Update:ย
- 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.ย
- Consumers sued the printer company in 2020, alleging it pushed a software update to its printers to make them incompatible with other brandsโ ink cartridges.ย
- 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, โadding, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers and rendering the competitorsโ supply cartridges incompatible with HP printers,โ 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 brandsโ 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 brandsโ 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.ย
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, โadding, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers, and rendering the competitorsโ supply cartridges incompatible with HP printers,โ 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 โsupply problem,โ when HP had in fact intentionally caused the issue by sending the โmalwareโ to render third-party ink cartridges incompatible with HP products.ย
โPlaintiffs 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,โ the lawsuit states.ย
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 competitorsโ cartridges without their consent.ย
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.ย
The plaintiffs are Mobile Emergency Housing Corp., Performance Automotive & Tire Center and David Justin Lynchโs.
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 โInstant Inkโ subscription are experiencing faulty, error-prone cartridges.ย
Do you own an HP printer that suddenly wouldnโt work with other brandsโ ink cartridges? Let us know your experience in the comments!ย
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 replaced my cartridges today after using the same brand of ink for years. It kept saying install error. I walked away and when I came back it was updating. As soon as it updated it told me the cartridges I ordered didnโt have the HP chip. I bought these cartridges in bulk and now they are a waste.
I have an HP OfficeJet 8710. I had been getting my cartridges refilled at Costco, then Costco said they couldnโt refill them any more because HP had made an update so their printers wouldnโt work with refilled cartridges. I decided to use up all my ink, then switch to an Epson Eco-Tank, which is refilled by bottles of ink and doesnโt use cartridges. In the meantime, I got some HP cartridges cheap from Craigslist, and I turned off color printing and only print in black. But somehow my Cyan has run out anyway, and the printer wonโt print in black-only if one of the color cartridges is out. What a scam. I have to decide whether now is the time to buy a new Epson printer, or whether to refill the Cyan so I can keep printing black until the black runs out. Now it seems that refilled cartridges are available online for my HP Officejet 8710, so I might buy oneโnot sure if they will work but theyโre from a reputable dealer so Iโll probably try. Still it bugs me a lot that I have to buy a $20.00 refilled Cyan cartridge just to print in all-black, when my black ink hasnโt run out yet. Also, Iโve been careful not to let my printer get updated, in case HP does another evil update. I really hate HP now and itโs like my printer is an enemy living in my office. Iโm trying to be rational about it and not throw out my HP printer in anger, and wait to buy a new printer until it really makes sense for saving money.
I have a HP 8035. I signed up for insta-ink โ what a joke. The โfree inkโ turns out to be a gimmick to get people to sign up. HP wanted to charge me to use the ink that came with the printer. I print envelopes and stationary to give as gifts. HP charges by the page, not ink use. Printing an envelope is the same as a full page!! I quit the insta-ink and was using generic cartridges with no problem. Now they are holding my printer hostage. This is the worst rip off. Never again. Sign me up!
Sign me up! Particularly egregious is that you canโt switch off automatic updates. This shouldnโt just be civil case but a criminal one as well.
I just spoke to 2 people from HP about them shutting my computer down for non hp cartridges. Day 1 offered 1 set of cartridges, and said they canโt downgrade the firmware that started the problem. Day 2 said they wonโt offer cartridges until issue resolved. Nothing done. Can I be part of the lawsuit?
Please add me. I have an HP Office Jet Pro 8715. I really needed a printer tonight and apparently the latest update rendered it unusable until I go buy their brand of ink. This kind of thing should be illegal. Time to take my printer to the dumpster.
Sign me up. I returned cartridges that were full. Successfully used ink purchased from Amazon worked well for a few months until firmware upgrade. HP tech support would not help unless I started ink plan again (I saved the text of the transcript
I have a 2600 HP ans I use insta ink and since they did not take my payment in have full ink cartrisgea from 2 montha ago and they closed my acxount saying to update my payment but I use same one all year and now it wont let me use my printer at all someone help me
Yes I would like to join this too i have full cartridges in mine paud for it last month and I can not use them please someone help me with this I would like more info on this and know how I can get involved with this law suit as well sign me up please
Same here, hp broke/hacked into my printer and bricked it. For non hp chips that had been working all along, no notice of this was made by hp prior to sales, after market ink is a well know product, hp never notified its customers that they would disable aka brick $500 printers, hp never notified customers that they were actively attempting to brick printers. I never agreed to these terms in any manner prior to purchase