Brother MFPs and printers have a reputation for being reliable devices that are tolerant of third-party consumables. The company’s printers have not previously been known to suddenly block scanning or printing when third-party cartridges are installed, as some manufacturers do. However, recently, there have been reports on social media that Brother has gone “to the dark side.” Today, the company has denied these reports.
On March 3, well-known blogger and electronics repair rights activist Louis Rossmann accused Brother of becoming an “anti-consumer company.” He came to this conclusion after studying the manufacturer’s new printer firmware, which, among other things, blocks the ability to use third-party cartridges and color calibration (for color printers and MFPs).
According to Rossman, after updating the firmware, Brother devices stop working properly when third-party cartridges are installed. He advised disabling the device’s Internet access or prohibiting automatic updates in the device’s settings. Rossman also suggested that Brother deliberately removes old firmware for its printers and MFPs from its support sites.
Today, Brother issued an official response to these allegations, stating: “We are aware of recent false claims that a Brother firmware update may have restricted the use of third-party ink cartridges. Please be assured that Brother firmware updates do not block the use of third-party ink in our devices.”
Brother emphasizes that it cannot guarantee print quality when using third-party supplies, which may vary significantly in quality, and recommends using genuine Brother ink and toner for optimum performance and reliability.
Brother called the claims of degraded quality or blocked printer functions a “misunderstanding.” The company is now “actively addressing the source of these false claims to ensure our customers have access to accurate information.”
On the one hand, it’s hard to believe that Brother, which has a reputation for being reliable and customer-friendly, is outright lying in its statement. On the other hand, as the printing industry declines, manufacturers have no choice but to rely on sales of genuine supplies and services to stay afloat.