HP is obstructing third-party printer ink once more

HP is stopping extra clients from utilizing third-party ink with their printers. Quite a few studies scattered throughout Reddit, Twitter, and the HP neighborhood discussion board counsel {that a} current printer firmware replace is obstructing the usage of non-HP ink as a part of the corporate’s stringent “dynamic safety” coverage, as first reported by Ars Technica.

First launched in 2016, dynamic safety is a part of HP’s cartridge authentication course of the corporate says ought to “shield the standard of our buyer expertise, preserve the integrity of our printing programs, and shield our mental property.” This implies barring the usage of ink or toner cartridges that don’t include “new or reused HP chips or digital circuitry” in some printers, one thing HP has already confronted criticism and a number of other class motion lawsuits over.

Regardless of this, it appears HP’s increasing its dynamic safety coverage to extra gadgets that had been as soon as suitable with non-HP cartridges. One Reddit person, u/grhhull, says they’re now not in a position to make use of third-party ink cartridges with their HP printer. As an alternative of displaying a bypassable message that signifies HP can’t assure the standard of their print, u/grhhull says their printer received’t use a third-party cartridge in any respect.

“The indicated cartridges have been blocked by the printer firmware as a result of they include a non-HP chip,” the message proven on the display of u/grhhull’s printer reads. “This printer is meant to work solely with new or reused cartridges which have a brand new or reused HP chip.” In line with u/grhhull, an HP buyer assist specialist advised them that that is a part of a “current replace.”

In 2020, HP reached a $1.5 million settlement with clients within the US as a part of a class-action lawsuit that claimed the corporate’s firmware acted as “malware” by “including, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers, and rendering the opponents’ provide cartridges incompatible with HP printers.” The corporate additionally paid out thousands and thousands to clients affected by dynamic safety within the European Union and Australia after barring customers from putting in extra inexpensive third-party ink cartridges.

As a small concession to buyer complaints, HP issued an non-compulsory replace in 2016 that removes dynamic safety, however the change, confusingly, applies solely to a set of particular fashions — a few of which HP requires to be made earlier than December 1st, 2016. Whereas it nonetheless stays unclear which HP printers have dynamic safety put in, on-line posts point out that the difficulty has unfold to quite a lot of fashions, together with the OfficeJet Professional 6970, OfficeJet Professional 6968, OfficeJet 6950, and OfficeJet 7740.

This tracks with current firmware updates launched in December 2022 and January 2023 that observe the inclusion of “dynamic safety measures, that are used to dam cartridges utilizing a non-HP chip or modified or non-HP digital circuitry.” In addition they state that “periodic firmware updates will preserve the effectiveness of the dynamic safety measures and block cartridges that beforehand labored.” The Verge reached out to HP with a request for extra data, and we’ll replace this text if we hear again.

As HP’s web printing income slides, this transfer looks as if a determined try and lock customers into its ecosystem. My DeskJet 4100 already offers me sufficient hassle, and now that its most up-to-date firmware replace signifies that it may cease accepting third-party ink at any time, I’m significantly contemplating switching to a different printer model if I don’t have the choice to make use of third-party ink sooner or later.