What is this bullshit?! It’s been seven years since HP first became embroiled in controversy for pushing a firmware update for its printers that malfunctioned third-party ink cartridges. Since then, it has faced countless lawsuits and complaints about its DRM cartridge, which it claims is about protecting quality for the customer, and certainly not a way to force people to buy its expensive products. However, despite all the rage, HP is still pushing these updates.
HP Dynamic Security works by having printers check the inserted cartridge security chips or electronic circuits to make sure they are from HP. HP states, “Printers use dynamic security measures to block cartridges using non-HP chips or modified or non-HP electronic circuits,” adding that the feature is “to protect the quality of our customer experience, maintain the integrity of our services and printing systems, and protect our intellectual property.” Nothing about the money, then.
The backlash from the introduction of dynamic security in 2016 led to HP apologies And initially remove DRM. However, it is reappeared in 2017.
New official ink cartridges are expensive, so offering a feature that prevents owners of HP printers from buying discount third-party ink won’t earn the company much goodwill. HP has already paid millions in settlement fees after class-action lawsuits were filed by consumer and user groups accusing the company of “deceptive” tactics and anti-competitive behaviour. the the most recent Of these payments, $1.35 million was made to customers in four European countries.
But HP hasn’t given up on its DRM cartridge plans, like Reddit users (via Ars Technica) they discover. “HP has updated their printers to completely block ‘non-HP’ ink! They no longer show the ‘Quality Cannot Be Guaranteed’ message, but instead completely cancel your print until you insert an HP ink cartridge,” the Redditor wrote. garhol. After contacting HP, they advised that “this is due to a recent ‘update’ of all printers.” “
It is not clear which printers received the updates and when they were released. OfficeJet 774, 6978, 6968, and OfficeJet Pro 6970 are some of the names mentioned on the HP support page.
What’s more worrisome for users is that updates can, without any notice, build third-party cartridges that they were using in their HP printers.
Ars notes that HP was careful not to admit any wrongdoing even when paying class action settlements. Instead, the company focused on making it clear which of its printers has the dynamic security function. This certainly will not please people who have just found their printer no longer working.
