A consumer revolt has forced tech giant HP to roll back a software update that blocked the use of cheaper third-party cartridges in its printers.
Owners of HP printers using cheaper non-HP ink last month began receiving error messages such as: “cartridge problem” or “one or more cartridges are missing or damaged.”
After a flood of complaints, HP Inc. COO Jon Flaxman has apologised to customers in an HP blogpost and says customers will be able to remove the update by next week.
“We updated a cartridge authentication procedure in select models of HP office inkjet printers to ensure the best consumer experience and protect them from counterfeit and third-party ink cartridges that do not contain an original HP security chip and that infringe on our IP,” wrote Flaxman. “The most recent firmware update included a dynamic security feature that prevented some untested third-party cartridges that use cloned security chips from working, even if they had previously functioned.
"We should have done a better job of communicating about the authentication procedure to customers, and we apologise. Although only a small number of customers have been affected, one customer who has a poor experience is one too many.”
The company says it will issue an optional firmware update that will remove the security feature and expects it to be ready by next week. Users will be able to download it from the site.
The reversal follows a campaign against the move led by the US-based Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF), which launched a petition calling on the company to remove 'the self-destruct sequence.' In Australia, consumer advocacy group Choice said it was investigating whether HP had breached Australian Consumer Laws.
The EFF welcomed the decision to reverse what it called a deceptive security update.
"We’re very glad to see HP making this step but a number of questions remain," said the EFF via email. "We want to see HP promise to never again use a security update to take away features, and to commit to not attacking security researchers who disclose vulnerabilities in its printers. HP must also be more transparent about how many printers were affected by this update, and tell us how they will communicate the optional patch to all customers."
Flaxman says HP will continue to use security features "to protect the quality of our customer experience, maintain the integrity of our printing systems, and protect our IP including authentication methods that may prevent some third-party supplies from working.
"However, we commit to improving our communication so that customers understand our concerns about cloned and counterfeit supplies. Again, to our loyal customers who were affected, we apologize."