Brother printers causing issues with third party inks

Brother is a printer company that has allowed the use of third-party toner cartridges with their printer devices. Recent firmware updates have changed this practice by displaying an error message when consumers attempt to install their third-party toner that was previously allowed. When using the Brother printer with the toner of their choice, some users report a significant decrease in print quality, functionally disabling the printer unless OEM toner is installed.

Relevant practices

• Post-Sale Function Removal – Firmware updates retroactively remove previously available features, such as automatic color registration, for users using non-OEM toner.
• Vendor lock-in via DRM – Printers continue to function with third-party toner but print at lower quality unless OEM toner is installed.
• Anti-consumer software practices – Firmware updates cannot be easily rolled back, preventing consumers from restoring lost functionality.
• Deceptive practices – Printers do not reject third-party toner but intentionally cause a toner failure, which discourages use of third party toners.

How it works

1. Consumers purchase a Brother laser printer that previously accepted third-party toner.

2. A firmware update (e.g., W1.56) is pushed and does not notify users of any major changes in core functionality.

3. After updating, users report:

• Color registration fails by default, causing misaligned prints.

4. Brother support acknowledges that installing OEM toner will immediately resolve the issue.

• Older firmware versions are removed from Brother’s servers, preventing firmware downgrades that would fix the issue while also allowing consumers to use their preferred toner.

Impact on consumer protection

• Consumers may no longer use the ink provider of their choice without compromising the functionality of their printer.
• Consumers previously able to save money by purchasing third-party toner are now required to purchase OEM toner at a higher cost to maintain printer functionality.
• No prior warning of change in the printer's core functionality had been given before these firmware updates were installed.
• Workarounds tend to involve blocking the firmware updates or attempting downgrading the firmware, both of which Brother actively discourages.

User evidence & reports

Hacker News Discussion (2022)

• Users have noticed that Brother's printers do accept third-party toner instead of outright rejection. This leads some to suspect the consequential loss of print quality may be a deliberate act. One user stated:

Brother seems to be apparently accepting the ink, but then purposefully making the print quality poorer.

Free Software Foundation

• FSF has listed this incident under the "Installing, deleting or disabling programs" in "Proprietary Back Doors" chapter:

When connected to the internet, some Brother printers suffer a firmware downgrade that degrades the printing quality when using third-party toner. This proves that these printers have a back door which lets Brother control them. As a general precaution, users should make sure their printer can't connect to the manufacturer's server, for example by shielding it from the internet by a firewall. This will not restore the ability of printers to use third-party toner if they have already lost it, but will prevent any future downgrades. All printer manufacturers are concerned, not only Brother.

Reddit reports (r/printers)

• A firmware update on the Brother MFC-3750 disabled automatic color registration when third-party toner was detected.
• A Brother support agent confirmed that installing OEM toner would "fix" the issue instantly, supporting user claims that the printer was being artificially restricted.

GitHub developer investigation

• A project analyzing Brother firmware updates discovered that older firmware versions were removed from Brother’s servers, making it impossible for users to roll back to a working version.
• Another GitHub discussion showed that Brother firmware updates continue to lock out more non-Brother toner cartridges with each update.
• This is similar to HP Dynamic Security, which blocks non-OEM cartridges.

Quality example

Brother HL-L9310CDW 1.69 1.32, before deletion of color registration.

Brother's response

On March 5th 2025, following the publication of a video on the Louis Rossmann YouTube channel, Brother addressed the issue in a response given to Ars Technica and stated the following:

"We are aware of the recent false claims suggesting that a Brother firmware update may have restricted the use of third-party ink cartridges. Please be assured that Brother firmware updates do not block the use of third-party ink in our machines."

They also detailed that:

"Brother printers do not intentionally degrade print quality based on whether a Brother Genuine or non-genuine ink/ toner cartridge is used. Brother cannot verify the quality of printing that will result when using a third-party compatible with a Brother printer."

In their conclusion, they've attributed consumers' confusion and frustration to the following:

"Brother encourages the use of Brother Genuine ink and toner for optimal performance and reliability, and it is standard practice that we perform a Brother Genuine check when troubleshooting a Brother printer. Compatible supplies may range in quality, and in order to verify that a printer is working properly, we like to troubleshoot with Brother Genuine supplies. We believe this check in the process may have led to a misunderstanding[,] but as we confirmed, the firmware update would not be responsible for the degradation of quality or removal of printer features."

While Brother's response indicates a simple issue with compatibility, the previous acceptance of third-party cartridges indicates a software-based compatibility issue rather than hardware-based. This implies that a software update has the potential to fix the compatibility issue and allow users to return to their previously accepted cartridges.

Comparison to other industry decisions

Other printer companies such as HP, Epson, and Canon have similar errors that actively promote more purchases of OEM cartridges even if the core issue is unrelated:

Company	Tactic Used
HP	"Dynamic Security" firmware updates blocking non-OEM ink
Epson	Ink expiration DRM, even when cartridges are full
Canon	Firmware updates that disable scanning when ink is low
Brother	Print degradation for non-OEM toner users

Mitigations available to users

1. Avoid Firmware Updates – Disable auto-updates to prevent forced function removal. This may, however, lead to security risks.
2. Attempt to downgrade – Some users have managed to roll back firmware, though this is becoming increasingly difficult.
3. HL-L9310CDW (with firmware main 1.69, sub 1.31): On the menu of the printer, delete the color registration to improve quality by reducing the misalignment of the individual colors. However, the best solution is to have a configuration option to set the offset individual (X, Y) for each color with the smallest possible increment, perhaps through an external (CUPS) printer driver.

See also

• HP Dynamic Security
• Brother DCP-L3550CDW aftermarket toner failure