Every time Windows 10 does an update, it knocks my printer out. Not just offline, but off. It stops working. Add to that the small matter that Charter/Spectrum has been down for hours a day for nearly a week which I’m sure doesn’t help.
We don’t use our printer much, but it’s not even two years old. Very little mileage.
Usually when it decides to stop working, I reboot it and it figures out what its supposed to do. This time, it wanted a password (which it has never had). The printer apparently got the message and spit one out, but when I entered it, I was the password was too old. They are only usable for 90 seconds and it takes me more time than that to run up and down the hallway. Since I kept getting messages from HP saying if I need help, I should call them, I called them.
Printer with paper
I should have known, when they first locked up my telephone line and I had to reboot it before we could have a conversation, that this wasn’t going well. When we finally connected, I shlepped my laptop to the room where the modem, router, and printer live. And awaited instructions.
She started explaining how to find the menu.
I told her I know how to find the menu. She explained she was merely trying to “educate me.” I said I was well-educated and could she please tell me what to do to get the printer working. She asked me to “please wait a minute” and came back to tell me that it would cost me $99.99 for their kind assistance. Including downloading a whole new set of drivers which I knew I could get for free from their website or Microsoft. If I needed them. Which I didn’t.
I pointed out the printer had cost twenty dollars less their “repair” price and that was when I bought it — brand new — slightly more than a year ago. She said I could go to some local guy for repairs. Except we both knew the printer wasn’t broken and this was a software glitch. I told her to advise the company for which she works to go screw itself and hung up.
I went back. Deleted the printer. Rebooted the computer. Added the printer as new. It found the printer and asked for a password. I gave it whatever the printer had spit out. It told me that hadn’t worked, to try something else. I had no idea what else to try, so I deleted the password file, clicked “Add A New Printer” again — and instead of asking for the password, it simply installed the printer. Then sent me a test page and began to work as it had before.
Either the password worked, or it had never needed one. It hadn’t needed one in the past … and their solicitations to call for help was a cheesy way to get a few extra bucks for a company whose computers are selling poorly.
With good reason. The only computer I ever threw away in disgust was an HP. This is the company which believes in bloatware to the max. It had so embedded this crap in their system, I couldn’t make the computer usable. I gave up. Bought a Dell. I’m still buying Dells.
The only thing I’ve bought from HP since then — during a full twenty years period — is this printer which I picked up at Wal-Mart. When I get the next printer? Back to Canon or maybe Epson. HP has permanently unsold me on HP for anything. Ever.
A hundred dollars? To tell me how to use their printer? I bet all they would have done is tell me to do exactly what I did, except they would have downloaded a bunch of new drivers I don’t need.
And, in the end, I ordered a printer that would work in Windows 10. It was not an HP. Twice ripped off? I’m done.
RIPOFF!
A top-notch job of convincing me to never use any of their products. Way to go HP!
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Categories: Communications, Computers, Software, Technology
SKYPING FOR IDIOTS – Marilyn Armstrong 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
My printer is also an HP. I really dislike all printers but I can’t say this one has been any worse than the others. It does go to sleep and need to be rebooted pretty much any time I want to use it. I don’t print much either but sometimes you need a document and it would be nice if it just printed the first time instead of putting it into the electronic version of a never ending queue. I have had to delete and re add it on occasion to make it work. It makes me boiling mad that the ink costs more than the printer does but in Australia that is true of every brand.
My sister had a similar model which she got so fed up with she just junked it and bought an Epson.
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I was dealing OK with the printer, even though i had to wake it up each time I used it. But asking me for $100 to fix a computer glitch? That was me over the top. The HP was ALWAYS asleep when i needed it. Unlike the Canon before it (which lasted 10 years through three operating systems and the ink was cheap) which was only asleep if I hadn’t use it in a really long time, this went comatose as soon as I stopped printing.
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It is just not worth paying that kind of money for a printer that you bought for less than that amount. I hate waste but sometimes it seems easier to replace them than fix them.
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It’s one of the things that is wrong with our world. It IS cheaper to get a new one. Garry has the same issue with razor blades. It’s cheaper to throw away the razor and buy a new one with blades. This kind of waste is ruining the world.
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I’ve been chuckling away at this because we’ve all been there. I found this sweet man from Pakistan who supplies ink cartridges for a fraction of the real ones. He also sells bath towels and linen. He gave us two free face clothes with the ink. (now there’s a deal)
Leslie
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A good way to clean up any leaked ink! Go team!
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We’ve been lucky so far.
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They are making after market ink cartridge for many printers now. I’ve had some unfortunate experiences with them … especially leaking. They can save you a lot of money if you do a lot of printing, but since we don’t do much printing at all, they aren’t really worth it for us.
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I had heard that leaking was a potential problem.
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And it usually ruins your printer so be careful. If I did a LOT of printing, I’d be tempted, but we do so little, it’s not worth the risk.
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🙂
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I’m thinking the first computer we ever had when I still lived at home was an HP. It was very adept at contracting viruses and after four years the hard drive exploded. Literally exploded….
My Dell desktop will turn 8 years old in about a week. It runs like an elderly computer (with an obsolete OS to boot), but it still runs…
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That’s the thing about Dell. With some small failures when they were trying to compete for the cheap end of the market, they make business machines, by which they mean machines designed to just do whatever it is you want them to do. Bloatware free. Plug them in and ready to go. HP is the worse of the worst. The level of bloatware actually makes normal activity unworkable. When I was shopping for a computer, they were on my list of NEVER AGAIN computers … and I heard from plenty of users that they had not gotten better with the years. It’s a pity since they were, at one time, one of the premium computer makers, but that was a long, long time ago. Now they build rubbish. I had thought they exempted their printers from that pile of junk, but apparently not. They could have given me the information to fix it in under five minutes and instead felt they needed to hit me again for money. They didn’t get the money, but they did get a really angry customer. Such is the way of poorly run businesses.
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Our printer at work has been telling us it has no toner left at all. That was 1000 pages ago.
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They lie like dogs.
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Completely agree! – The only problem is i do most of my computing on an HP all-in-one.
I’m not going to say a bad word about them because they probably spy the network and send vindictive software updates to anyone with their machines who badmouth them!
Recently every time i update my laptop and reboot my laptop can’t open windows! (7) Thanks again Microsoft!
love.
OK if i repost and share the HP love??
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Feel free. I actually took that computer and trashed it … and it is the ONLY computer I ever trashed. I learned a hard lesson. Don’t buy an HP. I forgot about the printer.
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Thanks! and if you do ever look for a new printer ( i saw one canon advertised for less than the price of a 4 refill pack of canon inks!! (Aud $29) consider Brother, they also have cheaper inks than most. Mine works fine – but still gets ignored by microsoft after an upgrade. 😦
love.
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Brother has a LOT of connection problems. Nightmare problems. Don’t do it!
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I am with you. Our printer is basically ok but It is a lucky draw if I connects to my computer. All our computers are connected to it, even my apple, but if I need to print something, which is not often, I am told my computer is offline. Ok, Mr. Swiss to the rescue, if he has time, and he reconnects, but it is annoying. You give me an idea. Perhaps it is due to the windows 10 updates.
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Probably. This printer worked without any problem until the switch to 10. It does turn itself off periodically, regardless. Apparently they ALL do that, but all you have to do is press the “ON” and it’s fine. This is different. The computer doesn’t know it’s on and it doesn’t seem to its connected to the WiFi. Considering how cheap it is to buy one of these printers if you don’t print much, it seemed stupid to keep fighting with it. It was less than $50 on Amazon to get a new Canon, which is even less than the HP cost. And the cartridges are not too bad, either.
I don’t do much printing and I never print photographs. The price in ink to make even a small photo is ridiculous. I can sent them out to a printer for 10% of the price of printing them at home. And the paper and ink is better, too.. So really, I just print directions when we are traveling (no, I don’t trust the GPS) and every now and then something I need to send to someone else. Otherwise, I rarely use it. But when you need it, you need it.
I really hate both printers and copiers. I have never gotten along with either of them. Oh, and sometimes, I need the the scanner. For old pictures.
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Would add that we also once had a HP printer, the printer from hell. There was one problem after the other until we gave up. Talking to the HP people only frustrated you more. We now have a Canon and basically satisfied with it, would it not keep telling me that my computer is offline.
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What is WRONG with them? They get terrible reviews from everyone and they never improve. They’ve been bankrupt I think twice? And I’m betting they are on their way there again. You’d think just staying in business would help, y’know?
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