Update:
- In a joint notice filed July 12 in a California federal court, HP and a certified class of consumers reached a settlement in principle and are working to finalize the agreement.
- Consumers sued the printer company in 2020, alleging it pushed a software update to its printers to make them incompatible with other brands’ ink cartridges.
- They allege HP transmitted firmware updates without authorization to HP printers through the internet, with the first update pushed around Nov. 2020. These firmware updates reportedly act as malware, “adding, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers and rendering the competitors’ supply cartridges incompatible with HP printers,” the plaintiffs claim.
HP ink cartridge class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: HP Inc. is being sued by customers.
- Why: The customers allege HP pushed a firmware update that made its printers incompatible with other brands’ ink cartridges.
- Where: Nationwide
(Oct. 16, 2021)
A class action lawsuit alleging HP pushed a software update to its printers to make them incompatible with other brands’ ink cartridges can mostly go ahead, a judge has ruled.
A California federal judge ruled Oct. 15 that most of the class action allegations filed by printer owners against HP, Inc. could go ahead, throwing out only three of the claims.
The claims against HP were first filed in Dec. 2020. The plaintiffs allege that HP transmitted firmware updates without authorization to HP printers through the Internet, with the first update pushed around Nov. 2020.
These firmware updates allegedly act as malware, “adding, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers, and rendering the competitors’ supply cartridges incompatible with HP printers,” the plaintiffs said.
HP forced customers to purchase HP ink cartridges, class action alleges
The class action lawsuit said the company told them that HP printers have a “supply problem,” when HP had in fact intentionally caused the issue by sending the “malware” to render third-party ink cartridges incompatible with HP products.
“Plaintiffs allege that as a result of this malware, HP printer owners are either forced to buy HP cartridges or they cannot use their printers until third parties can develop workarounds in their products,” the lawsuit states.
They also allege HP used this firmware update process to conceal the fact it is actually collecting data on whether consumers are using HP or its competitors’ cartridges without their consent.
The lawsuit is looking to represent anyone nationwide who had a HP Color LaserJet Pro M254, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M280, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281, or any other model affected by HP malware transmissions.
The plaintiffs are Mobile Emergency Housing Corp., Performance Automotive & Tire Center and David Justin Lynch’s.
The plaintiffs are suing under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act (CDAFA), California False Advertising Law, California Unfair Competition Law and California Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
The order filed Oct. 15 allowed most of the claims to go ahead, apart from allegations regarding one section of CFAA, trespass to chattels and one claim based on one part of CDAFA.
The news comes as HP faces another class action lawsuit, with a consumer alleging that he and others with an HP “Instant Ink” subscription are experiencing faulty, error-prone cartridges.
Do you own an HP printer that suddenly wouldn’t work with other brands’ ink cartridges? Let us know your experience in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Mark L. Javitch of Javitch Law Office and Thomas A. Zimmerman Jr. of Zimmerman Law Offices PC.
The HP Software Update Ink Cartridge Class Action Lawsuit is Mobile Emergency Housing Corp. et al. v. HP Inc., Case No. 5:20-cv-09157, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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1,748 thoughts onHP agrees to settlement in overpriced, incompatible ink cartridge class action
I purchased a New printer from HP and was signed up for the free ink program without my knowledge. The just started coming to my home. I let it go for about two months and finally forced then to not send more to my home. I discovered the all of the product that I received would no longer work in my printer and they didn’t. So I purchase new ink from other sources.
They would not work as well. I had to abandoned the printer and purchase from a different manufacturer, which was Canon.
It was a big waste of money on my part.
I have Wow, not to ever buy a HP printer again and lost my business forever. I ended up with the printer that I could not use plus a bunch of ink cartridges that were unusable as well. This end up going right into the trash because it made my printer unusable..
Yes & I have two of these printers!!! I couldn’t use my HP LaserJet tank 250 without the subscription & I can’t use my HP OfficeJet Pro 8020 without the subscription or purchasing HP only ink. I couldn’t use the officejet pro for nearly 2 years bc I couldn’t get anyone in support to help me with my payment bc my payment kept getting declined by their payment system. So I bought an officejet for over $200 that had to sit & collect dust for nearly 2 years. Just recently I received an email stating I was being gifted a $10 credit so I put it on my account & was able to sign up for one of the monthly instant ink subscriptions & now I can finally print! But they weren’t taking my payment for a very long time. Smh absolutely shameful.
Yes not only that. But firmware update makes even a hp cartridge installed and used on a hp printer won’t work on new replacement printer
I bought a few inks recently only printed a few pages then says not compatible. It’s HP and the recommended ink! I keep wasting my money cheaper to buy a new printer from a different company never buying HP again! Please let me join the settlement
Please add me. I had to get rid of my new printer for this reason.
I’m having a time with my printer, it won’t print.
Please Add Me
It’s about time a class action started over this! I buy a printer for $30 from HP and it cost $70 for ink that gives me MAYBE 20 PAGES!!! Even the XL cartridges don’t give you much ink especially if you don’t print often! Its as though it dries up or something and then they do this crap so you cannot buy refillable cartridges to save money and your printer ends up being useless!
I would like to be included. I bought an HP printer am being overcharged for ink that they require a subscription for the only compatible cartridges and am required to constantly update their firmware.
Went through 2 HP printers due to this upgrade. Please add me.