HP retains updating its printers to dam third-party ink cartridges | Mind Tech

What the hell?! It has been seven years since HP was first embroiled in controversy for releasing a firmware replace for its printers that disabled third-party ink cartridges. Since then, he has confronted lawsuits and numerous complaints about his DRM cartridge, which he claims is all about defending high quality for the client and undoubtedly not a option to power folks to purchase his personal costly stuff. But regardless of all of the outrage, HP continues to launch these updates.

HP’s Dynamic Safety characteristic works by having printers verify the safety chips or digital circuitry of inserted cartridges to substantiate that they’re from HP. “Printers use dynamic safety measures to dam cartridges that use non-HP chips or non-HP or modified digital circuitry,” HP explains, including that the characteristic is “to guard the standard of expertise for our clients.” clients, preserve the integrity of our printing techniques, and shield our mental property.” No cash then.

Backlash from the introduction of dynamic safety in 2016 led HP to apologize and initially take away DRM. Nonetheless, it reappeared in 2017.

New, official ink cartridges are costly, so introducing a characteristic that stops HP printer homeowners from shopping for third-party ink at a reduction will not do the corporate a lot goodwill. HP has already paid tens of millions in settlement charges after client and person teams filed class motion lawsuits accusing the corporate of “dishonest” ways and anti-competitive conduct. The newest of those was a $1.35 million cost to clients in 4 European nations.

However HP hasn’t deserted its cartridge DRM plans, as Reddit customers are discovering out (by way of Ars Technica). “HP has up to date their printers to utterly ban ‘non-HP’ ink! They now not show a ‘high quality can’t be assured’ message, however as an alternative cancel your printing totally till you insert an HP ink cartridge wrote Redditor grhhull. “After contacting HP, I used to be instructed ‘that is as a result of current ‘replace’ of all printers.”

It is unclear which printers acquired the updates and after they had been eliminated. OfficeJet 774, 6978 and 6968, and OfficeJet Professional 6970 are a few of these talked about on HP’s assist web page.

What’s much more disconcerting for customers is that the updates might, with out warning, block the third-party cartridges they’d been utilizing of their HP printers.

Ars notes that HP has been cautious to not admit to any wrongdoing, together with in paying its class motion settlements. As an alternative, the corporate has targeted on making it extra clear which of its printers have the dynamic safety characteristic. That actually is not going to appease individuals who simply came upon their printer is now not working.