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Brother MFC-9970CDW toner reset: clear the low toner message and keep printing

Not long after I started my company in 2008, I was printing course materials for my students when our office printer, a Brother MFC-9970CDW, told me the magenta toner was low. I was printing in black and white. Then it stopped printing. It. Just. Stopped. That was not what I needed while I was trying to grow the business.

I am a logical person, and this made no sense. Why would a low magenta cartridge stop a black and white page? Well, it turned out the message was not even true. The printer could keep going, as long as you knew the secret code. I found that code through a user group (I honestly cannot remember which one now), and I wanted to share it with others. So in 2012 I wrote this post on my old company blog.

When the printer did it again a while later, I called Brother support. The representative told me, flatly, that resetting the toner message was impossible. It was not impossible. I had already done it. Over the next ten years, dozens of readers used these steps and added their own fixes in the comments.

Here is the part vendors do not say out loud. A low toner warning is an estimate, not a measurement. The printer counts pages and guesses. Clear the message and it keeps printing until the toner actually fades, which is often hundreds of pages later. Telling you a reset is impossible keeps you buying cartridges early. That is the whole game, and it is the same game with ink, with “genuine” cartridge checks, and with the firmware update that quietly rejects the refill you just bought.

First published December 19, 2012. Updated September 2026: same steps, plus the reader tips that helped when the main method did not work.

Before you start

We were using TN-310 cartridges in the MFC-9970CDW. The high-yield cartridge for the same printer is the TN-315, and it matters which one you have, because the reset menu lists a separate entry for each (more on that in the reader tips). Do not pitch a half-used cartridge for a new one on any printer until you have looked for its reset procedure. Search your printer model plus “toner reset.” Almost every laser printer has one, and almost no manual mentions it.

Brother MFC-9970CDW toner reset instructions so it stops telling you your toner is low

  1. Open the cover, and quickly press the number 1. I messed this up by not doing it quickly after opening and kept getting Fax. If you do, close the door and try again. You may need to turn your printer off first. I unplugged for a minute, and was then able to open the cover and press 1 to get to the printer toner reset menu.
  2. Now the touch screen gives you choices to reset the toner. Choose the one you wish to reset. Black is K.TNR STD. Magenta is M.TNR STD. Cyan is C.TNR STD. Yellow is Y.TNR STD.

That is it. Close the cover and the printer goes back to work.

Reader tips from the original comments

The original post collected 56 comments between 2013 and 2022. These are the ones that solved a problem for someone, in the order you are likely to need them.

There is more than one entry per color. The menu lists a standard entry (STD, the TN-310) and a high-capacity entry (HC, the TN-315). Reset the one that matches the cartridge in the printer. If the first one you pick does not clear the message, go back in and reset the next entry for that color. Several readers reset all the entries for a color and that worked too.

If pressing 1 keeps giving you the Fax screen. Make sure the cover is all the way down before you press 1. Then try this sequence, which a reader named Nocamo33 posted in 2014 and which cleared it for people my method did not: open the front cover, close it, and when the screen says “Please Wait,” open the cover again. When it says “Close the Front Cover,” press 1 on the keypad. The reset menu appears. Select the cartridge, press Stop/Exit, and close the cover.

If the reset menu opens but is blank. Turn the printer off. Open the cover. Turn the printer back on with the cover open, wait for the “Cover Open” or “Close the Front Cover” message, then press 1. Two readers hit the blank menu and this brought it back.

If nothing works, power-cycle and try again. Unplug the printer for five minutes, not five seconds. One reader needed four tries after unplugging. It does work; it is just fussy about timing.

Drum, belt, fuser, and other “replace” warnings. These have their own hidden menu. Press Stop/Exit, then press 3 and 9 on the keypad at the same time. A menu appears with the drum, belt unit, fuser, and paper-feed kits, each with its own reset.

Third-party cartridges. Readers had mixed results. Some refills and remanufactured cartridges worked fine. One reader’s colors went badly off after non-brand cartridges and stayed off even after swapping the originals back in. If color accuracy matters to your work, keep one set of genuine cartridges on hand and use the reset to get the full life out of them. A separate guide on third-party toner and the firmware-update trap is coming to this topic.

A different model, the MFC-L8850CDW. A reader named Darren posted this in 2016: press Home, press Fax so the keypad lights up and note where the * key sits (below the 7, left of the 0), press Home again, open the cover, then press and hold the spot where the * key was for five seconds. The toner reset menu appears. We have not tested it ourselves; it is here because people keep landing on this page looking for it.

Is your printer toner actually running low?

Want to see printer toner usage stats? This is good information to have so you can plan when to buy toner, and it tells you whether that “low” warning is real. Why is this not in the manual?

To get a detailed report on toner usage: on the main touchscreen, hit the Menu button, and on the keypad, hit * 2 8 6 4 and after a second, a new menu should pop up. Press 7 7 and a one-page report prints with your detailed use and stats for coverage, page count, and more. It is far more detail than the normal reports.

Press 9 9 to exit this menu and go back to the main screen. There are many more options in there. Oh Brother, why not make this available and easier?

Two tips from readers on this one. You must press the star key (*) on the numeric keypad before the 2 8 6 4, or the printer just takes you into the normal settings categories. And after a reset, one reader ran the report and found every cartridge still at 99 percent life remaining. That is the warning you were told to obey.

How do you know when the toner is really low?

The print fades. Text goes light and streaky, usually on one side first. That is your signal, not the message on the screen. Until then, keep printing. When you do put in a new cartridge the printer recognizes it and starts counting again, so the reset does not carry over or cause trouble later.

Hope these tips help. Here’s to you saving on toner costs and getting that print job done.

Tired of paying for things your office does not need?

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56 thoughts on “Brother MFC-9970CDW toner reset: clear the low toner message and keep printing”

  1. Worked perfectly! Thank you so much! What a blessing to be able to use my cartridges to the full, and/or not being able to print, due to just one color, etc. God bless you!

  2. I tried the reset, got the reset menu etc.
    did not solve the problem. I know I am not out of toner. I can tell by the amount of paper I have used.

  3. I did as instructed, got the reset screen but it is still telling my toner is low and It stays in that mode where I keep having to get up and manually press stop so that I can print.
    I know I am not out of toner by the amount of paper I have used.

  5. Debra – at first, it sounded like what i faced recently, and why i just updated the post today.

    Have you tried first turning your printer off? I unplugged for about 5 minutes. Then accessed the reset menu.

    Did you choose the correct toner code for the color that is in the message?

  7. Thanks! It worked for me. Also Google “toner trick brother” and then click on the images tab. It helps to get your more prints by tricking the printers sensor into thinking the cartridge is still full!

  8. Thanks for this info, it worked perfectly!

    To the other people who maybe tried this and it “didn’t work”: When I got to the reset menu there was MORE THAN ONE CHOICE PER COLOR. I assume if you reset for the incorrect cartridge (Standard TN3110 or HighYield TN3115) it will not clear the message.
    We have 5 of these printers and use them everyday. We spend many thousands of dollars per year on toner! We get mixed results with refilling our own and buying generic or remanuafactured. It pays to keep a full set of new OEM Genuine carts on hand, just in case.

  9. Hello – That worked perfectly for me too – my Toner was empty (totally empty – not possible to print), and after refill the toner empty messge continued. Your “buttom 1” procedure worked – it is really necessary to hit “1” rapidly after openting the cover. That is really what I needed. Thanks a lot !!

  10. This is a new machine and said the black was empty after just a few days. Your info worked absolutely. Thank you very much!!

  11. Thank you ~ MFC-9970CDW ~ Worked! It gave 2 choices per color–I picked the first one in line, first–did not work, showed error message still went and did second and Voila! Thank you for your share….now just to remember your site for the next ‘low toner’ message ~

  12. Thanks for posting. For some reason, yours didn’t work for me, but this did.

    Here are the steps to access the cartridge Reset Menu on the MFC-9970CDW.

    1. Open front cover.
    2. Close front cover.
    3. Upon “Please Wait” message, open front cover again.
    4. Upon “Close the Front Cover” message, press number 1 on keypad.
    5. Observe Reset Menu.
    6. Select cartridge to reset. (K=black, C=cyan, M=magenta, Y=yellow, STD=standard capacity, HC=high capacity, S.HC=super high capacity)
    7. Press Stop/Exit button.
    8. Close front cover.ο»Ώ
    Show less

  14. Love these helpful hints. Worked well for me. Really sad this is not more straight forward from Brother! However my general print quality is not good. My inexpensive HP officejet pro 8600 has better print quality? I calibrated but that made no difference.

  16. thanks. took me 4 tries after unplug, plus a lot of extra pushes on button 1 but it worked. Not only that it still prints in color so the cartridges were not yet empty.

  17. wow, great trick for this brother mfc 9970cdw printer! glad google led me to this. thanks 1mm Judy Lipinski

  19. Thank You Judy Lipinski and Nocamo33, at first I tried “Judy method” dated Dec. 19, 2012, in this blog everyone said it worked for them but I did not have had luck to get it right to “1” working by opening front door many times, I was doing as quickly as possible. Then I read Nocamo33 method dated May 23, 2014 it worked well, and I cleared toner alert in first go. Then I just wanted to try Judy’s method again, this time it worked as well. I think Brother might have done upgrades on the firmware (which I did today) or may be my MCF9970-CDW was hung to toner alert. Anyway thank you all, for developing common wisdom, credit goes to GOOGLE too, world’s greatest university of knowledge for everyone, 1st grader to space scientist, poor to rich alike.

  20. Took a bit of playing with my Brother MFP to get to the reset menu but I got there. My printer said it needed all four cartridges within 150 pages which I thought was strange. So I followed Brother instructions and installed all four toners. Then the first color toner that went out, yellow, said that I needed to replace a brand new yellow toner cartridge. I got three of the colors reset and just need cyan to reset and then hopefully It will work properly again. Don’t want to replace the printer after the first set of refills through it. It’s my personal printer so it isn’t used much. Had a good deal on it so I bought the 9970 instead of a cheaper home model. It was half off with free shipping. Probably the last of the production before it was replaced a newer model.
    Thank you for posting the reset menu!

    • Sorry Steve, we learned these tips working with our office printer. We dont have that model. Best wishes!

  23. If this method doesn’t work, try this:
    1.Open the printer cover, it is not necessary to remove the drum tray.
    2.Turn the printer OFF
    3.Turn the printer ON
    4.Wait for the “Cover Open” message on screen
    5.Press number 1
    6.The toner reset screen should display.
    7.Select which toner you want to reset.
    8.Close the printer cover.
    9.Wait for the printer to resume.

    Worked perfect!

  24. Hi

    I’ve got a Brother MFC-9970CDW. I have used the reset function in the past and works perfectly. But this time nothing shows up in the reset menu function. i.e. its just a blank screen and do not have options to choose. Have you experienced something like this in the past?

    Thanks heaps
    Jaison

    • Sorry Jaison – I have not had this experience. I hope it works for you if you unplug and wait and try again.

  25. Have used the reset toner before, but thank you so much for the detailed report information. Great!

  26. Well as of August 2015, this neat trick worked just as you instructed it would. As I study Law and have this thing about printing things out so I can highlight things and put tabs and notes on it, which uses so much paper – I’m so so sorry trees, I plant three every year at the forest reserve’s fight climate change thing I feel so bad, 3rd yr in I think this year I need to plant 10 – but it sucks when I just want black and white and the colour is out. And happens at the most crucial time. Argh…. But your little trick has saved my sanity and a small bit of hair loss. And for that I can not thank you enough, which I recon my kids think so too lmao. Cheers and thanks. Your an angel to this Law student!

  27. In “Is Your Printer Toner Actually Running Low” article = I couldn’t make this work. When I got to the menu, I typed in *2864 , I was not allowed to type it: I had to chose a category (general settings, FAX etc). Did I miss a step = I really need this information.

    The instructions for resetting the low toner message worked great…but how do I know when it is honestly low? Will I get an additional message or will the print just fade. When I do put in a new cartridge, will it cancel the bypass settings I did? THANKS

    • so sorry i realize now you wrote this in 2015….ugh.

      it was in spam.

      i use fading to indicate i need to change the toner.

      wishing you well.

      Judy

  28. Pressing 1 immediately after opening cover after I got the normal Main menu by pushing Stop to get it for a moment. This worked with me.
    You have to
    Not found on Manuel, but reading and try & error with comments on this site.
    Smart Brother-fraud like Volkswagen?

  29. Thank you!! It worked great. With the exception of the black cartridge I am still using the original cartridges. Resetting has saved me lots of money.

  30. Very helpful. Had to call Brother the first time and they walked me through it. Wrote down steps but of course they did not work when it happened again. Researched and found these very simple steps. Worked like a charm. Thank you!!!

  31. Hi Steve, Instructions for toner resetting a Brother MFC L8850CDW printer

    1. Press the home button
    2. Press the fax button, this will illuminate the keypad. What you need to do is remember where the * (asterix) button is…it is immediately below the 7 button and to the left of the 0 button
    3. Press the home icon again
    4. Open the cover door
    5. Now press and hold your finger on where you thought the asterix button was, for 5 seconds
    6. The toner reset menu will now appear and can be actioned

  32. Fantastic Fix! I feel like an idiot—we have wasted so much money on color cartridges that we didn’t need. While resetting the toner I got the dreaded Replace Belt message—now how to prolong that?

  33. I found it–reset drum and belt unit: Hit Stop/Exit then 3 & 9 on keypad at the same time. It brings up a menu with both the belt and drum available to reset.

  34. I had the same blank screen problem as Jaison. Turning the printer on with the cover door open and pressing 1 when the ‘close cover door’ message appeared brought the menu back.

  35. Thank You for this awesome fix!!! I knew we were not out of toner and did the report after we reset following your instructions. Per the report all cartridges are still at 99% life remaining πŸ™‚

  37. Another happy user – The fix worked for me – I have still ordered new cartridges however I will keep them in reserve until I am truly out of toner. I have a Brother 997CDW and the following worked for me:

    Reset Toner:

    1. Turn printer off & unplug for 5 Minutes
    2. Open the cover, and quickly press the number 1 (one) on the keypad
    a. If you get the Fax menu Try again
    3. Now the touch screen gives you choices to reset the toner. Choose the one or all you wish to reset.

    Reset other warnings:

    Drum / Belt / Fuser / PF Ki tMP / PF Kit1 / Laser units:

    1. Hit Stop/Exit then hit 3 & 9 on the keypad at the same time.
    2. It brings up a menu so choose the one or all you wish to reset.

  40. Perfect! Thanks! Didn’t read all the comments so the solution might be posted already, but took me a while until I realized the door needs to be all the way down before you hit the 1. Then it worked like a charm.

  41. I don’t know what to say. You are a life saver may God bless you. Worked for me with no problems. Thank you so very much

  42. Will, you’re a genius! I had the same blank screen issue and no toner options to choose for the reset.

    Your suggestion of turning the printer on with the cover door open and pressing 1 worked.

    Thank you for this thread!

  43. Thanks so much!! Procedure to get that detailed report on toner usage worked fabulous! This information should be in the manuals…

  46. I can’t seem to get any of this to work. Brother MFC L8850 — just wont recognize the new full yellow toner cartridge. I had 2 new ones and neither works.
    tried all the unplugging for 10 minutes (cartridges in and out) – tried all the #1 tips – plus the 3 & 9 simultaneously.
    Nothing I try will bring up the toner reset menu!
    Any other suggestions?

  47. You are a GENIUS! It worked perfectly! Mine was the high yield toner (Magenta) so I reset all 3 available M options. You’re so awesome πŸ™‚

  48. I have an old, reliable MFC 9970 CDW.

    Earlier this year, I started getting toner low messages and bought and installed original Brother OEM replacement cartridges. After 3/4 of a year of very light use, I started getting messages again.

    Last month, before I discovered this thread, I ordered some non-OEM replacement cartridges. They worked but the colors were way off, AND I continued to get toner low notices. Then I read the posts above, and successfully re-set the toner low cartridge settings following the suggested procedure. The notices have now gone away, but my colors are still way off and unbalanced.

    I have even replaced the new non-OEM cartridges with the original Brother cartridges which I installed in early 2018. The colors are still off. Browns and tans now are pink. Greens are gray. These were the same cartridges what were printing good colors before I followed the reset procedure.

    Any ideas on how I might re-balance or re-calibrate the color settings?

    • Im sorry Bob – while we did find out how to save money on the low toner warnings, we are not experts in this area. I hope you were able to find an answer! ANd if so please share. πŸ™‚

  50. Judy–Souper THX for this well-researched post! Worked like a charm on my 9970CDW! The only suggestion I’d have for your detailed instructions is for the “To get a detailed report on toner usage…” portion–
    Emphasize the need to press the “star” (*) key on the numeric keypad before entering “2468”.

    Thx very much for the useful hacks!

    Blue Devil

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