We have been aware of the controversy that has arisen over the policy of HP and his printers, which only supports original brand cartridges and toners. It was a very criticized measure but, as far as it goes, it is understandable because the company wants to sell its own consumables… the problem is that, apparently, now it also requires its printers (the ones that have Wireless at least) are permanently connected to internet.
The fact of having to use only original brand consumables is already a disadvantage, since these are at the very least abusive prices if we compare them with so-called compatible consumables. But the fact that you also have to have the printer permanently connected to the internet, and what’s more, that you have to sign up for an HP account…may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
HP Printer Requirements
This story is not new, but it is that I personally encountered it yesterday; my mom asked me to buy her a wifi printer because she needed one, so i started looking at printers in online stores to compare prices and features…until i come across this.
As you can see in the image of the company itself it says that it only works with original HP toner, which we have already commented on is understandable to some extent, but what I don’t understand is that you also need (since it’s required) an HP account and a permanent internet connection.
Of course, HP tells you that it “offers” you 6 months of subscription to its Instant Ink program, which is a “pay as you go” service by which you are provided with consumables according to the number of pages you print in exchange for a monthly fee. In principle, it’s a service that can be profitable for people who print a lot (we’re talking about more than 2,000 pages per month), but really, in the case of a home printer, for most users, it’s ‘is too much.
The most normal is that when you have a printer at home, you take care of buying new toner or cartridges yourself when the printer warns you that it is low, and you buy it when and where you want … and if you want. With this service it is true that in theory you will never run out of ink, but you will be paying for a service which you may never or almost never need, and which requires you to connect the printer to the Internet by permanently, in addition to registering with HP with all your data, including payment data (after all, it is about having the consumables sent to your home and billed to you, all in an automatic process , so they need all that personal and payment data).
Another downside: what happens if you unsubscribe from HP Instant Ink?
If you buy one of the many HP printers that are in stores, you will have to register for this service which, as we have seen above, they offer you free of charge for 6 months. However, if after this period you wish to unsubscribe, you must take into account the following elements:
- You can unsubscribe at any time, there is no permanence or anything like that (that’s fine).
- You will need to return all cartridges shipped to you at HP. Be careful with this as it requires you to do some shipping on your own and additionally also buy other cartridges or toners on your own if you want to continue using the printer.
- If you cancel the subscription in the middle of the payment cycle, you will not be refunded.
- If you continue to use the printer after the billing cycle and you exceed the contract amount, HP will charge you extra for that month.
How to unsubscribe from HP Instant Ink
If you have purchased an HP printer and wish to unsubscribe from this service, the steps to follow are:
- Log in with your HP account at https://login3.id.hp.com/login3
- Select your printer from the “Select Printer” button located in the upper right corner.
- Click the Change Plan button in the area where it says “Plan Details”.
- Scroll down until you see “Cancel my HP Instant Ink subscription”.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to confirm the cancellation.
- Once done, you will receive an email to confirm that you really want to cancel.
