Oh Brother. Printer giant denies dirty toner tricks as users cry foul

You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them!

Updated Brother is the latest printer manufacturer to come under fire over alleged sharp practices around the use of third-party consumables versus its own ink supplies.

Right-to-repair activist and electronics technician Louis Rossmann posted a video blasting the Japanese company, claiming it has updated printer firmware to block or degrade the printing experience when using non-OEM toner.

According to Rossmann, Brother has quietly dispatched firmware updates to block certain printer features, such as color registration. Using OEM toner lifts the block, he claims, saying that before the updates a non-OEM toner worked.

Reports on social media indicate that something is afoot. Posts over the last few years complained about printers suddenly churning out poor quality when fed non-OEM consumables after a firmware update. To make matters worse, it appears that rolling back an update is not a simple process, even assuming a technically minded user could find a previous package.

Rossmann also noted that Brother's support recommended switching to OEM toner to deal with quality issues, although that sounds an awful lot like a scripted step in a tech support fault tree: "Is the customer complaining about print quality using official products?"

Annoying customers is de rigueur in the printing world. HP has found itself in legal hot water over printer updates that locked out suppliers of non-HP consumables. Complaints go back to 2016, some of which resulted in HP paying to settle a dispute over a covert firmware update that introduced the Dynamic Security Feature to its printers.

As recently as last year, HP customers complained that the company was still up to its old tricks and slipping in updates to block third-party ink supplies in favor of its own, pricier units.

HP CEO Enrique Lores said in a 2024 interview that HP was concerned about potential security threats [PDF] posed by third-party ink cartridges.

Then again, Lores also said at the same time that if a customer "doesn't print enough or doesn't use our supplies, it's a bad investment."

As we understand it, Brother has always considered itself as one of the good guys. Yet 24 hours after we asked about the firmware, the Japanese mothership has still not commented on Rossmann's findings.

Brother's US limb did, however, tell Ars Technica: "We are aware of the recent false claims suggesting 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 machines."

Rossmann is not alone in suspecting that something might be amiss. A Reddit user claimed as recently as last month that the printer started rejecting third-party toner after a firmware update. In light of these concerns, another asked: "So now that Brother has decided that 'HP is the way to be,' what brand is left to recommend?" ®

Updated to add on March 7

"We are aware of the recent false claims suggesting that a Brother firmware update may have restricted the use of third-party ink and toner cartridges," the manufacturer told us.

"Please be assured that Brother firmware updates do not block the use of third-party ink and toner cartridges in our machines.

"While we encourage using Brother Genuine ink and toner for optimal performance and reliability, our updates are designed to enhance functionality and security, not limit consumer choice.

"We are actively addressing the source of these false claims to ensure accurate information is available to our customers. At Brother, we remain committed to providing the best possible experience for our customers by ensuring quality, performance, and peace of mind. Thank you for your ongoing trust."

Updated to add on March 11:

Responding to our earlier question about print quality degradation, Brother told The Reg: "Brother printers do not intentionally degrade print quality based on whether a Brother Genuine or third-party ink/ toner cartridge is used."

It added: "Brother guarantees print quality when using Brother Genuine ink and toner. Brother cannot verify the quality of printing that will result when using a third-party compatible with a Brother printer."