HP keeps updating its printers to block third-party ink cartridges

WTF?! It has been seven years since HP first turned embroiled in controversy for pushing out a firmware replace to its printers that disabled third-party ink cartridges. Since then, it has confronted lawsuits and numerous complaints about its cartridge DRM, which it claims is about defending high quality for the client, and positively not a approach of forcing individuals into shopping for its personal costly merchandise. But regardless of all of the outrage, HP continues to be pushing out these updates.

HP’s Dynamic safety characteristic works by having the printers examine inserted cartridges’ safety chips or digital circuitry to verify they’re from HP. “The printers use the dynamic safety measures to dam cartridges utilizing non-HP chips or modified or non-HP digital circuitry,” explains HP, which provides that the characteristic is “to guard the standard of our buyer expertise, preserve the integrity of our printing methods, and shield our mental property.” Nothing about cash, then.

The backlash from the Dynamic safety’s introduction in 2016 led to HP apologizing and initially eradicating the DRM. Nonetheless, it reappeared in 2017.

New, official ink cartridges are costly, so introducing a characteristic that stops HP printer homeowners from shopping for discounted third-party ink is not going earn the corporate lots of goodwill. HP has already paid out hundreds of thousands in settlement charges after class-action lawsuits had been introduced by client teams and customers accusing the agency of “underhanded” techniques and anti-competitive habits. The most recent of those was a $1.35 million payout to prospects in 4 European nations.

However HP hasn’t deserted its cartridge DRM plans, as Reddit customers (by way of Ars Technica) are discovering. “HP have up to date their printers to outright ban ‘non-HP’ ink! They now not reveals the ‘cannot assure high quality’ message, however as an alternative cancels your print utterly till you inset a HP ink cartridge,” wrote Redditor grhhull. “After contacting HP, they suggested ‘that is as a result of latest ‘replace’ of all printers.'”

It is unclear which printers have acquired the updates and once they had been pushed out. The OfficeJet 774, 6978 and 6968, and the OfficeJet Professional 6970 are a few of these named on HP’s help web page.

What’s much more jarring for customers is that the updates might, with none discover, brick third-party cartridges that that they had been utilizing of their HP printers.

Ars notes that HP has been cautious to confess no wrongdoing even when paying out its class-action settlements. As a substitute, the corporate has targeted on making it extra clear which of its printers have the Dynamic safety operate. That is definitely not going to appease individuals who’ve simply discovered their printer is now not working.