Brother printers causing issues with third party inks: Difference between revisions
AnOddFellow (talk | contribs) Explained what the acronym OEM stands for in the article, tried to improve tone of last sentence in introduction. |
m Minor wording changes, added a citation as requested. Lmk if it needs some more wording work. |
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[[Brother Industries Ltd.|Brother]] has a reputation for allowing the use of third-party toner and being more consumer friendly than competing printer companies, such as [[HP]]. In recent years, they've implemented firmware updates that deliberately lower print quality when using toner that is not from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). These updates disable | [[Brother Industries Ltd.|Brother]] has a reputation for allowing the use of third-party toner and being more consumer friendly than competing printer companies, such as [[HP]]. In recent years, they've implemented firmware updates that deliberately lower print quality when using toner that is not from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). These updates disable colour registration & other features, encouraging the use of toner manufactured by Brother over other toner options<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Jacobs |first=Skye |date=2025-03-05 |title=Brother printers are quietly sabotaging third-party toner with firmware updates |url=https://www.techspot.com/news/107022-brother-printers-quietly-sabotaging-third-party-toner-firmware.html}}</ref>. | ||
==Exploitative practices== | ==Exploitative practices== | ||
*'''Post-Sale Function Removal''' – Firmware updates retroactively remove previously available features, such as automatic color registration, for users using non-OEM toner.<ref name="reddit">[https://www.reddit.com/r/printers/comments/s9b2eg Brother MFC firmware update - non-genuine toner now disables critical features.]</ref><ref name="reddit-2">[https://www.reddit.com/r/printers/comments/w60687/brother_mfcl3370cdw_firmware_downgrade_needed/ Brother MFC-L3370CDW Firmware Downgrade needed]</ref> | *'''Post-Sale Function Removal''' – Firmware updates retroactively remove previously available features, such as automatic color registration, for users using non-OEM toner.<ref name="reddit">[https://www.reddit.com/r/printers/comments/s9b2eg Brother MFC firmware update - non-genuine toner now disables critical features.]</ref><ref name="reddit-2">[https://www.reddit.com/r/printers/comments/w60687/brother_mfcl3370cdw_firmware_downgrade_needed/ Brother MFC-L3370CDW Firmware Downgrade needed]</ref> | ||
*'''Vendor lock-in via DRM''' – Printers continue to function with third-party toner but print at lower quality unless OEM toner is installed. | *'''Vendor lock-in via DRM''' – Printers continue to function with third-party toner but print at lower quality unless OEM toner is installed<ref name=":0" />. | ||
*'''Anti-consumer software practices''' – Firmware updates cannot be easily rolled back, preventing consumers from restoring lost functionality.<ref name="github-fwupd">[https://github.com/sedrubal/brother_printer_fwupd/issues/9 Brother printer firmware downgrade discussion.]</ref> | *'''Anti-consumer software practices''' – Firmware updates cannot be easily rolled back, preventing consumers from restoring lost functionality.<ref name="github-fwupd">[https://github.com/sedrubal/brother_printer_fwupd/issues/9 Brother printer firmware downgrade discussion.]</ref> | ||
*'''Deceptive practices''' – Printers do not reject third-party toner but intentionally cause a toner failure, which discourages use of third party toners.<ref name="hackernews">[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31860131 Tell HN: Brother printers now locking out non-OEM paraphernalia.]</ref><ref name="reddit-2" /> | *'''Deceptive practices''' – Printers do not reject third-party toner but intentionally cause a toner failure, which discourages use of third party toners.<ref name="hackernews">[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31860131 Tell HN: Brother printers now locking out non-OEM paraphernalia.]</ref><ref name="reddit-2" /> | ||
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==Brother's response== | ==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 | 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 ArsTechnica, stating the following <ref name="ars-response">[https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/brother-denies-using-firmware-updates-to-brick-printers-with-third-party-ink/ Brother denies using firmware updates to brick printers with third-party ink]</ref> | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
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. | "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." | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
They also detailed that | They also detailed that | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
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. | "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." | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
Finally they attributed the confusion from consumers to | Finally they attributed the confusion from consumers to | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
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 [G]enuine 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. | "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 [G]enuine 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." | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
==User evidence & reports== | ==User evidence & reports== | ||
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===GitHub developer investigation=== | ===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.<ref name="github-fwupd" /> | *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.<ref name="github-fwupd" /> | ||
*Another GitHub discussion showed that '''Brother firmware updates increasingly lock out more non-Brother toner cartridges with each new update | *Another GitHub discussion showed that '''Brother firmware updates increasingly lock out more non-Brother toner cartridges with each new update'''<ref name="github-ohbrother" />. | ||
*This is similar to [[HP Dynamic Security]] which block non-OEM cartridges. | *This is similar to [[HP Dynamic Security]] which block non-OEM cartridges. | ||
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[[File:Brother HL-L9310CDW 1.69 1.32 before registration deleted.png|alt=Brother HL-L9310CDW 1.69 1.32, before deletion of colour registration.|none|thumb|800x800px|'''Brother HL-L9310CDW 1.69 1.32, before deletion of colour registration.''']] | [[File:Brother HL-L9310CDW 1.69 1.32 before registration deleted.png|alt=Brother HL-L9310CDW 1.69 1.32, before deletion of colour registration.|none|thumb|800x800px|'''Brother HL-L9310CDW 1.69 1.32, before deletion of colour registration.''']] | ||
==Comparison to other industry | ==Comparison to other industry decisions== | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
!Company!!Tactic Used | !Company!!Tactic Used | ||