HP Inc.

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HP Inc.

Basic information
Founded	1939
Type	Public
Industry	Information Technology
Official website	https://hp.com/

HP Inc. is an American multinational information technology company formed in 2015 as a successor to the Hewlett-Packard company founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and David Packard.

HP sub-brands

Sub-brand	Description	Created/Acquired
OMEN	High-end focused laptops and desktops lineup, former VoodooPC	2013
HyperX	High-end gaming peripherals	2021
Z by HP	Professional workstations and laptops	2009
HP Wolf Security	Security service to lock in and add anti-virus to HP laptops for remote offices	2021
HP Anyware	Service to create a seamless experience for teams to interact with their digital workspaces from virtually anywhere	2021
Fitstation by HP	Partnership to create personalized tech products like footwear, in 2024 HP took the Fitstation insole platform off the market.	2017

* HP Anyware was acquired in 2021 along with Teradici.

Consumer impact summary

HP has implemented several controversial policies and practices that negatively impact consumers:

• forcing customers to wait 15 minutes on support calls
• some printers requiring ink cartridges to be sufficiently filled to use scanning and faxing features, and scanning often mandating an HP account and app, sometimes even an internet connection.
• firmware updates bricking devices
• Instant Ink subscription service and Dynamic Security system, that respectively lock cartridges behind a subscriprion and restrict the use of aftermarket ones

Controversies

HP adds 15 minutes to all customer service phone calls

Main article: HP adds 15 minutes to all customer service phone calls

In February 2025, HP Inc. instituted a policy to artificially force all consumer PC & print customers to wait a minimum of 15 minutes when calling support. This policy pushes the callers towards the cheaper online support channels, an operation which HP Inc. calls influencing "customers to increase their adoption of digital self-solve".

Ink required to scan and fax

Main article: HP Printers Ink Requirements Controversy

To use the scanning and faxing feature on some HP all-in-one printers, all cartridges must not be too low on ink.

Account required to scan

To use the scanning feature on some HP printers, both the HP app and a HP account are required, at times even an internet connection is also required.^{[citation needed]}

An alternative would be to use Windows' in-built scan feature (albeit rudimentary, it should suffice for basic scanning) or 3rd party software / program such as NAPS2 (a free and open source software).

Firmware updates stop HP printers from working (Errors 79 and 49)

An over-the-air update for some HP printer products (DeskJets and LaserJets) with network capabilities caused errors 79 and 49 to be shown on the user interface of these devices, softlocking the printers. In some instances, these faulty updates were not avoidable, because the "update" prompt had to be accepted to access the printer again. First reports of this showed up in public around October 2022. In some cases, the devices could be recovered, but for an unknown amount of users, no official nor unofficial fix was applicable. This effectively lead to bricked devices that had to be replaced, often times but not always, right after the warranty period had ended.

Products/Services

HP Instant Ink

Main article: HP Instant Ink

HP Instant Ink refers to a subscription service for certain printers in which recipients may receive a set amount of HP Ink Cartridges each month. It has recently come into controversy for changing into a program with various limiting features in 2024.

HP Dynamic Security

Main article: HP Dynamic Security

HP Dynamic Security refers to a system in some HP printers to restrict the use of aftermarket ink cartridges, ensuring only original cartridges can be used.