News has emerged about a new technique for circumventing the security measures on cartridges for HP printers. The company has faced criticism for its policies that push users to purchase only branded consumables and subscribe to HP cartridges.
YouTuber Jay Sammet recently revealed a method to bypass the protection system for third-party cartridges. This technique involves using a special sticker with a printed circuit and a microchip soldered onto the contact points of the cartridge.
The sticker acts as a flexible printed circuit board, redirecting electrical signals to an additional chip placed between the printer and the cartridge, similar to a “man in the middle” attack. Sammet explains that the extra chip informs the printer about the ink level in the cartridge and verifies its authenticity, while still relying on the original cartridge chip for security.
By modifying the response from the cartridge chip, the altered cartridge can continue to be recognized by the printer as containing ink. This allows users to refill cartridges with cheaper ink, even though HP had previously cautioned that printers using unofficial cartridges could be blocked by the dynamic security system.