Done with HP! - "This printer requires use of an hp account"

[protivakid]

Bought a HP LaserJet 140WE for my aging mother. The setup wanted me to link an HP account which shouldn't be needed so I skipped that. The printer worked fine a week, scanning, copying, printing, etc. until it spat out a page that said "This printer requires use of an hp account".

Now the printer will NOT function until I link an HP Account for it's online DRM. This means if her internet goes down, and she wants to do some work on her local network, she can't, it won't work unless she's online with an account. Why HP would FORCE this DRM is beyond me but they did. I even installed with the Full Offline Driver package but it makes no difference, the printer forces you down this path.

I work IT and have recommended ONLY HP printers for 15+ years. I guess this stops today as I can't bring myself or others to submit to this. Even Windows 11 still allows you to use it with only a local offline account. A printer should NOT need internet to function. They worked offline in offices for decades. Unless someone has a bypass, the printer will be going right back to Staples for a Cannon or a Brother. This post was mostly a warning to other users.

[Repairatrooper]

Blame the place of purchase for not explaining the various options HP offers. As well, HP documentation on the box and on the store website clearly state that an internet connection is required and that this model will only use OEM toners. If you wanted to avoid the requirement for an HP account then the 140W would be the printer you should have purchased. 

[protivakid]

When the box said it required internet for setup, I assumed this was because modern printers no longer come with a disc, instead you have to download the drivers online, perfectly reasonable. What I didn't read on the box is that if I failed to provide HP with my mother's name and home address that her printer would refuse to work after a week.

I'm fine buying OEM toner, that's what I've been doing for years anyhow. I just can't get behind a home printer with always online DRM. This is what Microsoft wanted to do for the Xbox One and after much fan backlash along with Sony saying their Playstation would never require this they reversed course.

In my personal home I have many linux machines. I doubt HP has software for linux distros so while those machines are 100% online, if someone lacks a Windows PC, Mac, or smartphone the printer will also become a paperweight.

Anyhow, I appreciate the reply, the 140W doesn't seem to be available anywhere around me and HP probably doesn't care anyhow. I doubt this feedback will ever land on the desk of someone important at Hewlett Packard letting them know that perhaps consumers don't want always online DRM in their printers. I'll have to vote with my dollar on this and check out another brand for the first time since my 1998 Lexmark.

[protivakid · Accepted solution]

As Repairatrooper mentioned, I snapped a picture of the box before returning. Down below on the bottom left corner the small text does say internet required. I almost missed seeing this even yesterday when I was specifically looking for it. There's no way my 70yr old mother-in-law would have noticed that when I sent her to pickup the printer.

Here is the letter that came out of the printer 1-week later before it refused to do anything else. Ip is not public so nothing to worry about.

Sad this is the direction HP expects customers to go down. When they retire the server in 10 or so years all these printers will cease to function even if the hardware is fine. I hang onto hardware a while, my personal HP M1217nfw from 2011 is still going strong so I just can't bring myself to support these always connected devices while competitors don't force this on their consumers even if I'm a dinosaur in my 34yr old thinking haha.