M180nw and M181fw. 1,100 ISO pages for €12.98, around €0.01 per page.
• HP 216A W2410A compatible colour toner — for M155a, M155nw, M182nw and M183fw. 1,050 ISO pages for €20.98, around €0.02 per page.

You'll find them all, along with the rest of the colours, in our collection of best-selling compatible toner and ink.

How do you install HP colour toner step by step?

Replacing it on the M254, M281 and family is straightforward and you don't need any tools. Take your time so you don't force anything:

1. Turn off the printer and wait a few seconds. It isn't essential, but it avoids surprises and lets the inside cool down.
2. Open the front door. On these models the cartridge drawer slides outwards.
3. Locate the empty colour (black, cyan, magenta or yellow) and take it out by pulling the handle upwards.
4. Unbox the new one and gently rock it from side to side five or six times to spread the toner around inside.
5. Remove the sealing tape if it has one and slot it into its colour-coded groove until you hear the click.
6. Push the drawer in, close the front door and switch on. Then print a test page.

If it's the first time you're changing a cartridge, take a look at our guide to installing a toner step by step without damaging it.

What if it still says "Replace toner" or "non-genuine"?

With the new chip this shouldn't happen, but some firmware is more stubborn. Let's be clear: on HP colour printers there's no secret button combination to "reset" like on some Brother models. What you see is usually a commercial warning about used or non-HP supplies, not a real fault.

Try it in this order:

• Press Accept or OK on the panel to dismiss the warning: the printer will keep printing normally.
• Turn it off and on again to force a fresh reading of the chip.
• Take the cartridge out and slot it back in; clean the gold contacts with a dry cloth.
• If you want to remove the warnings permanently, you can disable the "non-HP supplies" alerts from the printer's web server settings (type its IP into your browser).

The exact wording of the menus changes depending on the model and firmware version. If yours behaves differently or doesn't recognise it, you'll find more solutions in what to do when the printer doesn't recognise compatible toner, and you can always write to us with your exact model.

How do you calibrate the colour after changing the cartridge?

On colour printers it's worth calibrating after a change so the tones come out true, especially if you notice off colours or a greyish background. Calibration adjusts how the four toners combine on the paper.

You launch it from the panel, usually under Settings > Printer Maintenance > Calibrate Colour, or from the printer's web server. It takes a couple of minutes and prints an adjustment page; don't stop it halfway. The exact path varies depending on the model and firmware, so if your menu doesn't match, look for "calibrate" within maintenance. Afterwards, print a quality page to check the result.

Is it the toner or something else?

Here's an important detail about this range: the M254, M281 and their siblings use "all-in-one" cartridges, with the imaging drum built in. There's no separate drum you can buy and replace yourself as on mono laser printers. That's why, when you get streaks, lines or faded areas, it's nearly always the colour cartridge itself or dirty contacts, not a separate part.

If the defect always appears in the same colour, change that cartridge. If it's in all of them equally, calibrate and check that the paper and environment are suitable. Still not sure? Tell us your model and the symptom and we'll tell you whether it's the toner or the printer.

Frequently asked questions