Canon MG5550 Error 5B00

Fix your Canon MG5550 Error 5B00. Probably works for other similar generation printers. When you have used your MG5550 for a lot of printing, maybe 60,000 sheets, it will finally start telling you its Ink Absorber is almost full. This will happen every 20 pages or so, and you can continue the first 10 or 20 times. Eventually though, it's starts giving an Error MG5550 and refusing to print.

There are two stages to fixing this problem:

• - Step 1: Get the printer into service mode
• - Step 2: Use servicetool.exe to reset the ink absorber to 0%

If you do the wrong thing, you can recover it. But it makes you panic at first, because the printer stops responding, won't turn on, and all sorts of scary things. BUT you can simply unplug the power for at least 30 seconds, and the printer will reset itself and you can try again.

You will need the printer plugged into a USB port on your computer to use the reset tool.

Step 1:To get the MG5550 into service mode:

1. Work out where the STOP button is. The printer very helpfully hides all the buttons. If you look closely though, you can just make out the squares. The Stop button is the one near the Error light (which will helpfully be orange because of the error you are trying to fix).
2. Turn the printer off.
3. Press and Hold the Power button. Keep it pressed down.
4. Wait about 2 or 3 seconds - the blue light will be on.
5. Press the STOP button 6 times. Each time you press it, you will see the lights change from the Orange one to Blue one. After the 6th time, the BLUE led should be on.
6. Let go of the Power button.
7. The blue light will now start flashing for a while. This may just be 5 seconds, or it could be a minute, if the printer decides to do a head clean first...
8. Eventually the blue light will stay on. The main display will be BLANK. This is Service Mode.
9. Connect the printer via USB to your computer.

Step 2: Reset the ink absorber to 0%

1. Download and launch the servicetool.exe program. Search on Google for "Service Mode Tools Version 1.050" or Service_tool_v3400.
2. You should see all the buttons and functions are enabled. If they are all greyed out, its because either the printer is not connected to the computer, the printer has crashed.
3. You will see an option, Ink Absorber Counter, and a Counter value. Make sure the counter value is set to 0%, and press the Set button. You should get a message saying A function has finished. If you get an error message, then it means the printer was not in service mode.

You can dowload Service Tools  here:

Version 1.050

DOWNLOAD

Service Tools Version v3400  here:

DOWNLOAD

Now its done. Just turn off the printer (power button) and turn it back on again. The dreadful 5B00 error should be gone.

Other solution to fix  Canon MG5550 Error 5B00

1. Turn off the printer 
2. Press and hold the "Stop/Reset" button 
3. Press and hold "Power On" button 
4. While holding the "Power On" button, release the "Stop/Reset" button 
5. While holding still the "Power On" button, press twice the "Stop/Reset" button 
6. Release the "Power On" button 
7. Wait until it display an "idle" message. It will take about 60 seconds. 
8. When "idle" appears, open the top cover to expose the cartridges. 
9. Lift up the cover for cartridge holder and take out both the black and color cartridges 
10. Return the cover of cartridge holder and turn off the printer 
11. Return the top cover and turn on the printer again 
12. After the printer initialize, return the cartridges.

If you do notice that you are getting lots of smudges, you can probably extract some ink from the absorber pad by using some tissue paper. The pad is a sort of white square thing, under where the printer parks its heads. Just open the cover as if to change a cartridge, and the cartridge should move to the middle, revealing a gunky mess, including the ink absorber.