Talk:Bambu Lab

Other Concerns with Bambu

Hi, I have a Bambu printer and I wanted to expand on the anti-consumer issues I've found:

• You are now locked to using Bambu Studio as a slicer (instead of an open source alternative such as Orca Slicer) for sending prints over the network - unless you completely turn off all cloud functionality, "LAN-Mode". This means you lose the ability to control your printer from your phone using the "Bambu Handy" app. Additionally, it limits your ability to use Bambu's 3D print website "MakerWorld". For example, leaving a review on a model requires your printer to be in online-mode and communcating with the servers to verify that you did indeed print it.
• Further expanding on the first point, you now cannot use any 3rd-party integration with your Bambu printer in cloud mode anymore unless it's read-only. That means you could have a third-party screen that shows the progress of a print like a Panda Knomi, but not a third-party screen that lets you control the print process, such as the Panda Touch.
• The printer is extremely locked down, only running Bambu firmware and sometimes even preventing rollbacks to previous versions when things break. There's no alternative firmware currently able to be made by the community, only very involved projects to rip out the electronics and install replacements. If all you've owned are Bambu printers you won't know any better, but most printers are very open and customizable with powerful control panels.
• Bambu filament spools have RFID tags to enable automatic detection in their proprietary multi-material system. It only works if you're using Bambu branded filament in Bambu's own AMS system. There has been no effort to make an open standard that all printers can use.
• There's a potential concern with privacy, that the printer is snooping on your camera feed and everything you print even in "LAN-Mode" because of the network plug-in.

Bambu Labs made 3D printing more accessible and easy for everyone, but this overbearing control erodes trust. Human (talk) 20:29, 25 October 2025 (UTC)

AGPLv3 Violation

The article does not mention the BambuLab's ongoing copyright infringement of Slic3R/PrusaSlicer. BambuLabs does not have a valid license to distribute their derivative product, Bambu Studio, as they fail to comply with the AGPLv3. Josef Prusa has considered taking legal action, but as BambuStudio is software, they can only challenge them in Chinese court, which they do not consider a viable legal option. https://x.com/josefprusa/status/2054602360488362059.

The reason they are violating the AGPLv3 is because part of the source code (NetworkAgent.cpp ) depends on a closed source library (bambu_networking). This effectively limits users from exercising their right (granted by the AGPLv3) to modify Bambu Studio, in particular this specific piece of code and anything that uses this code. This has been an issue since Bambu Labs uploaded the source code to GitHub in Jul 15, 2022 (https://github.com/bambulab/BambuStudio/blob/1555904beffef41195003f184dec0af46b308eee/src/slic3r/Utils/NetworkAgent.cpp) There has been multiple GitHub issues asking to make the dependency open source (https://github.com/bambulab/BambuStudio/issues/2381, https://github.com/bambulab/BambuStudio/issues/6037) some mentioning the AGPLv3 violation.

Section 5c of the AGPLv3 states that Bambu Studio is required to license "the whole of the work, and all its parts, regardless of how they are packaged" to anyone who has come in possession of a copy. While the bambu_networking library is distributed separately and downloaded from their network when running Bambu Studio, it's still a part of the whole work and hence still covered by the license. As such Bambu Labs is required to give users of their networking library access to its source code.

Issues around enforcing AGPLv3 are discussed at Talk:Bambu Lab Authorization Control System#"Who can enforce AGPL against Bambu Lab" section might be incorrect. The SFC vs. Vizio case suggests that Bambu Studio users might be able to sue Bambu studio as a third-party beneficiary of the AGPLv3 licensing contract between Bambu Labs and the developers of Slic3R/PrusaSlicer. (https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/vizio.html) Lily (talk) 02:58, 17 May 2026 (UTC)