HP Firmware lottery - Again

[websnail]

In case anyone has an HP printer that has received that joyous of all wonderful gifts, ie: a firmware update over July/August (2022) then chances are your compatible (non-OEM) cartridges are no longer being accepted all over again. I think this is the third time they've pulled this stunt despite being thwacked by the courts each time before.

Anyway, as we have 6 HP Pro-X/Pagewide printers that we rely on for printing our documentation and shipping order info' I spent quite a while trying to revert two that somehow were updated despite (I thought!) being locked down to prevent this happening.

Net result was this guide which explains how to use old firmware versions to extract and use the .ful2 file and a memory stick to complete a firmware downgrade and tell HP where to place their firmware updates, minus any star light access forthwith!

https://support.printerpotty.com/2022/hp-firmware-downgrade

In terms of the old firmware I do have some sources that I won't point to as HP has a nasty habit of hitting them with DCMA takedown messages but at time of posting there are a few out there if you dig through HP firmware downgrade search results hard enough.

Hope this proves helpful for anyone else who wasted a couple of days on this hot mess.

 

[MooreDesignLabs]

Would the automatic firmware update be prevented if you used a USB cable and not have the printer connected to the internet and with only the printer driver installed?

 

[The Hat]

and not have the printer connected to the internet and with only the printer driver installed?

It’s your computer that’s connected to the Internet, not the printer..

 

[websnail]

Would the automatic firmware update be prevented if you used a USB cable and not have the printer connected to the internet and with only the printer driver installed?

The short answer is "I don't know" but I'd like to think that you would be fine so long as you didn't install any new drivers. The "don't know" part of it is not having any data on whether HP have been adding firmware updates to their driver updates or indeed to the Windows Update updates.

Given that HP have been wrist slapped for this practice multiple times and still keep locking out third party compatibles I wouldn't put anything past them.

That said, I'd recommend on locking down your router settings AND only installing the oldest HP driver and then ignoring any and all requests by Windows to update drivers for those printers. Whether that will work or not remains to be seen but I'm keeping an eye on things and as I have 3x Pagewide 477dw's along with a few other Pro-X models I'll likely see the problem quickly if there's any Windows shenanigans.

Fingers crossed.

 

[fixprinterware]

For example, in some laser printers, the chip updates the printer without the Internet.

 

[ink&paper]

I use a Design Jet in Australia, When installing the printer it asks what loation is it in and shows a large choie to choose from. I say "Australia" and then have no further problems with reffilling or firmware updates. I think HP know that in Australia it is ilegal to prevent the use of non-orriginal replacement parts.
When I load a refilled cart it says something like "Hey, just letting you know tha a non-genuine cart is crap," but it doesn't preevent it's use.
You need 2 carts when refilling because it remembers only the code of he last one you used and won't let you remount the one that just emptied, even though it's now full. So have a second one handy and just alternate from then on.

 

[ink&paper]

I'd also like to recommend http://www.refillhouse.com/ Their "Magic Tube" refil kits make refiling a simple job. (They are Taiwanese and I have no financial interests with them.)

 

[ink&paper]

We also buy our pigment refill inks from http://www.refillhouse.com.

 

[MooreDesignLabs]

For anyone wondering, it is very easy to find the downgrade firmware for many HP models with a quick google search [downgrade hp firmware ld ink] - First link. I found a third party ink supplier that offers the downloads for quite a lot of them. I had to do this on a recent HP 8710 I sourced because it wouldn't take the new Staples or Walmart remanufactured ink cartridges.