HP customers are showing frustration online as the vendor continues to use firmware updates to discourage or, as users report, outright block the use of non-HP-brand ink cartridges in HP printers. HP has already faced class-action lawsuits and bad publicity from "dynamic security," but that hasn't stopped the company from expanding the practice.
Dynamic security is a feature used by HP printers to authenticate ink cartridges and prevent use of cartridges that aren't HP-approved. As the company
explains:
"Dynamic security relies on the printer’s ability to communicate with the security chips or electronic circuitry on the cartridges. HP uses dynamic security measures to protect the quality of our customer experience, maintain the integrity of our printing systems, and protect our intellectual property. "Dynamic security equipped printers are intended to work only with cartridges that have new or reused HP chips or electronic circuitry. The printers use the dynamic security measures to block cartridges using non-HP chips or modified or non-HP electronic circuitry. Reused, remanufactured, and refilled cartridges that reuse the HP chip or electronic circuitry are unaffected by dynamic security."
HP
introduced dynamic security to some printers in 2016, and since 2018, it has paid millions in class-action lawsuits, including to customers in the
US,
Australia, and
Italy.
After paying up, it seems HP is set on continuing to use DRM to discourage its printer customers from spending ink and toner money outside of the HP family.
"HP have updated their printers to outright ban ‘non-HP’ ink! They no longer shows the 'can’t guarantee quality' message, but instead cancels your print completely until you inset a HP ink cartridge,"
Reddit user grhhull posted Tuesday. "After contacting HP, they advised 'this is due to the recent ‘update’ of all printers.'"
arstechnica.com
