Resolving the “Replace Brother Drum” message

This ” replace drum ” message is a problem that we get asked about frequently. So if this has happened to you, please be assured that you’re not alone! Fixing or replacing your Brother drum is a simple process that anyone can do.

Here’s exactly what you can learn from this page to help you to replace or resolve your Brother drum message:

  • What does the ‘Replace Drum’ message mean?
  • How to find, remove and replace the Brother drum
  • How to reset the drum and clear the ‘Replace Drum’ message.
  • Where to buy a new Brother Drum Unit.

What does replace drum mean?

A drum unit is a maintenance item for your Brother printer (or other manufacturer Laser printer) that will sometimes need to be replaced but not as often as a Brother toner cartridge.

A drum unit is a green metal cylinder or tube that carries a static electrical charge that attracts the toner powder from the toner cartridge and applies it to the paper as it passes through the printer. Therefore, you will always find that the drum unit is located very close to or even attached to the toner cartridge.

How to find, remove and replace the Brother drum unit

separate-toner-and-drumFor Brother printers, the drum unit is usually connected to the toner cartridge.

1. To find it, simply open the front flap of your laser printer and find the toner cartridge(s) to which the drum unit will be attached or beneath.
2. Pull any green toner locking levers down to release the cartridge and then slowly pull the cartridge towards yourself and out of the machine. Place the toners on a flat protected surface.
3. On the toner cartridge(s) there will be a green lever that can be pressed to lift the toner off the drum unit.
4. The drum unit can then be replaced and the toner locked back into place on top of the new drum.
5. Re-insert both toner and drum back into your printer.

Clearing the ‘Replace Drum’ message / resetting the counter

If you’ve just replaced the drum unit of your Brother printer, are you now seeing the message “Replace Drum”?

replace drum

The cause

Ink and toner cartridges, as well as the drum units of some other manufacturers, have chips on them. Basically, these chips are a way for the cartridges and drum units to identify themselves with the printer after you’ve installed them.

However, some original and compatible Brother drum units don’t have these, and this is the case with the drum unit. Without a chip, your drum unit has no way of being able to associate itself with your Brother printer. As a result, you will get the “Replace Drum” message because your printer thinks that you’ve not installed a drum unit.

a normal chipped toner vs a dr2200 drum unit

On the right is a standard toner cartridge with a chip. The DR2200 drum unit (left) doesn’t have one of these.

The solution

Don’t panic. There’s no need to ring up your supplier for a replacement. There’s one really simple task that you can do to reset your printer and get it up and running again.

If you’ve got a Brother MFC-7360N, MFC-7460N, MFC-7460DN or MFC-7860DW

On your printer:

  • Press ‘Clear’

  • Press the number 1

  • Ensure that you now see the “Accepted” message on your display

If you’ve got a Brother DCP-7055, DCP-7055W, DCP-7060D, DCP-7065DN or DCP-7070DW

On your printer:

  • Press ‘Clear’

  • Press the up arrow

  • Ensure that you now see the “Accepted” message on your display

Brother DCP7060D "Accepted" message

And that should sort it out!

This guidance works for almost all of our customers who ring us concerned after they’ve just bought their new DR2200 unit or any other drum unit. We hope that it’s now worked for you, too.

Buying a new Brother Drum Unit

If you’re looking to purchase a brand new brother drum unit to replace your current one. We sell a full range of Brother drums and toners at TonerGiant.co.uk. Simply visit the Brother toner page, navigate to your printer model using the wizard and the correct Brother drum will be listed on the resulting page.

Did it work? What other problems have you experienced like this? We’d love to hear from you! Leave us a comment below or tweet us @tonergiant.

 

why-buy

 

Updated 10/01/2017 to improve the information and provide additional help