I did what you suggested, My update of firmware is locked since I belong to HP Instant Ink and my printer says all of my updates are current.
I check the vents on all of the cartridges and even though they were obviously not blocked, I cleaned then anyway with a pin head.
I ran a quality report and it did not print properly, particularly nothing in black.
I cleaned the printheads again (going through all 3 levels and was able to print one good quality sheet and then it went bad again so I am still in the same position I was. Please don't tell me I need a new printer since this one is less than two years old.