I Paid for This Printer —

AARRTTUURRRR · ‎09-23-2025

I Paid for This Printer —

How HP’s AI Assistant Ignored Me While I Cited UK Law

I bought an HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdw because I needed a printer — not a locked device, and certainly not why I’m not allowed to use the toner I choose.

When my third-party toner triggered the lock, I didn’t scream. I did what any reasonable person would do — I went to HP’s official support channel and asked for help. I expected guidance. I expected options. I expected, at the very least, acknowledgment.

What I got was a loop. A script. A bot trained to say “no” while pretending to listen.

I told it I needed to enable unbranded cartridges.

I told it I paid for this printer — and I have the right to use it as I see fit.

It responded with: “Did you mean…?”

Not once. Not twice. Five times.

Each time I cited — — it offered me a dropdown menu. Each time I asked for moral compliance, it asked me to clarify my request. Each time I warned I would report this to , it pretended not to understand.

This isn’t customer service.

The Irony: “Allow Downgrade: Yes” — But No Way to Do It

My printer’s own settings panel says:

“Allow Downgrade: Yes”
“Cartridge Policy: Off”
“Very Low Setting: Continue”

It’s practically inviting me to install older firmware — the kind that doesn’t lock users out for using third-party toner.

But when I went to do it — I found every path blocked.

HP’s official FTP? Empty.
Driver packages? Stripped of firmware files.
Third-party archives? Taken down.
Even community backups? Removed under .

So the printer tells me I can downgrade — but HP makes sure I can’t actually download the file.

That’s not a glitch.
That’s not bad luck.
That’s design.

It’s a — after I’ve already paid.

I Also Posted on HP’s Community Forum — My Account Was Deleted

After exhausting the AI chat, I turned to HP’s public Community Support forum, hoping to find help from real users — or at least a human moderator. I posted a clear, polite request for guidance on enabling unbranded cartridges on my M283fdw.

In that post, I included a comment:

“

That was it. No threats. No insults. No demands — just a factual statement grounded in .

Within hours, my post
Then, my entire account was .

No warning. No explanation. No appeal process.

I was forced to recreate my account from scratch — losing all post history, private messages, and profile settings — just for stating, in public, that HP’s practices are unlawful.

This wasn’t moderation.
This was censorship.

If HP is so confident in the legality of its cartridge policies, why silence users who question them? Why delete accounts instead of engaging in good faith?

The message is clear: HP doesn’t want this conversation happening — anywhere.

What This Really Is

This isn’t about toner.

It’s about ownership.

HP sold me a printer — . They sold me a device that can be remotely restricted. A product that enforces loyalty through firmware. A machine that treats my choices as threats.

And when I asked their AI for help — it didn’t malfunction. It performed exactly as designed: to deflect, to delay, to deny.

It didn’t fail to understand me.
It chose not to acknowledge me.

What I’m Asking For

I’m not asking for a favor.
I’m not asking for an exception.
I’m asking for what the law already guarantees me.

I want HP to:

Restore public access to legacy firmware versions — especially for printers with “Allow Downgrade: Yes” enabled.
Stop deploying AI tools that ignore or override consumer rights.
Comply with UK law — not corporate policy.

If they

I will

Because this i

Final Words

I didn’t set out to make a statement.
I just wanted to print.

But when a and AI scripts to override your rights — silence becomes complicity.

I own this printer.
I paid for it.
The says I can use the toner I choose.

No bot, no firmware, no corporate policy changes that.

And if HP won’t respect that — I’ll make sure someone else does.

—

Printer Serial: [edited]
Date of Complaint: 23.09.2025

The oryginal exchange with the chatboat.

(Below is an unedited transcript of my conversation with HP’s Virtual Assistant. I have not altered a single word. This is what “customer support” has become.)

Bot said: Hi! I'm HP's Virtual Assistant.
Bot said: How can I help?
Do not share personal details like your name or phone number.

You said: I need to enable unbranded cartridges on my printer.

Bot said: I'm sorry, but I can't assist with enabling unbranded cartridges on your printer. HP printers are designed to provide the best performance with genuine HP supplies, and using non-HP cartridges can affect print quality, reliability, and warranty coverage. If you have any issues or questions regarding your HP printer's functionality, feel free to ask.

Bot attached: Did this solve the problem?

You said: No

Bot attached: Would you like to add additional details and use SupportGPT for another solution?

You said: I payed a lot for printer and your agresive policies are against the uk law. please comply with my request