It looks like Brother ended up joining his little comrades from “Club of nasty printers manufacturers”. Hey yes, my friends, the Last brand of printers that one could still recommend without being ashamed has officially switched to the dark side.

For years, when someone asked me which printer to buy to avoid hostage hp hostage, my answer was simple & mldr; I told her to take a brother Because it is reliable, it accepts compatible cartridges, and they did not put a knife under their throat when printing.

But as with P. Diddy, the party is over because Brother began to deploy Vicious firmware updates which deliberately sabotage the print quality of its machines if you dare to use unofficial cartridges. And the worst part is that these updates often set up automatically, without warning, and once the evil is done, impossible to go back since the manufacturer was kind enough to remove the old firmware versions from his servers. It’s smart, isn’t it?

Tactics are particularly sneaky Because unlike HP which blocks your third -party cartridges squarely with an error message, Brother is more subtle. The printer accepts your unofficial cartridge, then deactivates “mysteriously” essential functions like the automatic color calibration. Like that, your impressions look like a Rorschach test, and you are supposed to believe that it is the fault of your cheap nasty cartridge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bphx_9fhnqe


So so far in this “hall of shame” of questionable practices in the printers industry, we had:

  1. Hp : The pioneer of locking with its “Dynamic Security” which purely and simply blocks third -party cartridges via firmware updates supposedly for “security” because, you know, terrorists could use generic cartridges for & mldr; Print things.
  2. Epson : The master in the art of declaring your “empty” or “expired” cartridges while they still contain 20% usable ink. As if the ink became toxic after a certain date or that it was struck by a planned obsolescence magic.
  3. Cannon : The inventor of the concept “no ink = no scan”, where your scanner refuses to operate if an ink cartridge is empty. Because obviously scaning a document requires ink, it is known. This absurdity earned them a nice trial, but that did not prevent them from persevering.
  4. Brother : And the newcomer who plays the innocents by accepting your third -party cartridges but then sabotes the print quality. A more manipulative approach where you want you to believe that it is the fault of the generic toner and not of the firmware modified in gentle.

We are therefore really in the fourth dimension, where manufacturers are beating to make their own products less functional after purchase. It is as if your car started to roll at 30 km/h because you have not put the official fuel of the brand & MLDR;

But then, how to protect yourself from this kind of practice? Well do not panic, because here are some tips to keep control of your precious printer:

1. Disable automatic updates

On recent Brother printers, you can cut the Auto MAJ in the settings. Go to menu → System settings → Network → Firmware update → Auto update → Disable the option. This is the first thing to do if you have just bought a Brother printer and plan to use compatible cartridges.

2. Cut the Internet connection

The most radical but most effective method: Never connect your internet printer. Use it in USB or in isolated local network. Yes, you lose cloud features, but frankly, do you really need to print from your phone at the other end of the world? If your printer is already connected, go to its network settings and deactivate WiFi / Ethernet or block its Internet access from your router.

3. Firmware downgrade (for adventurers)

If you are already the victim of a problematic update, some users have managed to reinstall old versions of Firmware Brother. It is technically complex and risky (you could definitely “burn” your machine), but tutorials are circulating on Reddit and Github. You will need to find the appropriate firmware file and access the printer service menu to flash it manually.

4. Alternative solutions

If you are fed up with these bullshit, you can also consider these options:

  • Buy an old used model printer (before 2020 to Brother)
  • Make your cartridges recharge by professionals who know how to thwart security
  • Use local copytop local printing services for large volumes
  • And keep a good old printer not connected in backup for emergencies

Anyway, this situation highlights the importance of movement “Right to repair” (right to repair) because we have still reached a point where to hack his own material to make it work as he should have become a legitimate act of resistance.

Online communities are actively working to develop hacks to get around these restrictions. Some have created third -party flea or software patches to deceive the printer. Others have squarely developed free alternative firmware for certain printers models. These initiatives, although technical, show that users are not completely helpless in the face of these giants.

So now which printer to buy?

Well that’s the question at a thousand euros, and honestly, the answer is depressing because if even Brother has gone on the dark side, what does we have left?

There are still some tracks to explore:

  • Professional printers for SMEs are often less restrained
  • As I told you, the older Brother models (before 2020) purchased used are ok
  • There are also printers with rechargeable ink tank (Epson Ecotank or Canon Megatank type) who still do not work too bad, although even these begin to integrate verification chips
  • And we still have some open source impression solutions which are rare but which are developing more and more.

The sad truth is that today, buying a printer amounts to choosing the level of constraint that you are ready to accept, rather than choosing a product that simply meets your needs.

Finally, while waiting for better days (or more strict laws against these abusive practices), my ultimate advice is simple: Preciously keep your old functional printer. She may be ugly, noisy and without wifi, but at least she does not try to scam you via sly updates. And if you have a Brother that still works with compatible cartridges, treat it as a precious relic of the past. Disconnect it from the internet, deactivate updates, and pray so that it lasts until the industry finds a little common sense & mldr;

Source: Tom’s Hardware


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