this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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not defending hp at all, but it's a sub service and not any different than the cable company shutting off your internet (think: ink) for not paying. the modem (think: printer) is still there, but doesn't 'work' until the bill is squared-away, even if it's your modem-not theirs......
printer is enrolled in "instant ink". those instant ink cartridges they send out are custom, ultra-high capacity ones you can't buy retail (decreases costs of shipping by greatly reducing the frequency of those shipments). of course they're gonna shut it down if you fail to respond to the barrage of emails and popups that preceded that point.
The right response would be to discontinue sending ink, not disable the printer and preventing them from using the ink they already paid for.
The share holders disagree since that's an unprofitable opinion.
No, because they charge a subscription per number of pages you print. Yes, even when you have physical possession of the ink. It’s like going to the store to get something printed, only from the comfort of your own home!
they send out those oversized cartridges in advance of you needing them, and before subcription costs have 'paid' for them.
But in this analogy, instead of disabling the ink/internet, they disabled your entire printer/computer. They didn't withold further service, they actively made something this person already owns useless through a malicious backdoor.
They don’t though, they disable printing with the subscription’s cartridges. You can still buy other cartridges and it will work.
That still seems like it crosses a line to me
What? No. You pay your internet service provider for internet service that they provide. You don't pay them to use what you already own. If you have an ink cartridge in your printer the ink and the printer belong to you already.
why can't you just buy ink for a printer and not have to do this boring cyberpunk dystopian bullshit
Most of the people buying these printers don't know at the time of sale they're getting stuck in a subscription service system.
and why would they know? that's a truly cooked thing to do
the signing up for an account and needing to give a payment method isn't enough? hp even warns you that the requisite automatic firmware updates will disable the ability to use 'non genuine' consumables with the printer.
Nothing about those ink cartridges is special enough to justify the kind of locking you're justifying here, nor is a printer a service relying on HP operations to run in the same way an internet service or gas service is. And that's all assuming this was a rented printer, not an owned one.
But it doesn't cost HP anything to just let you keep using the stuff that you already own. ISPs are at least actively providing a service. They suck for plenty of other reasons, but it it does cost money to provide someone with internet, so it makes sense they'd shut off your internet if you don't pay. HP is just being blatantly evil by bricking products you own to extort you for more subscription money