Lexmark / CS / CX 310 / 410 / 510 series

31.46 - The printer does not detect the toner cartridge correctly.

The printer does not detect the toner cartridge correctly.

This guide is scoped to the CS / CX 310 / 410 / 510 series family. Exact menu wording, cartridge naming, and service behavior can still vary by model variant and firmware.

Severity

Medium

Most likely cause

The toner cartridge is not fully seated.

Can you keep using it?

Maybe after the first checks

Consumables involved

Toner cartridge, Imaging unit

Can you keep using it?

Can you keep using it?

Contact customer support if any of these apply

  • !31.46 returns after reseating the supply and confirming genuine parts.
  • !The printer will not recover after a restart and reinstall.
If the printer still starts normally: Finish the first checks once, then stop if the same message repeats or the printer still cannot return to ready.

What to check first

Step-by-step checks

  1. 1

    Consumable check

    Remove and reinstall the toner cartridge and imaging unit.

    Start with the official recovery step before moving on to parts or deeper servicing.

  2. 2

    Consumable check

    Confirm the cartridge is genuine Lexmark supply.

  3. 3

    Safe first step

    Check date, time, and firmware if the error returns.

Background

What this message usually means

Lexmark uses 31.46 for a missing or unresponsive toner cartridge. The official fix is to verify a genuine cartridge, reseat the toner cartridge and imaging kit, and check date, time, and firmware if the code keeps returning.

Diagnosis

Likely causes

Most common

The toner cartridge is not fully seated.

Common

A non-genuine or faulty cartridge is not responding.

Possible

Date, time, or firmware state is contributing to the supply check.

Service

When service or replacement is more likely

  • -Lexmark groups this as a 31.4x supply-recognition fault, not a paper-path jam.

See also

Related codes in this family

Explore more

More Lexmark printer families

Keep browsing

Where to go next

Source notes

Lexmark's 31.4x guidance treats 31.46 as a missing or unresponsive toner cartridge and recommends reseating the cartridge and imaging kit, then checking date, time, and firmware.

Built around official Lexmark support pages for the CS/CX 310/410/510 family. Code behavior can still vary slightly by exact model, installed options, and firmware generation.

Printer error codes can vary a little by firmware, region, and exact model variant. Use this guide as a family-level starting point and stop if the next step would require disassembly or service-mode changes.

Known family variants: CS310, CS410, CS510, CX310, CX410, CX510

Last reviewed: 2026-04-12

Reference: Open reference

Privacy and advertising

Choose whether to allow ad personalization

FixThisError may use Google AdSense on broad browse pages. Your choice controls whether advertising-related cookies and ad requests can be used. Core site content remains available either way.