Why does my HP Laserjet P2015dn printer not print?

The P2015 series is known for chronic formatter board issues. In most cases where the printer does not respond, it's often the formatter on this series. The problem was common on them when they weren't older, but as they age the risk has grown to a point they're not worth buying, and if you own one, plan for failure. If it works, do not stock up on toner. Buy a new printer and run both until it fails. I'd say buy knockoff toner as needed if yours still works.

The USB cable fix is worth a shot at this point since the cables are cheap, but just keep in mind it’s likely a bad formatter board and it may not help. If it still has issues, don’t waste any more time on it - it's dead.

The defect is repairable, but ANY attempts WILL BE TEMPORARY and it WILL KEEP FAILING! Sell off any spare unopened toner stock and empty anything you have opened while it runs, even if it means printing for friends as a favor with a heads up you're finishing off consumables on a failing printer and it won't last forever. Replace it once you’ve run out of consumables. If you aren't down with recycling, give it away to someone who will use cheap aftermarket toner in it until it fully fails as a nice throwaway printer. While the heatsink patch may help working units that have no early signs of trouble, it doesn’t do a whole lot of good on a failed one as the damage is done. However, it may be enough if you will be happy with the increase. Don’t waste money on a repaired formatter board - they die the same way and some data will be lost forever like the page count, formatter number, and serial number UNLESS you can somehow procure the LJ service tools HP uses or use PJL if it's an option.

Reflowing the formatter board does salvage the printer so I will mention it, but this is as far as I'd go if I was going to try to repair one of these and I had a lot of leftover toner in a open cartridge when it died. Please use an oven that will never see food again. Being a RoHS board helps, but PCB chemicals aren’t something you want to eat. Each printer is identical to open up, but with different connections:

• Base (USB only, no other ports, no auto duplex)
• n (Network, most common)
• dn (Duplex+network, very common as well)
• dtn (Duplex, Tray, Network, 2nd tray, uncommon)
• x (Duplex+network+factory 3rd paper tray, essentially the same as the dtn, only found in large offices)

If you do opt to try reflowing the board, here's how to do it:

• Step 1: Remove the formatter board. The board is on the side where the USB and Ethernet ports are. To remove this panel, push it out with a flathead screwdriver.
• Step 2: Once you have the panel off, take a picture of the wiring and keep it for reference. It shouldn't be possible to mix up, but if it's your first try you might want this image. If in doubt, pair each connector with a "mark".
• Step 3: Remove the formatter board screws and unplug the cables going to the board. You will see ~4-5 screws holding it in. If you are not sure you can remember where each screw went, lay them how they came out of the printer but they should be the same.
• Step 4: Find a way to lift the board in the oven. You can do this with anything, but it needs to be 100% flat for this to work correctly. PC standoffs, an aluminum sheet with holes drilled in it for case screws and potentially nuts to keep the board stable will work for this.
• Step 5: To extend the life of the reflow and improve your odds, put liquid flux under all of the chips on the board. The idea is your reflow will be more consistent this way. Just make sure to use no-clean flux or ultrasonic the formatter board after baking it to clean it.
• Step 6: Preheat the oven at 450-500 degrees for 5 minutes. Put the board in until the solder is molten, then remove it. This takes around 5-8 minutes. DO NOT BUMP THE BOARD. Let the board cool for 8-12 hours.
• Step 6a: If you used an oven you cook food in, run a cleaning cycle and thoroughly clean it. This does not apply to an oven dedicated to reflow.
• Step 7: After letting the board cool, put it back in the printer and try your luck.

Putting a heatsink on the CPU (largest chip on the board) and Ethernet controller (network models) can add more life to your reflowed printer, but it is still temporary. The glue on the back should be sufficient, but if you want to be sure they will not move use thermal Epoxy.