Brother printers causing issues with third party inks: Difference between revisions
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AnonWriter (talk | contribs) m Changed "degraded quality" to "lowered quality" to avoid strong language that could be interpreted as accusatory or harsh. Changed "Youtube" to "YouTube" and "github" to "GitHub" |
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[[Brother Industries Ltd.|Brother]] has a reputation for allowing third-party toner use & being more consumer friendly than competing printer companies, such as [[HP]]. In recent years, they've implemented '''firmware updates that deliberately | [[Brother Industries Ltd.|Brother]] has a reputation for allowing third-party toner use & 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 non-OEM toner'''. These updates disable color registration & other features which encourages the use of expensive genuine Brother toner.(citation needed) | ||
==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 | *'''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.<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 | 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, 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. | ||
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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 | *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. | ||