Epson fiasco

[oldcodger]

Maybe this has been posted before but it just bit me. New Epson firmware updates will add a restriction so that your printer will only work with Epson print cartridges. I happened to have aftermarket cartridges in mine and had no trouble at all until after the update. After the update the printer will not print unless it detects Epson cartridges.
There are several on line sites showing how to roll your firmware back and get your printer working again.

 

[atikovi]

Have never updated anything on my printers and they are over 10 years old. That's just asking for trouble. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Leo99]

Have never updated anything on my printers and they are over 10 years old. That's just asking for trouble. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Next, they will stop working unless you update the firmware. It's a racket.

 

[atikovi]

Next, they will stop working unless you update the firmware. It's a racket.

Just set back the date.

 

[Leo99]

Just set back the date.

They will make you go online and sync clocks. Oh, they are evil.

 

[Rand]

Do you really need color? if not do what you should have done 10 years ago.. buy a brother laser.
I have 18 out of 20 still in service.. some are over 10 years old easily.
1 was hit by lightning(suspected since some wiring in house was burned) and another took some rough service and was replaced due to broken paper pickup and being beat on.
Cheap toner(<$10), cheap replacement drums(<$20)every 4-5 toners

Also toner isnt a liquid so it never dries up or gets used up "cleaning the printhead"

 

[BHopkins]

Maybe this has been posted before but it just bit me. New Epson firmware updates will add a restriction so that your printer will only work with Epson print cartridges. I happened to have aftermarket cartridges in mine and had no trouble at all until after the update. After the update the printer will not print unless it detects Epson cartridges.
There are several on line sites showing how to roll your firmware back and get your printer working again.

Is that even legal? There has to be some way to bypass this, even more easily than rolling back the firmware. I'm pretty sure this is not legal, to require an owner of a product to use only your parts.

 

[Pew]

Rip Epson.

 

[97prizm]

Maybe this has been posted before but it just bit me. New Epson firmware updates will add a restriction so that your printer will only work with Epson print cartridges. I happened to have aftermarket cartridges in mine and had no trouble at all until after the update. After the update the printer will not print unless it detects Epson cartridges.
There are several on line sites showing how to roll your firmware back and get your printer working again.

I have a 10 year old Epson Stylus cx5000 and it never printed with aftermarket cartridges. One thing to look for from my reading is certain but not all newer epson printers have a "print cycle life". Apparently certain models have shown an error detected message that implies you're supposed to send it in for service. A few places online sell epson ink cartridge resetting devices as well. Epson is one of the few printers and scanners that work with Ubuntu Linux on my Lenovo Ideapad. I just dislike their decisions like this.

 

[97prizm]

Is that even legal? There has to be some way to bypass this, even more easily than rolling back the firmware. I'm pretty sure this is not legal, to require an owner of a product to use only your parts.

This is a good question as the label printer that spits out temporary badges where I work ONLY will print Dymo print rolls which are triple the cost of generic.

 

[GMBoy]

Wow I didn't know Epson was still around.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Have never updated anything on my printers and they are over 10 years old. That's just asking for trouble. If it ain't broke, don't fix it

We used to always say at work: Never kick a sleeping dog !

 

[y_p_w]

I've seen it in an HP printer where it nagged that "non genuine" cartidges might damage the printer, but I've never heard of any that didn't work at all. Apple has been criticized for their nag notices about third party batteries or replacement displays, but they still work.

 

[OVERKILL]

Have never updated anything on my printers and they are over 10 years old. That's just asking for trouble. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I am very glad you don't work in IT.

 

[dishdude]

Brother lasers are the only way to go.

 

[OVERKILL]

Do you really need color? if not do what you should have done 10 years ago.. buy a brother laser.
I have 18 out of 20 still in service.. some are over 10 years old easily.
1 was hit by lightning(suspected since some wiring in house was burned) and another took some rough service and was replaced due to broken paper pickup and being beat on.
Cheap toner(<$10), cheap replacement drums(<$20)every 4-5 toners

Also toner isnt a liquid so it never dries up or gets used up "cleaning the printhead"

Yup, and you can get them in colour too, if you do need it. These are what I recommend when somebody asks me "what should I get".

 

[Carmudgeon]

Sadly, such shenanigans are not uncommon. Despite their better reputation, even Brother has pulled the same trick.

But HP has been most notorious for trying to find the limits of such tactics; their CEO has publicly stated that their ambition is to completely turn their printing business into a subscription service.

Lost in the RTR movement and regulator anti-trust efforts are tactics like this. It would be low hanging fruit since most people don't endeavor to repair their own electronics and other goods, but they do need to replace consumables, and such lock-ins will affect everyone.

 

[Nukeman7]

My permanent solution to the issue:

EPSON ECO-TANK PRINTERS

 

[supton]

Never even thought about updating firmware in a printer… looked up the printer I’ve had for ages, turns out, there is a usb port on it! never used it before. Parallel only. The things you learn.

Found a manual for it, looks like it dates to 2000. Apparently I should keep it going… what’s next, having to enter date and time into a thermostat, let alone a firmware update to one?