You put a new TN229, TN229XL or TN229XXL cartridge in your Brother color printer, closed the cover — and the machine still says "Replace Toner," claims a slot is empty, or refuses to recognize the cartridge. Extremely common with these chipped cartridges — and usually the cartridge is fine: what's complaining is that color's page counter, a seating problem, or a chip contact that isn't connecting.

This guide covers the TN229 family — printers such as the DCP-L3560CDW, HL-L3220CDW, HL-L3280CDW, HL-L3295CDW, HL-L3300CDW, HL-L8245CDW, MFC-L3720CDW, MFC-L3765CDW, MFC-L3780CDW and MFC-L8395CDW. All three sizes fit the same machines and share the troubleshooting, in black, cyan, magenta and yellow. Work through the sections in order.

First, read the message correctly

Four messages get mixed up constantly on this platform — and the display also names the color it means:

What the display says	What it actually means	Go to
Toner Low	Early warning for one named color. Toner remains; keep printing.	Nothing to fix yet
Replace Toner	That color's toner counter has reached its limit — the cartridge may still hold usable toner, or a new cartridge's counter never reset.	Fix 2 — reset the counter
No Toner	The printer cannot detect a cartridge in the named slot.	Fix 1 — reseat and contacts
Drum End Soon / Replace Drum	About the separate drum unit, not any of the four toners.	The drum section below

Reading the message — and the color it names — first saves you from resetting counters when the problem is one unseated cartridge.

Fix 1: "No Toner" — the cartridge isn't being detected

"No Toner" means the printer looked in a slot and found nothing it could recognize. Note which color the display names and work on that cartridge only. Work through these steps before touching any reset:

1. Power off and open the front cover. Slide the drum-and-toner assembly straight out.
2. Remove the named color. Press the green lock lever on that color's drum section and lift the cartridge out. Each color has its own matching slot — a cartridge in the wrong slot won't be recognized, so check the color labels.
3. Check the protective cover. A new cartridge ships with a plastic cover over the roller area. If it — or any sealing material — is still attached, the cartridge can't seat or make electrical contact. Remove it completely.
4. Clean the chip contacts. Wipe the cartridge's metal chip contacts with a dry, lint-free cloth; wipe the matching contacts in the slot too if reachable. No liquids, no abrasives.
5. Reseat until it clicks. Put the cartridge back into its own slot until the lock lever clicks, slide the assembly back until it stops, and close the cover.
6. Power-cycle the printer. If "No Toner" returns, unplug the printer for a full 60 seconds and power back on — this clears a stuck sensor state a restart can leave behind.

If the error survives all six steps with the right color seated and clean contacts, that cartridge's chip is the likely failure — a warranty case, covered at the end of this article.

Fix 2: "Replace Toner" that won't clear — reset the toner counter

Printers in this family don't measure the toner powder — they estimate consumption with a counter, one for each color. When a color's counter reaches the limit for the cartridge size the printer believes is installed, "Replace Toner" appears and printing stops — either because a cartridge with life left hit the estimate, or because a fresh cartridge's counter never reset on its own.

The counter reset

On most models in this family, the reset works like this:

1. Make sure the printer is turned on and open the front cover.
2. On touchscreen models, press and hold the toner level icon to open the reset menu; on button-panel models, press Secure and X Cancel together.
3. Select the color named in the message — black, cyan, magenta or yellow.
4. Select the cartridge size actually installed for that color — standard TN229, high-yield TN229XL or super-high-yield TN229XXL (next section; with three sizes, the choice matters).
5. Confirm, and close the front cover.

Honest caveat: Brother ships this platform with differences between models and firmware versions — key names, touch targets and menus are not identical across the family, and firmware can change how a chipped cartridge is reported. If your machine doesn't respond as described, don't experiment with random key sequences: your model's manual documents the path under "Reset the toner counter." These steps are the widely used route — not a guaranteed sequence for every model.

The gentler option: let it print past the estimate

Many models here offer a "Replace Toner" behaviour setting: under General Setup → Replace Toner (wording varies), changing Stop to Continue lets the printer print past a color's counter estimate. Print quality then becomes your gauge — when that color genuinely fades, it really is done.

TN229 vs TN229XL vs TN229XXL: same printer, different counter setting

All three sizes are physically interchangeable — same printers, same slots — and differ only in how much toner they hold:

• TN229 (standard): black about 1,500 pages; cyan, magenta and yellow about 1,200 pages each.
• TN229XL (high yield): black about 3,000 pages; each color about 2,300 pages.
• TN229XXL (super high yield): black about 4,500 pages; each color about 4,000 pages.

The four colors are also sold together — our compatible Brother TN229 4-color set covers one of each. Either way, size is exactly why the reset-menu selection matters:

• Resetting as TN229 with an XL or XXL cartridge installed sets the counter to the smallest estimate — a premature "Replace Toner" on a cartridge nowhere near empty.
• Resetting as TN229XXL with a standard cartridge installed sets a 4,500-page expectation for a 1,500-page black (4,000 for a 1,200-page color). The printer keeps printing on an empty cartridge — faded output, and a drum section run dry if ignored.

Match the reset to the size in the machine for that color, and the warnings go back to being roughly honest.

Don't confuse the toner with the drum

Each TN229 cartridge sits inside a separate drum unit — the drum puts the image on the page; the toner only supplies the powder. The drum is a different part from all four toners, replaced on a much longer schedule, with its own counter and messages. "Drum End Soon" does not mean any toner is empty, and no toner reset will clear it.

When the drum unit is replaced, reset its counter separately. On most models this lives in the machine-info / parts-life area of the settings: find the drum reset and confirm. Menu names vary — check the manual under "Reset the drum counter" if your path differs.

Only reset the drum counter when a new drum unit has actually gone in — resetting it for a worn drum makes the wear estimates meaningless, and its streaks will follow you until it's replaced.

Print quality problems: faded colors and streaks

One color faded, light or missing

1. Turn off Toner Save mode. Look under General Setup → Ecology → Toner Save (wording varies slightly), switch it off, and reprint. This setting causes a surprising share of "my new cartridge prints light" reports — and washes out colors first.
2. Redistribute that color's toner. Rock the cartridge gently side to side five or six times so the powder spreads evenly, then reinstall it.
3. One color fading while the others print normally usually means that cartridge is near its rated yield — not that the whole set is done.

Vertical lines or streaks

1. Clean the corona wire for that color. Remove the drum-and-toner assembly and find the small coloured tab on the affected color's drum section. Slide it gently end to end several times, then click it back into its home position (marked by the small arrow). A dirty wire causes a large share of single-color streak complaints.
2. Loose toner inside the machine or on a cartridge body points to a leaking cartridge, not a printer fault.
3. Streaks in one color that survive wire cleaning and a cartridge swap usually mean that color's drum section is worn — see the drum section above.

When the cartridge really is empty — and when it's a warranty case

A cartridge is genuinely finished when its color stays faded with Toner Save off and after rocking it. A reset then buys blank, washed-out pages — not more printing.

It's a warranty case, not an empty cartridge, when a new cartridge is never recognized after the Fix 1 steps, leaks, or fails inside its rated life. Every Clever Supplies compatible TN229, TN229XL and TN229XXL carries a 1-year warranty with free returns for a full year — if one of ours misbehaves, contact us and we'll replace or refund it under the policy on our shipping & returns page. Support is available Monday–Friday, 9 AM–5 PM CST.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my printer say "Replace Toner" with a brand-new TN229 installed?

Because the printer estimates each color's toner use with a counter rather than measuring the powder. If that color's counter didn't reset when the cartridge was changed, the old warning stays up. Check the cartridge is fully seated in its own slot, then run the reset in Fix 2, selecting the color and size installed.

My TN229XL or TN229XXL triggers "Replace Toner" far too early. Why?

Most likely the counter was set to a smaller size's estimate — the standard cartridge's 1,500-page black or 1,200-page color figure — while the larger cartridge is installed. Redo that color's reset and select TN229XL or TN229XXL so the counter matches.

Only one color keeps erroring. Do I have to replace all four cartridges?

No. Each color has its own slot, chip and counter, and the messages name the color that needs attention. Reseat or reset just that color — the other three are unaffected.

Is the toner reset the same as the drum reset?

No — separate counters for separate parts. Toner resets track the four colors; the drum reset tracks the drum unit and should only be used with a new drum. One never clears the other.

Does using a compatible TN229 void my Brother warranty?

No. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a manufacturer can't require its own brand of consumables as a condition of warranty coverage. And Clever Supplies compatible TN229 cartridges carry their own 1-year warranty with free returns for a year.

The short version

On this platform, most toner errors are counters and sensors talking, not a dead cartridge: reseat the named color and clean its chip contacts for "No Toner," reset that color's counter — set to the size installed — for a stuck "Replace Toner," and keep the drum counter in a separate mental box. When a set really is done, most owners replace all four together: our compatible Brother TN229 4-color set includes one of each color, backed by a 1-year warranty with free returns for a full year.

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