AvelinntAug 11, 2023
Battle Programmer Yuu

HP are such scammers

I posted about this very cheap printer before, which strongly suggests that there is No USB, only Wifi. When I first got it I figured out how to print over the network without using the app they try to bully you into downloading.

It turns out it's even easier to print, just use the USB port they try to pretend isn't there!

No company is going to rewrite their firmware to remove the USB stack. It's even more expensive to redesign the hardware to get rid of the USB port physically. They opted for the cheapest option, a little sticker.

They are just trying to store everyone's documents in their stupid cloud service that some teenage extortion group is going to break into and leak one day. Don't give them your data.

Aug 4, 2023 at 7:24pmWeb
Show threadBattle Programmer YuuAug 4, 2023

For everyone wondering why I bought a cheap HP, I got it when I lived in a pretty rural area and needed to print and sign a document out by the morning. I got it at Walmart and it was one of the only printers there, and the cheapest by a non-trivial amount.

It can be hard to find printing services for many people, and if you do it can be outrageously expensive. These ultra cheap printers are sometimes the best option for people.

Anyone who buys or has one should also know that they don't have to make some HP account, download an app, or give them any info if they just need to print out a couple pages.

Show threadBattle Programmer YuuAug 4, 2023

This is how it's done folks:

https://haunted.computer/@makdaam@chaos.social/110833495778262987

Leszek (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] What happens when you return the printer as faulty after the 20 pages every time and ask for a replacement not a refund?

chaos.social
Show threadSimonoidAug 5, 2023
@netspooky oh that's sneaky shit 😩
Show threadStuAug 5, 2023
@netspooky i appreciate the spirit but what likely happens is that the retailer throws the returned printer in the garbage. i personally wouldn't want to be responsible for that amount of waste
Show threadCharlie StrossAug 5, 2023
@netspooky That link is borked.
Show threadGraham Sutherland / PolynomialAug 5, 2023

@cstross @netspooky works for me?

try https://chaos.social/@makdaam/110833487882054224

Leszek (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] What happens when you return the printer as faulty after the 20 pages every time and ask for a replacement not a refund?

chaos.social
Show thread★ Amy Star ★Aug 22, 2023

@netspooky just saw you come up on my YouTube feed

https://youtube.com/shorts/t-UNP6c-pAc

HP USB Port

YouTube
Show threadxeroAug 5, 2023
@netspooky ive definitely gone to a public library just to print a document before. but you said uber rual so maybe not an option
Show threadTiago HackbarthAug 5, 2023

@netspooky people, that is why shady business practices have to be curtailed by the state and not by some invisible hand of the market.

If you live in a well developed area you can count with competition as a consumer advantage, but the vast majority of people live where there's not much choice of goods and services.

Show threadpolprog68kAug 4, 2023
@netspooky my current printer is a HP laserjet 1011 that I hastily bought a year ago on local classifieds, becauase I had to print something for the next day. I paid $20 and I met the guy at 10pm that day. It still works. The drivers suck but the consumables for that model are the cheapest on the market. I'm not getting any HP wifi connected printer ever. Considering making a network print server, but I cant find linux drivers for it...
Show threadA Smol BearAug 5, 2023
@gorplop @netspooky similar, except I bought it new, around 2004. My Pi Zero says I'm using the hpcups driver.
Show threadThomasAug 5, 2023
@gorplop @netspooky I've been using a Brother HL-1430 for 20 years, mostly with Linux. Consumables are cheap, and the print quality has always been sufficient. Most people will be well served with a used printer.
Show threadsofia ☮️🏴Aug 4, 2023
@netspooky "please don't use the USB port because were assholes 🥺"
Show threadsteeph's old profile – Now at @[email protected]Aug 4, 2023
@netspooky I don't see what the use of hiding the port is for them.
Show threadAlex McLeanAug 4, 2023
@steeph @netspooky They're not hiding it, they're getting you to set up the printer over wifi, and only use the USB port after that. It seems if you use the USB port straight away it'll only print up to 20 pages then stop. They do this to get you to opt into hp+ and lock the printer in to use official toner. That's why the printer is so cheap
Show threadCompuguy 🐱Aug 4, 2023
@yaxu @steeph @netspooky Yikes. I hope the other printer manufactures don't jump onto this paid printer ink subscription thing...😬
Show threadMark RoszkoAug 5, 2023
@[email protected] @steeph @netspooky Hah,at work, our French office sent us one of these cheap HP printers they bought locally for us to evaluate it electrically.
It turns out, they also region lock the ink. As in, they have a identical US printer and ink cartridge but you can't mix them. :D
We had to get the French office to mail us an ink cartridge across the ocean lol.
Show threadAbraxas3d W5NYVAug 5, 2023
@mroszko @yaxu @steeph @netspooky oh wow, that's one step beyond.
Show threadMark RoszkoAug 5, 2023
@abraxas3d @yaxu @steeph @netspooky The best part is they basically lost out on what would have probably been order of 50k printers plus recurring ink orders. The end deployments were somewhere where internet simply isn't available in the slightest and even power is quirky which is why we were electronerding it.
Show threadgeographileAug 5, 2023
@mroszko @yaxu @steeph @netspooky that's *awful*
Show threadElias MårtensonAug 5, 2023
@yaxu @steeph @netspooky I'm not sure that's in any way better (although I admit you never suggested it is).
Show threadMattias SchlenkerAug 5, 2023
@yaxu @steeph @netspooky At least for printers sold in the EU, HP+ is only needed for setup. Of course they do this to sell an Instant Ink subscription that finally ties the printer to HP cartridges exclusively (if you don't opt for I. Ink third party cartridges can be used). However, given the fact that all colors come in a single cartridge and cartridges contain the piezo part of the printing head, Instant Ink is a both ecological and economical approach for a maximum of 100 pages per month.
Show threadMattias SchlenkerAug 5, 2023

@yaxu @steeph @netspooky If you need more pages, better opt for a laser printer or some large tank thing like Epson.

(Disclaimer: I do not know how deeply HP ties printers to services and supplies in other jurisdictions, at least in the EU, competion/customer right laws mandate ties not being too close)

Show threaddoragasuAug 5, 2023
@yaxu @steeph @netspooky Wow, this is so anti-consumer... Exactly what you would expect from HP printers!
Show threadPär BjörklundAug 7, 2023
@yaxu @steeph @netspooky I'm guessing the really want it on wifi for analytics and maybe surprise firmware updates that remove features
Show threadRevK Aug 5, 2023
@steeph @netspooky What is odder still is the port is marked with USB logo, not hidden, and the sticker has a little arrive suggesting you are expected to un-peel it and remove it even!
Show threadsarah tonin Aug 4, 2023
@netspooky it's fucking HP what did you expect
Show threadBhante Subharo ☸Aug 4, 2023

@netspooky Don't get me started about printers. 🤬🙄

#dukkha

IMHO, one should be "printing" (posting) to one's website, then sharing RESTful URLs to the webpage which is the content one believed one needed to print. Confidential subject matter can be shared from #Nextcloud or a team collaboration tool like #Mattermost Team server, which have straightforward access controls.

These methods are arguably more #EcoFriendly , as well.

Show threadElle 💗Aug 4, 2023

@netspooky
If you go straight to the USB and never download the app, the printer will disable itself after a couple days and require you to download the app.

Never buy an HP printer.

Show threadAlexisAug 4, 2023
@ellesaurus @netspooky this feels like class action material, depending on how many were sold.
Show threadMurphestophelese MurphMeisterAug 5, 2023
@ellesaurus @netspooky Sounds like you should print as much as possible for a few days and then return it as defective, which it is.
Show threadjonossa seuraavaAug 5, 2023
@ellesaurus @netspooky that can't be fucking legal
Show threadBBQDeveloper ​🔞​ ​Aug 4, 2023
@netspooky I'm an HP technician, their laptops suck so badly too lmao, the cheap paper thin plastic snaps every time I try to work with it
Show threadultra0Aug 4, 2023
@netspooky "yes there's a usb port but please pretend it doesn't exist pretty please with a cherry on top"
Show threadNoplexaAug 4, 2023
@netspooky It still needs to be connected to wifi, otherwise it refuses to print anything after ~5 pages.

At least mine did.
Show threadHeavenlyPossumAug 4, 2023

@netspooky

Industrial Sabotage, exhibit a

Show threadZeiros LionAug 4, 2023
@netspooky
HP being sloppier than the Wizard of Oz here.
Show threadTom ForsythAug 4, 2023

@netspooky It's so weird that the sticker covering the USB port that claims there's no USB port *also* has the little "pull here to remove" corner tag on it.

Huge "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" energy.

Show threadRead along with MattAug 7, 2023

@TomF @netspooky Yes, this. This is the detail that graduates it from just regular evil/sketchy/pathetic to actually bewildering.

Like, did some regional manager "design" the sticker by dictating "Hey Siri, Tell OpenAI To Design A Sticker That Says No USB Only Wi-Fi"?

Or is there some regulation about covering ports with stickers that requires the sticker to have a pull-tab icon?

Show threadJyrgen NAug 4, 2023
@netspooky And, let me guess, over Wi-Fi it is just TCP raw whatever to the JetDirect port 9100?
Show threadMattias SchlenkerAug 4, 2023

@jyrgenn @netspooky No, even better. It allows PCL5e/PCL6 over what seems to be a well chosen subset of IPP. You do not have to use the HP cloud, but you have to carefully chose settings to omit it. At least here in EU it is transparent for IT literate people (might be different in other jurisdications).

Given that these 9100 series retail for very low (got one for 34€ at Aldi), HP instant ink is an appropriate solution for low volume printing (50 to 100 pages a month), at least for EU law.

Show threadBattle Programmer YuuAug 4, 2023
@mattias @jyrgenn thanks for explaining! This is what I did. I connected to the Wi-Fi access point and then did a scan and found the IPP port. I forget which specific Linux application could make it work, but it took some fiddling and trial and error. I didn't feel like doing that again today so I just tried the USB port for laughs and it worked!
Show threadXaikhalAug 4, 2023
@netspooky Absolutely refuse to buy a HP printer.
Show threadfluffery Aug 4, 2023
@netspooky whats the printer "without a usb port"
Show threadEstuary Provisions Aug 4, 2023
@netspooky I'm surprised they didn't just not put a hole in the plastic....
Show threadJ-436215 "juno" ⚵Aug 4, 2023
@netspooky my "no USB ports here" sticker makes people ask questions already answered by my sticker
Show threadOliver D. ReithmaierAug 4, 2023
@netspooky printer companies are true evil.
Show threadAbby ☃Aug 4, 2023
@netspooky lol
Show threadElias AarnioAug 4, 2023

@netspooky HP is an US company. Thus they are stupid and deceptive by definition.

Next, please!

Show threadPaul PalinkasAug 26, 2023
@Elias chauvinism is a bad look.
Show threadElias AarnioAug 29, 2023
@K7PJP You are free to call my attitude what you like. I just find almost only negative outcomes in the tragic event Mayflower reaching her destination.
Show threadhelplessduckAug 4, 2023

@netspooky

LOL @ teenage extortion group.