HP blocks non-HP brand ink or toner cartridges in some of its printers. In recent weeks, several customers have expressed their discontent on Reddit, Twitter and on the HP community site, after discovering that his HP printer no longer worked with compatible non-HP cartridges, as reported by Ars Technica and The Verge.
“HP updated their printers to completely ban ‘non-HP’ ink!” one customer stated on Reddit last Tuesday. “They no longer display the ‘Cannot guarantee quality’ message, but instead completely cancel your printing until you insert an HP ink cartridge. After contacting HP, they said ‘this is due to the recent ‘update’ of all printers”.
“The indicated cartridges have been blocked by the printer firmware because they contain a non-HP chip,” read the message displayed on this user’s screen.
Print net revenues fall
Contacted by Tech&Co, HP France explains that “HP printers use a cartridge authentication process”, which for certain models “includes a dynamic security chip”.
“Printers use dynamic security measures to block cartridges that use non-HP chips or modified circuitry,” adds the US company.
The goal is to “protect the quality of the customer experience, maintain the integrity of their printing systems, and protect their intellectual property,” HP says. According to The Verge, it could also be a “desperate attempt to lock users into their ecosystem” as HP’s net print revenue declines.
“As with most current equipment, HP periodically updates its printer firmware to maintain printer security, functionality, and features, including dynamic security,” the company adds.
A solution to disable the lock.
The American brand of computers does not specify when the last update of its printers was. But according to Ars Technica, several customers were already complaining late last year that their printer no longer works with non-HP cartridges. The models in question would be the OfficeJet Pro 6970, OfficeJet Pro 6968, OfficeJet 6950 and OfficeJet 7740 printers, according to the US site.
However, these recent updates to HP printers are nothing new. According to Ars Technica, HP introduced dynamic security to certain printers in 2016 and has had to pay its customers several million euros since 2018 in various class action lawsuits in the United States, Australia and Italy. This obviously does not prevent the company from extending this practice.
However, there is a way to disable this lock, according to the Toner Services site. To do this, simply go to “Printer Settings” in the on-screen menu and click the “Disable HP Cartridge Protection” option. Otherwise, it is also possible to use the printer’s IP address and go to the printer’s server to access this option.
Source: BFM TV
