HP printers can no longer print until HP apps are installed, users say ``fire the product manager''



HP printers, notorious for strategies such as paperweighting with non-genuine inks and blocking third-party inks, printed a warning message prompting users to print instead of what they wanted to print until they installed an HP app. Users expressed their anger on social media.

This issue was reported by X (formerly Twitter) user Schappi. 'HP+ printers must be set up using the HP Smart app . Go to 123.hp.com, download the app, and follow the guided setup. Please complete. All pages you tried to print have been used up by setup.'



In response, Schappi said, ``HP requires the installation of unnecessary software, essentially ` `crapware, '' in order to use HP printers.Let's go back to Officeworks (an Australian office supplies manufacturer)... ” he lamented.

In response to a direct message from HP support asking them to report the details of the issue, HP said, ``Rather than prompting customers to install drivers, HP product managers have decided to force customers to install pesky software.'' , prioritized short-term profits. Now, even though the printer is functional, it's effectively broken unless you install unnecessary software. Please fire that product manager.' I did.



HP is still asking people to send direct messages, but Schappi flatly rejected that, 'That's fine.'



This problem has been around since at least 2022, and if you search for the warning mentioned above, you'll find a message on HP's official forums: 'I don't want to do that. Why force me to install such software when I just want to use the printer?' You can find a post dated November 2022 complaining, “Is this true?”

Schappi's post also became a hot topic on the social news site Hacker News, and in response to a question about why they force users to install the app, Schappi said, ``My guess is that if you force users to install the app, they will subscribe to Ink.'' 'Isn't this literally a crime? It's like HP installed a backdoor on the printer and forced you to download malware that disables it. If this is legal... If that's the case, then it should be a crime, and we shouldn't be allowed to create loopholes in the terms of service.' '

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in Hardware, Posted by log1l_ks