HP remotely disables perfectly good ink cartridges if you don't pay a monthly fee

I certainly agree that it would 1. Be the “upstanding thing” to do and 2. Should probably be some sort of consumer law that this sort of thing be made transparently clear and obvious before point of purchase- without requiring a person to go digging around the internet for answers- but that’s not our system. Consumers and corporations split the blame for devaluing, perverting, or doing away with sales consultants who’s job it is to help a consumer make the right product choice for them based on a dedicated experts product knowledge. What was, what could or should be- we don’t live there. Most new cars they won’t tell you a key is often upwards of $200-500 if you lose it- but you’re spending )10,20,70k- so all I can say is that it’s your money- be as careful with it as you want.

Wether it’s a new pair of gloves or a tool or a gadget or even a used item off CL- bet I’ve scoured reviews, stories, manuals and features, compared prices and found what fails or what people don’t like BEFORE I buy it. Or I roll the dice if I don’t care enough about the cost or the item- and I get what I get. If I get shit- who bought it? Me. You can stick with what you know works or what friends etc. have and works, you can check specs etc (buying a printer without pricing ink would be cavalier at the least- and seeing two types of ink with words you don’t understand- not understanding the differences or what the features are... that’s bold and a little reckless in my book.) No shade- I’m just saying- if I buy a printer I know it works before I buy it.

I couldn't find how to make it work like a normal printer when I was setting my mom's up for her... If I remember I'll let her know that's an option next time I talk to her.

From my understanding the only way to make it work like a normal printer is buy a new ink cartridge that isn’t on their silly program. I know that some printers that take normal ink carts take these ones too- but I can’t say that all printers that take these ink carts can take normal ones. These cartridges are larger than even high capacity ones- so the physical differences mean it’s possible some printers can’t fit both types.

I think this service has a “sweet spot” where for people who barely ever print anything and could go several years on a single set of cartridges will pay way more on the subscription- but people who print a med/high number of pages and commonly print complex full page full color pages would see the most benefit. I don’t think they implemented this program well, and I don’t think they did a good job letting consumers know what they purchased. I realized that my previous comments may gave seemed harsh or aggressive and that’s not how I meant them. I feel bad for anyone who was blind sided by this- I just meant in this guy’s case he came off as having a lot of attitude and didn’t seem to accept his part in the whole thing. HP should have done better but it isn’t entirely their fault was all I meant.

For sure, I'll let her know about the ink cartridge thing. I'll tell her to borrow a neighbors' cartridge or get one already opened from her office to test it out so she doesn't waste money on buying one only for it to potentially not work lol.

Best of luck.