, 1 min read
HP ePrint Obsolescense
Original post is here eklausmeier.goip.de/blog/2017/06-12-hp-eprint-obsolescense.
HP (Hewlett Packard) manufacturer of printers of various sorts (laser, ink) unfortunately again decided to annoy its loyal customers. Repeatedly HP updated firmware in printers so that they do not work with alternate ink, see for example Disabling 3rd-party ink ensures “best printing experience”. Now for the last years they disabled the so called apps (ePrint functionality): after a few years the printer can no longer connect to the web-services of HP. See, for example, HP Apps Service Retired on several printers.
In my case, I bought a CM1415 in November 2011. It can no longer connect to HP web-services. Therefore I can no longer send e-mails to the printers which then get printed. In November 2014 I bought an M276nw, a similar printer as the CM1415. This model can still connect to HP web-services. So it looks like after six years HP silently disables functionality. These web-services also offer other services, like weather forecasts, news, sudokus, etc.
These chicanery make it clear that customers should not trust cloud-services, or at least have a contingency plan if these services do not work, or have prices which are ridiculous. Recently the price increase by Firebase made headlines, see Firebase Costs Increased by 7,000%!