HP Printer: How to Fix Incompatible Cartridges (After Moving from U.S. to Germany)

Moving to Germany

Oct 22

We brought over our US-bought all-in-one HP Office Jet Pro 6978 thinking “ink is ink.”

Germany reminded us: not quite.

Since the original US-based 902's cartridges are not available here, I had to replace them with German-based 903's - which fit exactly the same.

Click, click, click.

But the printer refused to print.

Resolving this was time-sensitive because the papers that I needed to print were for my Ausländerbehörde appointment...later that week!

Welcome to regionalization—HP’s system that ties certain printers to cartridge families by region (US vs. EU).

If you move countries, the cartridges must match the printer’s region or the printer needs a region reset.

What We Wish We Knew (Before Moving our HP Printer to Germany)

Many HP inkjets are tied to a regional cartridge family (e.g., US vs. EU).
A US printer won’t accept EU cartridges until HP changes the printer’s region (a Support-assisted reset).
After the region-change, you’ll use the EU cartridges going forward; your leftover US cartridges won’t work
If you move back to North America, you can contact HP Support again to set your printer’s region back to US/Canada to use the North American cartridges.

Here’s how to get started:

Log in to HP Support (or create an HP account, if you don’t have one yet).
Click on my ticket (as reference): Incompatible Cartridge (After Moving from US to Germany)
Click ‘Start a Conversation’
Add your short note to post your Support Ticket.
Do NOT add the serial number or any private information (since this ticket will be open to the public!)

In 1-2 days, expect an email from the HP Support Expert responding to your ticket. They will respond to you privately where you can explain your ink cartridge issues, share the serial number & details, and then they will support you with the next steps.

USB-B Printer Cable: Have it ready (or buy one from Amazon, if you lost yours - like us 😄). You will need to connect your HP Printer to your PC to perform the region change.
Windows Over Mac: It hurts me to say this, but using a Windows PC for the HP Printer’s region change worked for me (on the first shot). Despite the Mac-specific steps for my MacBook, it never worked for me.
Don’t Use Random Codes Online: It’s tempting, especially when you’re tight on time & you learned how to enter HP’s hidden menu for the region change. But just don’t do it, it won’t work for your printer.

Printer model + serial number
Printer cable: USB-B cable to USB-A / USB-C (depending on your PC)
Official HP EU cartridge: That fits for your printer
Create an HP ticket: Don’t share your serial number & personal information in public.
Patience: The entire process can take from 3-5 business days. Start early! (Not 24 hours before you need the printed document)

US HP printers can work in Germany, but the ink cartridges are regional.

If your HP all-in-one printer refuses German cartridges, don’t keep retrying.

Save the headache & time. Create an HP Support ticket. Ask for a region change to support to EU ink cartridges.

Or cut your losses and buy a European printer.

It’s a matter of time over money.