CLI-42 "new chips"? Resetter disaster? [Spoiler = no]

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[Summary]
Question: Has Canon brought out a new chip for the CLI-42 cartridges that can't be reset now?
Answer: Not to our knowledge.
Related: REdSETTER units for CLI-42 chips are not affected (we tested). Some other third party chip resetters are apparently having problems though.


[The Long Drawn Out - "Get a cup of tea/coffee then read" bit]
Thought I'd nip this one in the bud as I recently started getting quite a few queries from folks asking if our CLI-42 REdSETTER chip resetters were compatible with the "new chips that Canon were bringing out".

This was news to me so I did some digging, quick conversation with the manufacturers (news to them too) and with a little help, found out the source of the scuttlebutt.

The rumour is down to a reseller of other chip resetters (not the REdSETTER). It seems they're experiencing some issues with the chips on CLI-42 units not resetting with their third party units and they've put it down to new coding on the chips or some other neat trick.

So, I did some testing, REdSETTER themselves did some testing, we consulted the sun, the moon and a 6 year old for guidance*, we even found some Pro-100S owners** to see if maybe this was a nefarious trick that Gru (of Despicable me infamy) would be proud of.

Short version is this... Whatever is going on, REdSETTER units aren't affected. They still work, they still reset and they're still fully supported.

If the code on the chips has indeed changed (which I doubt) it would follow that firmware would need to be updated on original Pro-100's for it to kick in and of course the Pro-100S would be a prime candidate for it to be pre-programmed in, but we've seen none of it and I'll lay a nice little £100 gratuity to the charity of your choice that it'll stay that way. Were I to guess, it's more likely a manufacturing defect on the failing third party resetters.

Anyway, figured I'd put that one to rest before someone worries and starts screaming about the sky falling down or some such... We're cool, it's fine... Nothing to see here.

Happy weekend everyone




*The 6 year old considered the issues carefully then negotiated hard for their consultancy fee (1 bar of chocolate). Like so many consultants, they felt more testing was required or as he put it "Does it still work?"... It did.

**The Pro-100S users had tried the third party chip resetters that failed. They purchased CLI-42 REdSETTERs from us (under guarantee we'd sort if they had problems) but they didn't hit any issues. Conclusion it's a localised issue being dressed up as the boogeyman's fault. We didn't ask the 6 year old about that, he'd just tell us it was dinosaurs again.

 

[The Hat]

If Canon had a mind to do that with the chips, they would have to call them by another code number, so the CLl-42 chip would have to be rebranded as they did with the 550/551 chips.

O'h and a firmware upgrade may not be necessary either, anyway they can’t change or reprogram the chips on the excising CLl-42 cartridges so no worries in that respect, Redsetter is your only man..

 

[stratman]

I doubt Canon would change horses in the middle of the course. There would be plenty of "old" stock cartridges still available for purchase creating a hurricane of complaints by aggrieved consumers when their printers failed to function. Sales of new printers would nose dive if the fiasco were publicized. Public relations nightmare!

 

[mikling]

It has been forgotten that Epson did something similar to what is being claimed to occur about ten years or thereabouts ago. Not with combatting OEM chips but on aftermarket chips and a somewhat similar scheme is possible.

For simplicity's sake imagine a cartridge chip with 4 quadrants. Upper left, Upper Right, lower left and lower right. Version 1 of the printer firmware reads the upper left side of the quadrant and changes it. It does nothing to the other three remaining quadrants. A resetter is made that that restores only what the printer has changed...namely the upper left. Resetter works fine.

A version 2 printer comes along that reads and now modifies the upper right side now. Remember, the cartridge chip remains the same and has 4 quadrants. The new and old and existing chips out there will still work because it always had the 4 quadrants. However, suddenly the resetter that ONLY restored the upper LEFT quadrant, will no longer work because it is the now the upper right quadrant that is changed. A new version of the resetter would now be required. One that restores the right side AND also the leftt side to be compatible with older printers . A lot as you can see with depend on the completeness of the resetter coding/firmware.Also note that since the chips were meant to be disposed of, the OEM can be ruthless about what parts of the chip they want to modify.

To stop remanufacturing, Canon already permanently modifies chips that when overridden. Redsetter cannot remedy this. Roy Sletcher and myself will tell you this. The chip is reset but the ink level descent is no longer smooth.

In addition to this, Roy Sletcher and Jose also showed/reported to us years ago that Canon would not accept reset chips as authorization to use some of their online software. Their software/system is aware of reset chips and will only accept real and not reset OEM chips as authorization. That says a LOT as to what is possible. Again a small matter but it warns of easy thwarts.

My take is that there does not need to be a new cartridge chip number/model to implement changes.

Again, the advice is that anyone contemplating or wanting a new printer in the foreseeable future should take advantage of the promotions as there is never a guarantee that what is possible today won't be stopped down the road. When more restrictions are implemented you can be sure those stored New In Box printers will likely at least have doubled or more in value.

Just keep fingers crossed.

 

[turbguy]

These ECM's (Electronic Coutner Measures) just make me SICK!!!! What was wrong with the prism system??

 

[Roy Sletcher]

These ECM's (Electronic Coutner Measures) just make me SICK!!!! What was wrong with the prism system??

....too easily reproduced cheaply on third party cartridges maybe.