Member Avatar for Jerry99

There was a paper jam in my hp P2055 laserjet printer. Of course, this is not a big news. However, after clearing it the printer is still complaining "jam in cartridge area" and gives advice how to fix the things, but the problem is, there is nothing extra visible any more inside the printer. How could I tell it to the printer, I mean, to make it start running again, which it refuses to do since we do not agree about the status of the things?

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Short, practical checklist and notes for an HP P2055 that still reports “jam in cartridge area” after the visible paper has been cleared. Builds on ’s point about mechanical sensors and alignment; the steps below focus on the usual places a tiny scrap or a stuck plastic flag hides and on safe resets that clear latched errors.

  1. Power reset — turn the printer off, unplug from mains, wait 60 seconds, then plug back in and power on. A full loss of power clears latched error states.
  2. Remove the toner/print cartridge and inspect the entire cartridge bay with a bright light, including corners and under plastic guides; tiny torn bits of paper or labels are common and easy to miss.
  3. Check every cover and tray: front/top cover, rear access/duplex path and paper tray. Remove and reseat the input tray to ensure nothing is catching the feed path.
  4. Look for small sensor flags (thin plastic levers or translucent tabs) and gently actuate them with a non‑metal tool to confirm they move freely; a stuck or broken flag will present as a persistent jam.
  5. Inspect rollers visually and make sure they rotate freely when the printer is off; do not touch the fuser surface or try to clean it while hot. Avoid sharp tools — use tweezers or a soft brush for debris.
  6. Reseat the cartridge firmly until it clicks; confirm every cover latches completely. If the message persists after reassembly and a power reset, try printing the printer’s configuration/self-test page if the panel will allow it.

Cautions and next steps: do not insert liquids, avoid touching the fuser, and do not force parts. If no visible fault is found after the checks above the likely causes are a stuck/broken sensor flag, a failed microswitch, or a latched controller fault; these usually require part replacement or dealer service. If the unit is under warranty or service contract, contact HP/your vendor before further disassembly.

Member Avatar for mjdodd

well one problem is this, the error messages sent to your screen are produced by some 'fault' in the printer (or sometimes computer) and in the printer there is z last of errors. The fault then 'chooses' the error nearest to its actual ability to detect the fault. Eg a microswitch at the bottom of the paper tray operated by no paper = paper out Obvious!
However a series of microswitches (one near the roller, one at the feed into the roller, one at the end of the paper out of the roller all detect some aspect of the paper passing through the machine (ie the top edge of the paper has passed by here!) and then finally perhaps (the bottom of the paper has passed by here!) But if the paper or some dust, or some ink, has prevented that switch (led) detecting the paper for some reason the only error message that it can give is ...yes you've guessed it 'paper jam). On my dell there is a duplexer unit (that means a plastic extra tray that turns the paper over to print on the other side). If that tray is even slightly out of alignment then it gives and error message yes you ve guessed right again (paper jam)!
I cannot therefore give you a simple answer like there is a piece of paper jamming, but it is certainly possible that there may be some other jam (roller or gear not running freely due to dirt, dust, age, no lubricant etc) that will lead to a paper jam message;
I think you will have to think a bit more laterally and see if anything is too loose or too tight, or dirty, and is the cartridge fully seated properly, is the cover of the machine fully closing properly etc etc.

Hope this helps

M

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