Creality: Difference between revisions
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==Consumer impact summary== | ==Consumer impact summary== | ||
*'''User freedom:''' Creality silently disabled the root access toggle for K1 series printers, making root access unavailable without using a computer. Creality forced an update to their Creality Scan smartphone app for their 3D scanners that removes the ability to plug the scanner into a phone to use features such as scanning with a phone link without a $ | *'''User freedom:''' Creality silently disabled the root access toggle for K1 series printers, making root access unavailable without using a computer. Creality forced an update to their Creality Scan smartphone app for their 3D scanners that removes the ability to plug the scanner into a phone to use features such as scanning with a phone link without a $369 to $459 USD Creality Scan Bridge. | ||
*'''Business model:''' Creality sells 3D printers and scanners. Creality has also paywalled features on their 3D scanners, requiring a $ | *'''Business model:''' Creality sells 3D printers and scanners. Creality has also paywalled features on their 3D scanners, requiring a $250 to $300 USD Creality Scan Bridge. | ||
*'''Market control:''' Creality has extensive competition, with other 3D printer brands such as [[Bambu Lab]], Prusa Research, and Ultimaker. | *'''Market control:''' Creality has extensive competition, with other 3D printer brands such as [[Bambu Lab]], Prusa Research, and Ultimaker. | ||
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*K1C 2025<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Root Disclaimer and Risk Warning |url=https://wiki.creality.com/en/k1-flagship-series/k1-series-general-documents/root-disclaimer-and-risk-warning |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260131114944/https://wiki.creality.com/en/k1-flagship-series/k1-series-general-documents/root-disclaimer-and-risk-warning |archive-date=2026-01-31 |access-date=2026-04-28 |website=Creality Wiki |quote=K1 series 2025 models (such as: K1 C 2025 & K1 Max 2025) do not support Root access}}</ref> | *K1C 2025<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Root Disclaimer and Risk Warning |url=https://wiki.creality.com/en/k1-flagship-series/k1-series-general-documents/root-disclaimer-and-risk-warning |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260131114944/https://wiki.creality.com/en/k1-flagship-series/k1-series-general-documents/root-disclaimer-and-risk-warning |archive-date=2026-01-31 |access-date=2026-04-28 |website=Creality Wiki |quote=K1 series 2025 models (such as: K1 C 2025 & K1 Max 2025) do not support Root access}}</ref> | ||
*K1 Max 2025<ref name=":1" /> | *K1 Max 2025<ref name=":1" /> | ||
===Creality K2 series firmware GPLv3 violation=== | |||
{{Main|Creality K2 series GPLv3 violation}} | |||
The firmware for Creality's K2 series 3D printers (K2 SE, K2, K2 Pro, and K2 Plus) ships proprietary modules compiled with Cython into the GPLv3-licensed Klipper host environment without releasing the corresponding source code.<ref name=":k2tracker">{{Cite web |title=Where are the (required to be released) sources for Creality's modifications to Klipper the K2 |url=https://forum.creality.com/t/where-are-the-required-to-be-released-sources-for-crealitys-modifications-to-klipper-the-k2/30019 |access-date=2026-06-02 |website=Creality Forum}}</ref><ref name=":k2cfs">{{Cite web |title=fake-name/cfs-reverse-engineering |url=https://github.com/fake-name/cfs-reverse-engineering |access-date=2026-06-02 |website=GitHub}}</ref> Klipper's community developers and the independent fake-name/cfs-reverse-engineering project have documented these closed binaries as a violation of the GNU General Public License v3, the license under which Klipper is distributed.<ref name=":k2tracker" /><ref name=":k2cfs" /> Creality opened a public GitHub repository for the K2 line in December 2025 and markets it as open source, but the published code lacks the source for several hardware communication modules.<ref name=":k2launch">{{Cite web |title=Creality Open-Source 3D Printer Firmware is Here! |url=https://forum.creality.com/t/creality-open-source-3d-printer-firmware-is-here/47218 |access-date=2026-06-02 |website=Creality Forum}}</ref> | |||
In May 2026, a requester pressed Creality for the complete GPLv3 source code and copied the [[Software Freedom Conservancy]] and the Free Software Foundation on the demand. Creality support replied that it was ''unable to directly provide the corresponding source code'' and gave no compliance timeline.<ref name=":k2email">{{Cite web |title=Creality K2 GPLv3 Compliance Demand Correspondence Logs (May 2026) |url=https://archive.org/details/creality-k-2-gplv-3-compliance-demand-may-2026 |access-date=2026-06-02 |website=Internet Archive}}</ref> | |||
===Creality forces update that removes features from their 3D scanners=== | ===Creality forces update that removes features from their 3D scanners=== | ||
{{Main|Creality forces update that removes features from their 3D scanners}} | {{Main|Creality forces update that removes features from their 3D scanners}} | ||
Creality's 3D scanners (Otter, Ferret, Raptor, RaptorX) were advertised that they would feature the ability to scan with a wired connection to a phone. Creality added this feature, but later forced an update to the Creality Scan smartphone app that locked access to the previously available features such as scanning with a phone link from their 3D scanners behind a paywall by requiring users to buy the Creality Scan Bridge, a proprietary device which costs $ | Creality's 3D scanners (Otter, Ferret, Raptor, RaptorX) were advertised that they would feature the ability to scan with a wired connection to a phone. Creality added this feature, but later forced an update to the Creality Scan smartphone app that locked access to the previously available features such as scanning with a phone link from their 3D scanners behind a paywall by requiring users to buy the Creality Scan Bridge, a proprietary device which costs $369 to $459 USD<ref>{{Cite web |title=Creality Scan Bridge for CR-Scan Otter 3D Scanner, Wireless Scanning Kit for iPhone, Android and Mirror Screen |url=https://www.amazon.com/Creality-CR-Scan-Otter-Wireless-Scanning/dp/B0FD9QG1JL?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.xo1uhXwNWmpzj6vlxwxFSBfzh_BHJJnzD8o4U0CMN5hD4scHqRci6V4O4dl0-_y_-jbXb7K4YTX2ukcUM0Au7cRwdIfsIO6Lizk1KuFzqtz8KxXCVkjW8vPUdvdOkCV2ftmvlaWR66zt2_vebG5hUSXogTCKeXNWccFHScRzqr0gtNyxjnELlj_IwDjQpSb2v9UQDEsJeKtNyDPFx1ufQdxQNemAmNuReBtOY7ED0F4.tFmjAPhOXYX3BdnIeMKBpuhozjiBrDY1lZa-IY7qdbk&dib_tag=se |access-date=2026-05-03 |website=Amazon.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Creality Scan Bridge for Raptor, Raptor Pro and Sermoon S1 3D Scanner, Wireless Scanning Kit for iPhone, Android and Mirror Screen for Windows, Mac |url=https://www.amazon.com/Creality-CR-Scan-Raptor-Wireless-Scanning/dp/B0DKFGS458?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.xo1uhXwNWmpzj6vlxwxFSBfzh_BHJJnzD8o4U0CMN5hD4scHqRci6V4O4dl0-_y_-jbXb7K4YTX2ukcUM0Au7cRwdIfsIO6Lizk1KuFzqtz8KxXCVkjW8vPUdvdOkCV2ftmvlaWR66zt2_vebG5hUSXogTCKeXNWccFHScRzqr0gtNyxjnELlj_IwDjQpSb2v9UQDEsJeKtNyDPFx1ufQdxQNemAmNuReBtOY7ED0F4.tFmjAPhOXYX3BdnIeMKBpuhozjiBrDY1lZa-IY7qdbk&dib_tag=se |access-date=2026-05-03 |website=Amazon.com}}</ref>. The update is forced by updating the software as soon as the user has a stable internet connection and opens the Creality Scan 4 software. There is no option to opt-out, only the chance to install the update. Creality's reasoning for this update was that scanning with a USB cable could overload the phone's motherboard and reduce the battery life overtime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CR-Scan Otter FAQ and Troubleshooting |url=https://wiki.creality.com/en/3d-scanner/cr-scan-otter/troubleshooting |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260211061438/https://wiki.creality.com/en/3d-scanner/cr-scan-otter/troubleshooting |archive-date=2026-02-11 |access-date=2026-02-11 |website=Creality Wiki |quote=This could overload your phone’s motherboard and seriously reduce battery life over time.}}</ref> <!-- This is a work in progress --> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||