HP Plus comes with a huge catch
For a limited time, when you buy an HP printer, you get 6 months of free ink, a better warranty, and even the chance to plant a tree in your name. You must sign up for HP Plus with the printer connected for 7 days. HP will be happy to keep you informed of this deadline until you sign up or it expires. Yes, you get 6 months of free ink when you sign up, but you also agree to minor firmware updates. As a member of HP Plus, your printer will never accept ink not supplied directly by HP. This sounds inconvenient, but it’s not that bad unless you remember what HP does with their printers.
HP is pretty much in the news, including when it was revealed that the printer was using more ink than it should have. In a way, it didn’t matter because HP also included an artificial end date for the cartridge’s lifespan. When that time comes, the printer will claim that the cartridge is empty no matter how much ink is left in it. In addition to an update that blocks all 3rd party ink cartridges, we have also tried to prevent official HP ink cartridges from a different region from where the printer was purchased from working. Legally speaking, most of these attempts have failed.
However, when you sign up for HP Plus, you specifically agree to limit the cartridges you use, so you’re not out of luck. I was hoping that canceling HP Plus would unlock the printer, but apparently the firmware update is irreversible. I need to buy a new printer.
