Epson are up to their old tricks again generously providing you with software updates for their printers. In these updates are their latest bag of tricks to combat the compatible Ink Cartridge market. We have had many customers successfully using our compatible cartridges until downloading the Latest Driver Updates.
Once the update is installed you will start getting the old familiar "Ink Cartridges Cannot Be Recognised" message. Epson printers are becoming incredibly unpopular as they continue their relentless campaign against compatible inks.
If you are considering buying a new printer Epson should be avoided at all costs! Not only for the above issue but also due to the fact that they use a "Piezo" print head which is renowned for clogging. Don't believe me? Jump on Youtube or Google and type in Epson Printers and you'll see 1000's of disgruntled Epson users.
What do the updates actually do?
This is a fair question but also a very complex one to answer. The auto updates target the actual micro-chip which the generic cartridge uses and the update software is such that it is able to detect the difference between the genuine Epson chip and the generic one. By doing this it is able to install software on your printer that causes the non genuine cartridge to become unusable.
I was talking to a guy in China recently who previously worked for Apex who are the biggest chip maker in the world for cartridges. He told me that in recent times Epson have been releasing updates which change the actual range of acceptable serial codes which the printer will accept as valid for a cartridge to be detected correctly. By doing this they are able to program a new set of serial codes that are still acceptable to the Epson cartridges but not the generic ones.
This certainly throws a spanner in the works for the end user however the companies which make these chips usually are able to crack these updates very fast and a new chip is usually available within weeks or even days of these updates occurring. Even so it certainly helps Epson to maintain their market share. Quite often they even circulate rumors to the affect that non genuine cartridges WONT work in their printers. This is certainly not the case at all.
How can I tell if an update has already been installed?
You can usually guarantee that if your printer is connected in someway to the internet and that you haven't turned the updates OFF then eventually an update will be installed without you even knowing about it. Often the first sign of an update occurring is the common old warning message 'Cartridge is missing or damaged.' or 'Cartridge cannot being recognized'.
These are the two most common warnings that confirm that your printer has had an update installed. If however there is only one cartridge that is not recognized then it's possible that it may not be an update issue. It may just be a faulty chip or an expired cartridge, try replacing the single cartridge and if this doesn't solve the issue then try a hard reset. A hard reset involves leaving all the inks in the printer and unplugging it from the wall for 20 mins or longer and then turning it back on. This forces the printer to re-detect ALL of the cartridges and often fixes these issues.
Downgrading your firmware after an update
Once an update is installed then you will either have to get new cartridges with updated chips or else downgrade your printers firmware. Usually if you search the net you will find a "downgrade" for your printer model. For a more visual overview of tis process take a look at the video below..