HP has discovered a fascinating new method to DRM your printer!

(Image credit- How-to-Geek)

The HP Deskjet 2755e is the printer that sells the most on Amazon.com. It’s simple to understand why.

A wireless color printer, scanner, and six months of free ink are all yours for just $85. Additionally, one of Big Inkjet’s most nefarious scams, HP Plus, is included.

The cleverness of HP’s most recent ploy, however, lies in the fact that it dares you to sign away your rights without realizing it. If you accept the complimentary ink, HP will permanently control your printer.

At the height of the epidemic in 2020, when it was first released, HP Plus was designed with FOMO in mind. As soon as you plug a new printer into the wall, you have seven days to claim your free ink. If you take action right away, it will also give you an “Advanced HP Smart app,” a full year’s warranty extension, and it will plant trees in your honor. Why else would you want to preserve the forest?

Here is one factor that could lead to a dispute over fraudulent advertising, as stated in a recent complaint by the International Imaging Technology Council (IITC): A firmware upgrade included with HP Plus completely eliminates your printer’s ability to use third-party ink. As long as you use the printer, you must purchase “genuine” HP ink.

Although it’s unclear exactly how HP was able to completely prohibit third-party cartridges, that does seem to be the case.

Even the largest third-party manufacturers in the world, according to my neighborhood CompAndSave, have not yet figured out how to make their aftermarket carts—or even user-refilled “genuine HP” cartridges—work with an HP Plus printer.

The IITC claims that once HP+ is activated, the only method to remove it is to purchase a new printer. HP didn’t respond to our inquiries concerning the firmware update, including why it isn’t made clear that it cannot be uninstalled.

The world’s largest printer manufacturer isn’t currently being sued, according to the IITC, a body that represents remanufacturers of ink cartridges. Instead, the complaint challenges HP’s environmental credentials by lobbying the Global Electronics Council (GEC), a nonprofit organization that manages the “EPEAT” list of ecologically friendly products.

Also read: Anker 555 USB-C Hub (8-in-1) is now on sale for for US$64

Do you want to see the main point of the discussion? When I saw HP, the corporation that constantly acknowledges it restricts third-party cartridges for your own benefit, stating an environmental group it doesn’t do that at all, I went full Blinking White Guy.