Why Does My HP Printer Always Says Alignment Failed?

Are you one of them trying to print from HP printer and receive the HP Printer alignment failed message? Then this blog is for you. A printer may reflect the alignment error because of many a reason but mostly ink cartridges are the one to blame.

The ink cartridges may not be of genuine version or it may not insert properly or the ink may be leaking from them or the ink nozzle may be broken or the copper contacts are moved from its place causing a poor electrical connection resulting in the printing issues with the HP printer.

Whatever may be the reason, we will curate a detailed list of the possible reason along with the troubleshooting ideas that would help you get over the HP printer alignment failed attempts.

Initially reset the printer

In case if your printer is suffering from minor connection, jerk, or any printer failure, performing a reset function can help it overcome them without much hassle.

With the printer still turned on, pull out the power cord from the printer
Then also make sure to remove the power plug from the wall outlet
Now wait for a minute or two
Then again reconnect the power cord to the printer and the power outlet
In case if you have a battery printer, simply remove, and replace it once to complete the rest the process

Try performing an alignment process

In case if you are inserting the new ink cartridges or replacing the damaged with new cartridges, you must perform the alignment process for an improved print quality.

Initially load the clean white paper in your printer
Then use the paper width guide to adjust the paper position inside the paper tray
For printer with touchscreen, navigate to tools and select Align cartridges or Print an Alignment Page option
In case of HP Utility app for Mac user, choose the option that align the print heads and the cartridges
For HP Printer Assistant in the Windows, choose Maintain Your Printer option and choose align print head option that would help you clear the alignment unsuccessful issue.

Then check the ink levels of your HP printer ink cartridges

Sometimes the low ink supply or any issues with ink flow may be the whole reason behind the HP printer alignment unsuccessful issue. Make sure to check the ink levels and the working condition before taking any decision. The low ink level can cause a poor print quality.

For the printer with control panel display, look for the ink drop symbol, ink levels or the cartridge icon
In case having the HP smart app, open it
Then from the home screen of the app, check the estimated ink levels display
In case of HP printer software and click on the Supplies or Ink Levels option
For the ink tank printers, you can check the ink level by checking the line on the tanks
The printers such as Ink Tank, Smart Tank, DeskJet GT printers will display low ink message if they ran out of ink
If it is not refillable you have to replace them or you can refill enough ink to them
Make sure to use HP genuine products from its online store

Now clean the HP printer ink cartridges clean and clear

When you see unwanted lines, streaks, and smudges with color leaks, you have to clean your HP printer print heads. You can use a cleaning software or print head and cartridge cleaning tool to perform the cleaning service.

For printers with touchscreen navigate to settings
Then choose setup and find an option for cleaning the cartridges and the print heads
If you have HP Smart app, open the application Choose your printer name
Then select Print Quality Tools and select the print head or cartridge cleaning option
In case of HP Printer Assistant in Windows, tap on the Maintain Your Printer option
In the following choose the option to clean your print heads or cartridges
In case of HP Utility in Mac, tap on the clean the print heads or cartridges option
Once done with cleaning, print a page to check the print quality
If the quality is not acceptable you might need to perform those steps again
Based on the print quality, you have to perform the cleaning until the quality become satisfied

If possible, replace the damaged with the brand new ink cartridges

Check the printed alignment page. If it contains a lot of defects, missing color, and twists, it conveys that your printer’s sensor inside the printer were damaged. This also conveys that your print heads and the cartridges are damaged. Always make sure to replace your print heads with genuine products from HP store. Using the third-rated products can cause irreversible damage to your printer.

Finally, it’s time for a service to your printer:

If you have tried every mentioned step to troubleshoot the HP Printer alignment failed issue and still facing the same then it is time to contact the HP customer support for a quick service to find what is really going on with your printer. In case if you have the guarantee and warranty take them with you to claim them.

The proper alignment is necessary for any printer’s proper printing function. Once the misalignment shows in your printer your output quality begins to fade. So it is always to keep a check on your paper and the ink cartridges.

To prevent this type of Printer alignment failed issues, perform a regular inspection, and make sure to use genuine products of HP printer. We hope this blog has really been a eye opener towards the alignment unsuccessful issue.