I'm really frustrated that HP has made internet connections a requirement for printing on most of their new printers. It feels pointless because even though I have internet, if there was an outage, I wouldn't be able to print anything at all. Plus, this also seems to block the use of third-party ink cartridges. Has anyone found a way around this internet dependency or managed to use aftermarket cartridges?
4 Answers
There are definitely other brands out there that make printers. It's worth exploring alternatives before settling on HP.
We keep all our HP printers firewalled so they can't access the internet. We have a mix of older and newer models, and they work fine just using the local network. We even don’t use HP toner cartridges, and everything still runs smoothly. You just have to accept their warning messages and move on. It’s definitely a shady practice, but to be honest, I've just stopped caring about it.
Honestly, the best workaround is to just avoid HP printers altogether. I tell my customers not to go near HP, and for businesses, I often suggest renting printers from Sharp. They're not the best, but their service is pretty solid. For home users, I recommend Brother laser printers for those who don’t need color, and Epson ECOTank for color. Switching brands might save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
I've been using Brother printers for years! My last HP was an ancient model for my Mac SE back in the day, and I've never looked back.
I ditched HP a while back after years of loyalty. I was responsible for managing a ton of HP printers, and the issues became unbearable—bad support, terrible quality, and those ridiculous pricing games. I switched to Canon, Epson, Xerox, and Brother, and I’ve had zero problems since then.
It's true! Many people don’t want to hear it, but HP has been doing shady things for a while. There are plenty of other brands that offer reliable printers without the internet nonsense.