Bambu Farm Manager
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Introduction
In 2020, Bambu Lab was started by a small group of DJI engineers. Bambu Lab shook up the 3D-Printing scene with it's low barrier to entry model based around consumers. Bambu Lab soon gained mass market share, receiving praise for their quick, efficient, and reliable desktop 3D printers starting with their high-end model, the Bambu Lab X1 and X1 Carbon in a Kickstarter Campaign.
Anti-Consumerism & Subscription Models
On January 17th 2025, Bambu Lab released a modification to their firmware notice in their company blog. This notice included modifications to their terms of use[1] with the clause linked below, implying the potential for an additional fee to small businesses and independent parties
Access to and use of the Service requires two software components: the Bambu Farm Server application and the Bambu Farm client application (collectively referred to as “Bambu Farm Manager,” or the “Software").
[…]
BAMBU LAB MAY OFFER THE SERVICES AND SOFTWARE WITHOUT CHARGE, FOR A FEE, OR MAY CHARGE A FEE TO CERTAIN USERS OR FOR CERTAIN USES (E.G. COMMERCIAL USES). BAMBU LAB RESERVES THE RIGHT TO AND MAY CHANGE THE LICENSE AND FEE STRUCTURE, CONDITIONS, AND WHICH USERS OR USES REQUIRE A FEE. WE WILL GIVE YOU REASONABLE ADVANCE NOTICE IF WE IMPLEMENT OR CHANGE ANY FEES PAYABLE FOR THE LICENSE TO THE SOFTWARE OR CONNECTED SERVICES.
Additionally, some Redditors have discovered free-trial implementations here, indicating the potential for a subscription-based model in the future in Bambu Lab's cloud manager.
Gaslighting from Bambu Labs
Bambu Labs denies any form of subscription model, including for commercial purposes, contradicting their past EULA statements in their response. [2]
We want to make it absolutely clear that all of these claims are entirely false:
- Bambu Lab will remotely disable your printer ("brick" it).
- Firmware updates will block your printer’s ability to print.
- AMS functionality will be restricted, and the use of third-party filament will be disabled.
- Bambu Lab firmware contains trojans or backdoors for unauthorized remote control.
- The printers have a timed killswitch that disables them after a certain period.
- All 3D files printed are monitored, duplicated, or stolen.
- A subscription will be mandatory to use your printer.
This clearly contradicts Bambu Lab's original claim for commercial applications, stating in the EULA, "MAY CHANGE THE LICENSE AND FEE STRUCTURE, CONDITIONS, AND WHICH USERS OR USES REQUIRE A FEE." This clearly implies that Bambu Labs has the capability of locking down software after your sale, contradicting their response. The argument can be made that printers are still technically usable, but would require more effort for seamless operation. This institutes the potential for a standard Bait-and-Switch tactic.
TL;DR
Bambu Labs, a Chinese manufacturer of Additive Manufacturing systems made significant changes to their End User License Agreement (EULA) creating the potential for a bait-and-switch. Bambu Lab failed to properly address the situation, instead opting to gaslight instead of communicating a proper response.
What if I own a Bambu Lab Printer?
For the time being, it is recommended to enable LAN mode, reducing the chance of receiving the firmware update.
References
- This reference is defined in a template or other generated block, and for now can only be previewed in source mode.
- ↑ https://blog.bambulab.com/updates-and-third-party-integration-with-bambu-connect/