Canon printers detecting legit cartridges as fake – Canon explains how to get around it

This makes for an interesting twist of events. If you’ve owned a Canon inkjet printer (or HP and a number of other brands), you might have noticed that the printer doesn’t like you using generic (alternative brand) cartridges. It will typically error telling you that you either have a broken cartridge or an unapproved/unofficial one–advising that you install a genuine option.

This is the company’s DRM protection to force you into using its price-inflated cartridges since this is where these companies make most of their profit. It usually involves tiny little chips in every cartridge that communicate with the printer to let it know that they are indeed genuine.

For years, people have sought ways to get around this and in some models have been successful in doing so (usually assuming that you don’t update the firmware–ever). In others, the DRM protections are so locked down, there is no way around it.

The tables have changed slightly though now that the chip shortage seems to have hit Canon as well (and possibly others). Causing the company’s own cartridges to pop up as non-genuine (fake). Canon says this has to do with “sourcing issues” with its electronic components (aka, the chips inside the cartridges). It seems to specifically be affecting the multi-function printers (printer/scanner/copy/fax combos).

Now the company is reaching out to owners explaining how to get around the message and continue using their printers. Sadly, Canon isn’t explaining how to bypass this protection permanently. It is simply saying it is ok to hit “close” on this error and the printer will continue functioning. So it isn’t a completely lock-out. You just have to be annoyed by an error (pop-up).

So you can tell that Canon has no intention on releasing the DRM protections from its products and will continue to roll out models with such methods in place in the future. For now though, it is nice to see Canon affected by its own annoyances.

You’re alternative option is to seek out various internet communities via a Google search to see if there is any chatter about how to fully override these DRM restrictions in your specific model. You might just be lucky enough to have one that someone has figured out how to crack. Just keep in mind that you’ll likely void your warranty if you do.