HP Firmware Update Blocks The Use Of Third-Party Identification

HP again prevents more customers from using third-party ink with their printers. (photo: twitter @only HP for me)

JAKARTA World printer manufacturers, HPs again prevent more customers from using third-party ink with their printers. Various reports are spread across Reddit, Twitter, and a community HP forum showing that the latest printer firmware updates hinder the use of non-HP ink as part of the company's strict "dynamic security" policy, as reported first by Ars Technica.

Introduced for the first time in 2016, dynamical security is part of the HP cassette authentication process that the company says should "protect the quality of our customers' experience, maintain the integrity of our printing system, and protect our intellectual property."

This means prohibiting the use of ink or toner tapes that do not contain "new or recycled HP chips or electronic circuits" on some printers, something the HP has faced with criticism and some class action lawsuits.

However, it appears that HP is expanding its dynamic security policy to more devices that used to be compatible with non-HP tapes. One of the Reddit users, u/grhhull, said they could no longer use third-party ink tapes with their HP printer.

Instead of displaying bypassable messages showing HPs can't guarantee the quality of their prints, u/grhhull says their printers won't use third-party ink tapes at all.

"The device shown has been blocked by printer firmware because it contains non-HOP chips," messages displayed on the u/grhhull read printer screen. "This printer is intended to only work with new or recycled tapes that have a new or recycled HP chip."

According to u/grhhull, a specialist in HP customer support, told them this is part of a "new update".

In 2020, HP reached a $1.5 million deal with customers in the US as part of a class action lawsuit claiming the company's firmware served as a "malware" with "adding, deleting, or changing codes, reducing the capabilities of the HP printer, and making competitors' supply tapes incompatible with the HP printer."

The company also paid millions of dollars to customers affected by dynamic security policies in the European Union and Australia after banning users from installing more affordable third-party ink tapes.

As a bit of a concession to customer complaints, HP issued an optional update in 2016 that removed dynamic security, but the changes, have been confusing, only applicable to a number of specific models - some of which HP requires making before December 1, 2016.

While it remains unclear which HP printer has installed dynamical security, online posts show that the issue is spreading to a number of models, including OfficeJet Pro 6970, OfficeJet Pro 6968, OfficeJet 6950, and OfficeJet 7740.