Brother sparks controversy over ban on non-genuine ink

It all comes down to Brother implementing similar restrictions on printers as its competitors. News of the restrictions was uncovered by Louis Rossmann, a right-to-repair advocate, who expressed frustration with Brother's move to restrictive policies, particularly around the use of third-party ink.

Brother is trying to force printer users to buy expensive genuine ink

Brother printers have historically been praised for their compatibility with non-OEM cartridges, which has helped them stand out from brands like HP. However, recent firmware updates have intentionally degraded print quality when using non-Brother inks, leaving many users feeling betrayed and forced to buy higher-priced OEM inks.

Brother's tricks

In addition to limiting compatibility, Brother also removes features like automatic color registration for users who opt for third-party inks. While the printer can still work with non-OEM cartridges, print quality is severely affected unless genuine inks are used.

Rossmann was particularly concerned about the deceptive nature of these changes. Instead of outright rejecting third-party inks, Brother printers created errors that misled users into believing that non-OEM inks were defective. This manipulation made it difficult for users to determine the root cause of printing problems.

Updates such as W1.56 reportedly failed to register colors automatically, resulting in misaligned prints. Brother support representatives have admitted that installing OEM ink will immediately resolve these issues, further cementing suspicions of intentional functionality limitations.

Furthermore, Brother has removed older firmware versions from its servers, making it nearly impossible to roll back to previous versions. As a result, customers who previously saved money by purchasing third-party ink are now forced to spend money on expensive OEM cartridges.

A GitHub investigation shed light on Brother’s actions, revealing that older firmware versions were systematically deleted, removing recovery options. Discussions on GitHub also showed that each new update further restricted the use of non-Brother cartridges.

Rossmann said these practices can lead to legal issues, as deliberately removing functionality after purchase can be considered deceptive commercial practices in many jurisdictions. To mitigate these issues, users have few options, such as disabling automatic updates, although this can pose a security risk. There is also the option of downgrading firmware, but this is an increasingly difficult and risky process.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/brother-gay-tranh-cai-vi-han-che-muc-in-khong-chinh-hang-185250306091553187.htm