Incompatible older generation cartridge

[BJQ77]

My HP Deskjet 3520 printer has today for the first time rejected a replacement remanufactured cartridge with a message indicating the cartridge is "for an older generation printer".  It has worked fine with such cartridges since we bought it (for home use) a couple of years ago.  I read online that many HP users have had this problem in recent years supposedly after firmware changes by HP.   Is there a version of the 3520 driver I can download that will not do this "check" which of course claims all sorts of technical justifications but is clearly an attempt to block 3rd party cartridge use, and as such probably illegal in the UK.   At  present I have put back the "out of ink" cyan cartridge and so can print in B&W or in weird colours only.   Or perhaps another way to get on with normal life and not have HP steal so much of my time.  Thanks

Clearly the alternative is to never buy HP again which seems an attractive option too.

[Bob_Headrick]

I would suggest you contact your supplier for a replacement cartridge.  While the Deskjet 3520 may work with third-party cartridges it would never have worked with the older generation cartridges. 

[BJQ77]

Bob, thanks very much for your message and for taking the time to reply. 

The subject line of this thread I started may be a bit misleading.  the actual error message which I wrote in the body of my first post was that "the cartridge is for an older generation printer" but I have been using such cartridges from a variety of suppliers over several years, including this same sort of cartridge from this same supplier, so I don't think this is really the problem. 

So it seems perhaps that something about the printer is different - either it has automatically updated its firmware (as some online sites suggest it can do) or perhaps it has started enforcing this refusal to use non-HP cartridges after a pre-programmed delay.  Certainly there are lots of sites that indicate that HP started putting these sort of restrictions into printer software some years back on certain models.  I read that on some of these, after protests and legal action, they had offered a different driver software to download in order to avoid this check and wondered if there was such an option for the Deskjet 3520.  I tried to ask HP but only got useless automatic "assistants" or an option to pay about £40 to ask a human being...  or else to ask in this forum...

Does anyone know if is possible to work around this restriction or must i Junk my HP printer and buy a different brand (as I dont want to pay the extortionate prices for HP's own cartridges) ?  Thanks

[BJQ77]

Is HP now so arrogant that they don't care what they put their customers through?  Surely this sort of bad experience and negative publicity cannot be good for their business?

[Bob_Headrick · Accepted solution]

The cartridges were changed some time before your printer was released.  From day one of the printer it did not accept the earlier cartridges.  Older printers that used the same cartridges would accept either the new or old generation cartridges.

It seems you may not be aware of the way the reman process works.  A supplier procures used cartridges and then cleans, refills, (perhaps) tests and then packages them and then resells them.  In your case you may have bought cartridges from the same supplier in the past which worked fine.  These would have been the newer generation cartridges.  If at some point the supplier got an old generation cartridge they could have gone through the same process.  They would work on older printers, but not yours. 

I would suggest again that you contact your supplier for a replacement.

BTW, there is a *lot* of misinformation, incorrect speculation and just plan wrong stuff on the web regarding firmware updates.

[BJQ77]

Bob

Thanks again for this further reply.  Yes I was aware in general terms of what remanufactured cartridges are.  And I agree that it is possible that my printer is giving a "genuine" error message, reporting on a refilled cartridge that happens to come from a very old original.  I will try contacting the supplier to see if that helps.  One of the things that worries me is that I tried to stock up to minimise ordering, and so have six cartridges from this supplier of which 5 are still in the shrink wrap, and of course I don't know till I try them if the others will work or not!

[Bob_Headrick]

Depending on how the cartridges are packaged you may be able to read the original warranty date of the cartridges as shown in the document here.