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Bought a new HP printer which came with 6 months free instant ink about 3 weeks ago.
I have literally printed 4 x A4 documents with a bit of colour.
They have sent me 2 new cartridges already.
I thought it monitored usage and sent new cartridges when the current ones got low?
It does, but they appear in plenty of time, can be weeks if you're a low volume user. The cartridges that came with the printer are likely very small volume so they'll not be expected to last long, and of course until they have a few month usage data won't know how fast you're likely to empty them.
And a warning.
When you cancel the free sub, the printer will stop working instantly, no matter how new the installed cartridges are.
I wondered what the catch was!
The HP smart app will tell you how much is left. I noticed the initial cartridges were small ones as well, whereas the replacement ones are XL versions.
I don't know if it's still the case as I haven't bought a printer in, well, ever, our current one was originally my partner's. But back in the 90s the ones we sold came with what we termed "starter cartridges," you'd get a handful of prints out of them before they were dead.
Other than that, as tthew said. I replaced my colour cart last week, the Instant Ink box had been sat on the shelf for weeks.
I wondered what the catch was!
I don't consider it a catch. It's just paying for a service. No pay, no service. You don't expect Netflix to let you watch everything you've already watched when you cancel your sub.
I don’t consider it a catch. It’s just paying for a service. No pay, no service. You don’t expect Netflix to let you watch everything you’ve already watched when you cancel your sub.
But doesn't stop the moment you cancel, you get to the end of the period.
You don’t expect Netflix to let you watch everything you’ve already watched when you cancel your sub.
You'd expect your telly to still work though! I didn't realise they bricked your printer if you cancelled.
Yes they do brick it. I had to recycle 2 perfectly good cartridges when I cancelled instant ink. Got too expensive after the last price rise.
This stops working thing needs clarifying.... to quote HP
"If you decide to cancel your HP Instant Ink, you can go back to using HP original Standard or XL cartridges. HP Instant Ink cartridges will not work after the end of the current billing cycle in which you cancel. To continue printing after your billing cycle ends, make sure you have standard replacement ink cartridges ready to use in your printer."
In other words, your printer doesn't stop working but you do need to buy "regular non-instant ink cartridges" at the end of your current billing cycle.
I don’t consider it a catch. It’s just paying for a service. No pay, no service. You don’t expect Netflix to let you watch everything you’ve already watched when you cancel your sub.
True, but if I'd paid Netflix for the month and then cancelled the renewal I'd expect service for the month I'd already paid for.
Does Instant Ink require an Internet connection to print at all? I didn't know that if so.
True, but if I’d paid Netflix for the month and then cancelled the renewal I’d expect service for the month I’d already paid for.
Doesn't that quote I put in (above) say.... HP Instant Ink cartridges will not work after the end of the current billing cycle in which you cancel
Instant ink does require your printer to be connected at times, so it can communicate back to HP's Servers, but you aren't required to have it on 24/7. I just leave mine on standby and connected to internet - it will wake itself up and contact HP with use etc.
I'm on the 50 page a month with maxed out roll over of 150 pages. It still works out cheaper than a set of cartridges once a year. The customer support is OK - I 'lost' one of the deliveries of three colours, so they send me a new set FOC. I've since found them so they are back in the 'spares' pile. Just remember to put them somewhere safe (but not 'that' safe, until you are told by the printer to replace.
I've found the messages and ink levels pretty accurate - I've ignored them and then ran out of ink mid print.
My HP instant ink printer has been the most reliable printer I've ever had.
I used the cannon I had before so infrequently the cartridges were always needing to be replaced so for £3 a month it's seems worth it.
They also do a paper subscription option but I've not finished the ream of paper I already had.
Doesn’t that quote I put in (above) say…. HP Instant Ink cartridges will not work after the end of the current billing cycle in which you cancel
Yeah, you wrote that whilst I was typing so I missed it.
I’ve found the messages and ink levels pretty accurate – I’ve ignored them and then ran out of ink mid print.
Same. When it says "you should replace the cartridge" you really should replace the cartridge.
I had been an hp instant ink user for years - until recently.
Printer had an update and just wouldn't work. I spent around two weeks and 15 hours in total on chat and calls to hp to try to resolve it without success. Every time I thought it had been fixed it would download the update again and stop working.
So I bought a Brother and haven't been back to HP. Shame as I really liked instant ink and the hp printers. But when a software update kills your printer for no reason 🤷♂️
I had my first shipment of ink from the Instant service (cartridges they originally supplied lasted ages). New ink caused all kinds of problems to print quality. I complained and they sent out new cartridges without a second thought. Plugged these in and the printer just refused to work - kept complaining on the screen that they were not instant ink and were shop bought versions.
Refused to come out of 'printer maintainence' mode so now I have no ink at all...
They also do a paper subscription option but I’ve not finished the ream of paper I already had.
Yeah, I don't that's great value for money.
I had my first shipment of ink from the Instant service (cartridges they originally supplied lasted ages). New ink caused all kinds of problems to print quality. I complained and they sent out new cartridges without a second thought. Plugged these in and the printer just refused to work - kept complaining on the screen that they were not instant ink and were shop bought versions.
Refused to come out of 'printer maintainence' mode so now I have no ink at all...
It sounds like your printer might be stuck in a firmware or service mode loop triggered by incompatible or unrecognized cartridges. Since you're enrolled in the HP Instant Ink program, I recommend contacting HP support directly and requesting a reset or replacement for the printer if it's still under the service plan.
Also, avoid using store-bought cartridges in an Instant Ink-activated printer, as they're often locked to only accept <a style="color: #ffffff;" title="HP Instant Ink" href=" removed link " target="_blank" rel="noopener">HP Instant Ink cartridges. For future stability, keep the printer firmware updated and ensure replacement cartridges are activated correctly through your HP account before installing them.