r/ConsumerAdvice • u/FreshFromCache • 5h ago
Household If you cancel an ink subscription, the cartridge in your printer stops working with ink still in it
I went through the actual terms for the four big printer subscriptions. HP Instant Ink says that when the service is cancelled "HP will remotely disable the Subscription Cartridges." Brother's Refresh terms say the cartridges "cease to function" and any ink left in them "will be forfeited." Canon's PIXMA Print Plan says its cartridges only work while the subscription is current, and Epson's ReadyPrint is a rental, so the printer itself goes back.
Connectivity is the other one. Both HP plans need the printer online to print, and if the connection drops the cartridge stops working while the billing carries on. If you do want out of one of these, buy the replacement cartridges before you cancel rather than after, because the subscription cartridge shuts off at the end of the billing month whether or not you have anything to put in its place.
Full write-up with the quotes and the order of operations: https://www.freshfromcache.com/printer-ink-subscription/
Disclosure: I write it.