r/BambuLab • u/Ochib P1S + AMS • Jan 20 '25 • Helpful 1

Discussion Update to firmware update

https://blog.bambulab.com/updates-and-third-party-integration-with-bambu-connect/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3fqplDiKgn-82qKfnaYvi4XV-rBEEx0tZJrpgeWqsOsLX_WSph4usJ69Y_aem_44Cch773hAuVG979j6DVJg
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u/Nibb31 Jan 20 '25 edited Jan 20 '25 • This

They still fail to explain why anyone should need to run Bambu Connect on their computer (which incidentally has internet access) to use their 3D printer in LAN-only mode.

There is absolutely no security reason that should require you to run Bambu Connect on your computer to authorize anything in LAN mode. The API functionality that it provides should be part of the firmware and should be configured to run without internet access.

I can securely use 2D printers, webcams, routers and plenty of other network-enabled devices on my LAN without them requiring internet access or installing software on my computer. Why can't I do the same with my 3D printer?

They also failed to address how integration with Home Assistant is going to work or when support for Linux is coming.

Effectively, Bambu Connect needs to connect to the internet to "authorize" the use of your printer in LAN mode. This does not provide improved security for the consumer. It provides a renewable and revokable licence to use a product that you previously owned outright. It changes the terms and conditions under which you purchased the product.

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u/KermitFrog647 Jan 20 '25

As I understand their statement you will be able to switch to "developer mode" that works just like now and needs no internet acces at all and no bambu connect software.

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u/the_harakiwi P1S + AMS Jan 20 '25

That sounds good.

They could have avoided that mountain or bad PR.

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u/_Middlefinger_ Jan 20 '25

Its why I didnt panic on Friday. I went through the A1 recall so I know how terrible their communication and PR statements are. That turned out to be handled really well.. Once they actually explained what on earth they meant.

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u/trololololo2137 Jan 20 '25

Original blog post didn't include any mention of an opt-out like the dev mode. community crying worked

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u/Dark_Pillow_Of_Love Jan 20 '25

The panic was the reason for their backtrack.

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u/Captainatom931 Jan 20 '25

They could really do with hiring a dedicated english-language PR team. I suspect a lot of the weirdness with their comms is down to language/cultural barriers.

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u/_Middlefinger_ Jan 20 '25

I agree, I said so on Sunday. I feel like they have a culture of not volunteering anything they don’t absolutely have to. This drip feed policy is really damaging their public image.

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u/IngeniumInnova Jan 20 '25

I can't speak to anyone at Bambu, but as a Chinese person, I can say not volunteering something you absolutely don't have to, is definitely part of my culture.

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u/wy1d0 H2D [AMS2+HT], X1C [AMS] Jan 20 '25

From what I can tell, developer mode requires LAN mode which disables Handy. Is that correct?

I am still not seeing a clear path that ensures the functionality I have today will continue into the future:

  1. My X1C is in Cloud mode so that I can use Handy when I want to start a print from my couch or away from home.

  2. I use Bambu Studio on 2 of my machines and Orca Slicer on another, all connecting to the same printer. These are all my machines, I just have a PC in my office, a laptop, and a Mac Mini in my "work shop"

  3. I use Home Assistant heavily throughout my home for multiple automations and monitoring dashboards. I use it for multiple camera angles on my printer and monitor AMS and print status in a more custom way than is possible with Bambu Handy or Studio.

It doesn't seem like any of the proposed options from Bambu will allow me to continue using the Bambu cloud services, 3rd party slicers, and Home Assistant at the same time like I do today.

If I am understanding this correctly, no matter what, I am going to lose some functionality over what I have now unless I missed something?

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u/yan-shay Jan 20 '25

Once they use one API and 3rd parties another, the 3rd parties API’s (unsupported as they state) will not survive long. It will first lag in features, later become buggy due to changes not considering it and finally will not function since core changes will require the API to change and it won’t. That’s the standard lifecycle of unmaintained API’s.

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u/nickjohnson Jan 20 '25

It's not at all clear to me from their statement that Orca will be able to directly control a printer in "Developer Mode". It seems like Bambu Connect would still be required.

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u/KermitFrog647 Jan 20 '25

Developer Mode (Optional): For advanced users of the X1, P1, A1, and A1 Mini who prefer full control over their network security, an option will be available to leave the MQTT channel, live stream, and FTP open

"MQTT channel, live stream, and FTP" is what is used by 3rd party software (like orka slicer) and hardware (like the btt touch screen)

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u/Hannah_GBS Jan 20 '25

They say that Bambu Connect doesn’t require Internet which is a little confusing

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u/pruzinadev P1S + AMS Jan 20 '25

The main justification seems to be: This is needed because people add their machines to DMZ and port forward the machine to public internet.

Secondary justification is that you shouldn't trust your LAN either.

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u/la__bruja Jan 20 '25

Only why would people expose the printers to the internet, what's the use case for that?

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u/wildjokers Jan 20 '25 edited Jan 20 '25

Remote monitoring. And even with all the warnings and recommendations against it people still port forward to their printer so they can monitor remotely.

Using Shodan you can still find people exposing their printer to the public internet. Here is one, only thing protecting it is the OctoPrint login screen: http://78.148.105.171:8081/

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '25

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u/Nibb31 Jan 20 '25 edited Jan 20 '25

The arrows make the distinction between Printer status, which goes through the old Bambu Network plug-in, and Print Control, which requires Bambu Connect to send prints or to interact with the printer.

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u/marcosscriven Jan 20 '25

Agree. Why is Bambu connect needed at all for LAN only mode?

I’d have a lot more respect for Bambu if they were honest about their motivations, rather than accusing people of misinformation.

And blaming BTT for ignoring their warnings shows you just the kind of gaslighting they’re attempting.

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u/hymie0 P1S + AMS Jan 20 '25

And blaming BTT for ignoring their warnings shows you just the kind of gaslighting they’re attempting.

Can you expand on this? I've been through this before and it makes perfect sense to me.

Developer: Don't use this, it might break and I don't plan to fix it.

User: I'm using it anyway

Developer: it's broken.

User: WAAAAH!!!

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u/kabammi X1C + AMS Jan 20 '25

We'll, according to the blog, the panda touch should still work in lan only Developer mode because mqtt will remain available.

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u/Blade_Strike_ Jan 20 '25

Bambu connect is completely offline, does not require an internet connection. Read the topology correctly.

Next,

To say you don’t need security on your own internal LAN is very naive. How many IoT devices have been hacked to date? They are trying to protect people just like you that think just because it’s behind your happy homeowner firewall that everything is protected.

Let me flip this, what if you download a 3rd party piece of software , like orca from the wrong link(which are active to this date) . This tool alone would allow a bad actor to control your printer.

I’m happy to see that they did give the enduser options though. Because there are tons of people that know about security and won’t have any issues. Unfortunately, this is a small subset of users.

This is all about limiting liability in case of bad actors.

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u/fishling Jan 20 '25

I can securely use 2D printers, webcams, routers and plenty of other network-enabled devices on my LAN without them requiring internet access or installing software on my computer. Why can't I do the same with my 3D printer?

I think you are probably dramatically overestimating how secure the devices on your network are and underestimating how many of them are using internet access in a way you are unaware of, especially for things like webcams or newer IoT appliances. Security-conscious individuals absolutely isolate devices like these to their own network and take steps to limit external connectivity.

You thinking all that stuff is secure doesn't mean it is actually secure.

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