The OEM now has a permanent support page for users that might still be affected by the update.
The Recycler first reported on the firmware update in September last year, and reported further complaints from the industry and consumers, with the OEM’s EU helpdesk claiming that it was “working on a solution” soon after. The OEM told The Recycler in response that the printers affected “will continue to work with refilled or remanufactured cartridges with an Original HP security chip”, but later apologised and announced an update to reverse the firmware change.
Aftermarket companies responded to the update by noting their products still work after the update, including Static Control, 3T Supplies’ Peach division, Armor, KMP, LD Products, Gikar Industrial, Pelikan and Cartridge People. It did eventually issue the firmware fix in October, but two law firms – Garrison Davis LLC and Girard Gibbs – began class actions against the OEM, and in December last year the two were set to combine.
On its support website, HP Inc has now published a permanent support page, headlined ‘HP Inkjet Printers – Dynamic Security Feature Affecting Cartridges Using Non-HP Security Chip’. The document states that the issue concerns the OfficeJet Pro 6230, 6810 and 6820 ranges as well as a wide range of the OfficeJet Pro machines, including: the 6830; 9610; 8620; 8630; 8640; 8660; X451dn/dw; 576dn/dw; 551dw; and 576dw.
The page states that “if you see a Cartridge Problem error message when you are using non-HP cartridges, it is possible that a dynamic security feature has caused the printer to reject the non-HP cartridge. It is also possible that the cartridge has simply failed for other reasons”. It adds that the page “applies to you ONLY if all three of the following conditions are true”, including that “your printer is in the table at the top of this document. Other HP printers are not affected”.
The second condition is that “you are using an aftermarket supply that contains a non-HP security chip (this may be a refilled or remanufactured HP cartridge with a non-HP chip). Only cartridges that lack HP’s security chip are affected”. The final condition is that “a Cartridge Problem error message displays. Other error messages are not related”.
The OEM states that it has a “firmware update that removes the dynamic security feature”, which is “available only for the printer” listed, “because only those printers are affected”. It recommends users use “genuine HP ink or toner supplies. HP cannot guarantee the quality or reliability of non-HP or refilled cartridges. If you do not use genuine HP cartridges, the steps in this document might not resolve the issue”.
It then gives a step-by-step process to download and install the firmware update, with different links available for different printers and different operating systems. It concludes by offering “background”, stating that “the purpose of [the] dynamic security feature is to protect HP’s innovations and intellectual property, maintain the integrity of our printing systems, ensure the best customer printing experience, and protect customers from counterfeit and third-party ink cartridges that do not contain an original HP security chip and infringe HP’s intellectual property”.