HP Printer Keeps Asking for Manual Feed or to Load Paper

It is one of the most common calls we get after a new printer is installed: 'There is paper in the tray, but the printer keeps saying Manual feed' — or 'Load Tray 1 Plain Letter', or 'Unexpected paper size'. On HP lasers without a screen, such as the P1102, P2035 and P1606dn, the same problem looks like a blinking light and a printer that just waits. The printer is doing what it was told: the job asked for something it doesn't think it has.

Why it happens

• Paper size mismatch. Pakistan uses A4, but many drivers and programs install with US Letter as the default. The job says Letter, the tray says A4, so the printer waits for you to load Letter.
• Paper source set to Manual Feed or Tray 1. If the driver or the program says 'print from Tray 1 / Manual feed', the printer will ask you to load that slot even with a full main tray.
• Paper type mismatch. A job set to Cardstock, Labels or Heavy may wait for a tray configured for that type.
• The tray's own setting. On models with a screen, each tray has a size and type setting. If Tray 2 is set to Letter while it holds A4, A4 jobs have nowhere to go.

Quick fix: print the waiting job now

On models with a screen, press OK (on some HP Pro and Enterprise models the prompt offers 'Use another tray' or 'Print on loaded paper'). On models without a screen, press the Go, Resume or the paper-arrow button once. The job then prints on what's loaded. That fixes this one job — the next one will ask again until you fix the settings below.

Permanent fix: make the job and the tray agree

• Driver default: Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → your printer → Printing preferences. Set Paper size to A4, Paper source to Automatically Select, Paper type to Plain (or Unspecified). Click Apply.
• Your document: in Word, Layout → Size → A4, and Set As Default in Page Setup so new documents start on A4. In PDFs and browsers, choose A4 in the print dialog. The full walkthrough is in our A4 vs Letter guide.
• The printer's tray settings: on screen models, go to Setup (or Settings) → System Setup or Paper Setup → Tray 1 / Tray 2 size and type, and set A4 and Plain. You can do the same from the printer's web page (type its IP address into a browser) under the System or Paper tab.
• Program-level trays: Word and some accounting software remember a tray per document (Layout → Page Setup → Paper → Paper source). Set it to Default tray.

Tray 1 and manual feed, explained

On most HP LaserJets, Tray 1 is the fold-down multipurpose tray at the front (on small models a single-sheet priority slot), and Tray 2 is the main drawer. If the driver says Tray 1, the printer will prompt for it. Some models also have a 'Manual feed prompt' or 'Use requested tray' setting in the web page; setting the first to 'Unless loaded' and the second to 'First' lets the printer fall back to whatever tray holds the right paper.

Still asking? Check the hardware

If the printer asks for paper with A4 loaded and every setting correct, the tray's paper-size guide or sensor may not be detecting the sheets — push the guides gently against the stack and make sure the drawer is fully closed. A worn pickup roller can also fail to grab paper and report the tray as empty; roller replacement is a cheap repair (see printer repair costs). Numbered error codes are covered in our HP error code guide.