brah, first i thought 20 minutes of video on hp+ was nutz. then, i thought its probably needed as i also had no clue of the requirements of plus, or about the cost differences. short story, totally worth the time! thanks, man. super helpful. its instant ink for me...
I had instant ink for a while and it was the best service. The thing that I liked the most is that no matter what you print, pictures, documents, charts, etc it all costs the same. I won’t lie there were a few times I worried about going over my monthly allotment, but I enjoyed the service while I had it. If I printed more I would resubscribe.
Thank you very much indeed for this wonderful comprehensive summary about HP+ and Instant Ink. I am about to set up a new printer and was very worried about everything that I might have to worry about if I agreed to sign up to the HP+ and Instant ink program! You have explained everything that I was worried about and saved me calling HP to try and work out what it is all about. What a wonderful detailed summary!
Great video. I just made a deeper video about that ink they send out. Not only do they charge you no matter what, even if you do not print, they will LOCK YOUR PRINTER from printing if you lapse the subscription. I encourage anyone who sees this to look at my video too, purely because I told the customer support at HP that I was going to make a video about them. We need to make more people aware of this and make HP understand that we wont put up with this.
Note: They only lock out the existing Instant Ink cartridge since it would be part of a cancelled subscription. Anyone could then go buy a new cartridge to resume printing. If they allowed the Instant Ink cartridges to work on a cancelled subscription, everyone would signup to get a cartridge, then cancel until they needed a new one….the subscription model doesn’t work like that
Here in the UK my dad got a new hp printer with 6 months free. With Ink still left in cartridge he decided to cancel the plan. So even though it was still an hp cartridge installed he could not use the printer. He got in contact with them and they explained if he wanted to use the ink left he would have to restart the plan or buy his own ink.
That's quite dodgy. Thanks for sharing. Ideally, he shouldn't have to get back on the plan. He should be able to cancel but won't be able to use any other ink except the Hp ink.
That and more is the Reason, i am tired of this game an stop buying HP Printers. At Work our Internet is instable. So i can not print if HP is not watching?
One additional thing I discovered - I generally get HP Care Pack on all my laptops and printers for 3 years. I got HP+ on my latest printer, and now the system won’t let me sign up for the Care Pack. It’s something I can live with since I have one year additional warranty, but it’s something to be aware of if the Care Pack is important to you.
Bought a printer with ink tanks, ink lasts forever and super cheap! Had such printer in school, and boy, they print 100+ pages a day. 7 dollar bottle would last for months at this pace (3000 pages/month).
Run a mile from anything "smart" - it`s not there to help you. It was never intended to. You`re just handing control of your products and devices to the supplier.
Thanks for the review. I've been using HP Instant Ink with my printer since I bought it 5 years ago. I'm now buying another HP printer and was confused about the "new" HP+ program. After watching your review, I will definitely opt out of HP+ and continue on with HP Instant Ink. I do NOT want to tie myself to HP only ink / cartridges should I want to drop Instant Ink in the future. This was a very helpful review.
Anyone with any sense and who values their time - say NO to both HP+ and Instant Ink. HP+ isn't even explained well, and makes no sense. Don't waste your time working out the cost of ink cartridges and pages - just buy your ink when you need it and live your life.
Excellent video Kev. It was very helpful to me. I have a new HP printer arriving from Costco on Monday and I have found all this stuff very confusing. In fact, I still don't feel totally comfortable with what I've learned. My old Office Jet Pro 8600 Plus has been made unusable by firmware updates and the printer is still like new. I refilled the cartridges once and the second time it will not let me use them. I also bought two sets of off-brand cartridges from Amazon and had to return both. So while I am still getting a new HP I just don't feel good about it. Oh and by the way re: HP +, Costco gives give you a second year of warranty on electronics as you probably know
Thanks for this. Located in Sweden we get a 3 month free HP+, but when I chose not to go with HP+, I still got 2 month free instant ink. I got an error when using non-HP cartridge, I guess because of instant ink subscription.
Kevin, what a wonderful presentation! If I accept HP+ do you know if I can downgrade to just Instant Ink and still use my printer if I'm not happy with it after several months? It sounds like a good deal but my desire to commit may wane after a bit.
Currently, HP+ doesn’t have any cost. If they do start charging I can only imagine that they would allow an opt out of + and use Instant Ink only. If they didn’t I think they would permanently lose a big chunk of current owners
Thanks for the video! As a brand new owner of a HP 9025e, if I subscribe now to Instant Ink, do I have to swap out the new still-full carts that came with the printer for the Instant Ink carts? If so, it would seem a total waste. Also, I tend to shut down my printer at night: would this cause probs with HP calculating correct ink levels/pages printed? I'll forego the HP+ plan as it does not offer me any benefits.
Congrats on the new printer. You don’t swap out the initial cartridges for Instant Ink until they’re depleted/low. As far as turning off the printer each night I believe you’re supposed to keep it online and connected all the time so it can do updates and monitoring
Sign in and check your account just before the end of your month is up. Look at how much you've printed. You can still change your plan within that month. If you've printed beyond your plan's amount, it can be cheaper to get a bigger plan. Money saved. But immediately, lower your plan. HP won't allow let it take effect until the next month. Perfect! Next month, you're back down to the small plan automatically and if you just check it before the monthly cycle completes, you can do it all over again. And while you're there, you might notice you have subscription pages that won't be saved. So you might want to 'use them, or lose them'. We used them to stock up on full-colored fliers. Was told if we're ever going to go nuts printing, to give them a call, they'll send extra ink in advance.
Just bought a 9018e (still unopened). Am I able to skip this whole HP+ thing, and buy my own ink refills, whether they are HP or third-party ink refills? I don’t care for the idea that HP can lock me out of my own printer.
I know it says always connected. But what happens if you have a storm or your internet goes out for 2 days? Are you forfeiting the agreement that you made with them? Because where I live sometimes it goes out for a couple hours and sometimes it's out for a day
I only have a cell phone hotspot for internet. Only 15g per month of use. I finally got this printer working after an hour and a half on HPs tech support. Bought it 8 months ago. Printer will only be connected when I print. If HP doesn't like it, too bad.
If anything becomes faulty, or you have been hacked, or if you default on your payment or if you change your card number; in otherwords, if there is a problem with your account, they will control your printer. They will not permit you to continue printing. You will have to get a hold of HP support in order to rectify the problem and that could be from half to a full day gettting it resolved. Be aware that they control your network and who knows how far they can get into your privacy. So if you don'T mind living with HP in your living room, then go ahead, make their day.
I'll just stick to instant ink. It saves me a ton of money and I dont have to worry about ink usage ever again. Also it does not require the printer to be on 24/7. I turn it on maybe 3-4 times a month, head to the instant website to update page count and off I go. Also at 5:24, instant ink requires your printer to auto update. Just saying:) Also I still use the free plan which is 15 pages per month, but with no rollover, until my printer goes poof. I'm taking real good care of my current printer haha. Oh and at 13:33 they used to send out 2 cartridges for every shipment, but it has changed to just 1.
It is nice to be able to print full color pages without concern and counting no more than if I printed a single sentence 👍🏼. Have you noticed how bizarrely long the instant Ink cartridges last? Mine was down to “replace cartridge soon” and I never did. The ink level meter eventually reset and I’ve been using the same cartridge for at least the past 90 pages since that alert.
@@kev-reviews I replace them when I notice errors in the print itself, such as streaks or missing color. A cartridge is just a sponge with a really dumb chip. How the printer pretends to know how much of each color is used (in a tri color cartridge) is a little puzzling to me. However instant ink never cease to amaze me. I'm so glad I discovered it by accident when looking for new expensive Canon cartridges :p They also seem to learn how often they need to send cartridges - In the beginning I was printing 15 pages on the spot every month. I always had a spare cartridge ready to go if I needed it. It's now down to maybe 6 pages per month (for the last year), and they dont send me as many cartridges like they used to. It's all good. As long as I have some ink.
10:28 Quick question: can you explain me how you get to your print cost of 0.15 per page, if the cartridge costs $30 and it can print 1500 pages? In my calculation it would be 0.02 cents and thus way cheaper than the subscription. Thank you
An XL cartridge is rated at 200 pages output. $30.00/200pages = .15 per page. The 1500 pages of Instant ink divided by the cost of $49.99 = .03 per page cost. The percentage difference between .15 and .03 is 80% 👍🏼
@@kev-reviews Crickey a toner that is only 200 pages that's gotta be an error the black mono laser toners start at 500-1100 pages. but the question came up because the video doesn't have the 200 page figure or need quantity 8x 200pg $30 toner just displays says $30/1500 vs $49.95/1500
For example, if I have instant ink and I’m nowhere near running out of in for now, does Hp automatically charge you each month and send you new cartridges even if you aren’t running out? It says monthly subscription it’s something I’m confused with
The monthly subscription means you’re billed monthly for the service. Ink is sent as it is needed at no additional cost. There is no ‘monthly’ shipment unless you were to use up all the ink each month.
although hp has made decent printers, their main business is not the printer itself, it's the ink/toner. they will sell the printer at a loss sometimes, and make large amounts of profit from the ink, and make it extremely hard to use any other ink than their brand.
Hi @kev, I just got HP printer with 9 months of ink subscription. I just wanted to know how can I signup to get free 9 months of ink and how does it works? Also which plan do we need to select to get the free ink for 9 months?
When I setup my printer I was offered the option to enroll and receive the free months. It should be part of the setup process. Congrats on the new printer!
No. Instant ink is a separate service. Instant ink also requires the printer to be connected to the internet. That’s how it lets HP know when to send ink
I have instant ink subscription and I haven’t yet inserted the instant ink cartridge yet and the subscription only starts once the first subscription cartridge is inserted
Yep. I’ve sent in a full bag of them once and I’m working on filling my second bag full for recycling. Prepaid return shipping for the used cartridges too!
@@kev-reviews only when needed. You can always check estimated sending dates of each ink on your dashboard (from hp smart > get supplies > past shipment information)
I absolutely dislike HP at this point. I spent two hours simply trying to the HP4155E set up. The level of customer service with HP is horrible. It was not like this in the past. As soon as I can find another printer I will be replacing my printers. I tried to remove the security feature and my printer no longer functioned. I'm in the process of filing a formal complaint against HP with the FTC.
It states that short disruptions aren’t an issue. Basically, it just needs to be able to report useable and ink levels for replacement on a regular basis
An XL cartridge is rated at 200 pages output. $30.00/200pages = .15 per page. The 1500 pages of Instant ink divided by the cost of $49.99 = .03 per page cost. The percentage difference between .15 and .03 is 80% 👍🏼
I bought a ridiculously cheap Hp printer when it was on sale for Black Friday 2 years ago. It started to break down after about 6 months (you have to manually feed the papers since the roller won’t automatically do it.) then the problem is the same with me I’ll go 3-4 months without printing and the ink will dry up. I don’t print enough to justify a plan and I usually print at home. At this point all I do is use it to scan and fax stuff (the rarity is to fax it to my local dmv and stuff haha). But I won’t purchase another printer until we’ll I don’t see a use. I might buy a laser one and just not deal with cheap printer problems anymore. I’m 25 and I’m sick and tired of all companies start doing their own thing and calling it (company name) + hahaha it so unoriginal and it’s just tok complicated
Same issue with my HP 7155 . The worst printer ever. Had it replaced but it also printed poorly, the ink cartridge would dry because I only needed it once a year to print important documents to mail out. Refilling ink didn’t always work. They gave me a inkjet pro 8020 and so far its great except now it doesn’t allow me to print using their app. I guess HP wants to get me to buy new cartridges. I wouldn’t be surprised if my refilled HP cartridges would suddenly stop working.
Hpinstantink not only locks you to genuine HP cartridges, but ONLY HP cartridges sent by instant ink. My printer was uplugged a while, needed to print, didn't want to wait for ink via mail, bought the same HP cartridge at walmart, plugged it in and HP locked my store bought ink cartridge because it was not sent by instantink. Super disappointed, now I have ink I can't use AND have to wait for new one in that mail.
I asked support one day and they said you could buy from a store as long as it was HP, so this is good info to share. Thanks for posting. Did you call instant ink support to see if there was a way to use the new cartridges? I read somewhere that purchased cartridges didn’t count against the print quota, so at some point it worked.
They don't block non-Instant Ink cartridges. If you want to buy a T.V. show on DVD and not use your cable service to watch it, they'll be all to happy to save themselves the bandwidth. You'd just be paying for ink twice.
I drank the Kool-aid and fell for the 6 months of free Instant Ink with a new printer purchase. It is so close to a scam. HP was not transparent. The cartridge they sent me would not work in the printer with an error issue after an hour and a half on the phone with them. Eventually, they determined I would need a new ink cartridge. Which was a two-week wait for it to show up. Prior to the six months ending, I cancelled the Instant Ink program. They still billed me for a month (some BS about billing in advance) and then HP promptly disabled my printer. None of this was revealed to me when I questioned them about the program prior to taking advantage of the perk. Now I cannot remove my credit card account from my HP online account. I called HP and even the CSR could not remove my CC. Not sure how this is even legal. Fortunately, the credit card company refunded the money and blocked HP. Shameful way to do business, or maybe HP is so hard for the money that they need to be so sneaky. No longer an HP customer.
@@kev-reviews have been using free sub for almost 9 months, 4 more to go. that 700 pages per month of these 13 free months supply would've been really of use if I printed more than average 40 pages per month. After the free subscription duration, are you planning to continue with instant ink?
I set mine up and ran the alignment and clean head functions. They were some pretty bad streaky prints, but it was working. The black cartridge only printed exactly 50 pages (that coincidentally was the same as the plan I signed up for), and then it stopped printing black all together, which I found odd. It didn't fade. It wasn't like the ink was getting low. The black ink just stopped. I assumed this instant ink plan was where they would send you more ink when you needed it. They shut off ink cartridges that still have ink! That's some wasteful and fishy tactics HP. On top of that, this video tells me there's an overage fee? This is going back into the box and will be sent back. No thanks, HP.
Too late for me. After a couple of years I realized I was paying way too much - compared to what ink would cost me if I actually bought my own ink from after-market sources. Now my printer will not accept any thing other that HP Ink. which is Is there any way that I can get my printer (extract all the HP Smart +) and return my printer back to what it was when I bought it. 5 months of free ink is just bait in a trap. Now my printer is a brick unless I pay $116 for HP ink. HP 9010 series, 9015e. I will be selling this one and buying another as it is a good printer. Plus I did have a big print job and figuring that I was paying $7 a month for 100 pages and usually using 2 0r 3. This time I used 300 and was charged about $40. So better think about it carefully.
@@kev-reviews unfortunately I did..I don't understand why they do not give u another opportunity..I was thinking about removing the printer and start the setup again🤔setting it up as a new printer
Useful info, wish I saw this video after much less effective researching. HP+ feels like a trap... the kind where in a couple years I'm stuck with yet another useless (but perfectly intact) printer that is destined for the recycling heap unless I pay a monthly ransom. I might do it anyways since cloud print will be of some value for the time being, plus there is a big backlog of documents I want to print using the free 6 month instant ink period. It will just suck when the device succumbs to planned obsolescence way too soon,
Only concern here would be if, after a while, HP decide to increase the subscriptions price (to a unbearable price), them what??? You would be tied to that choice no matter what price is.... or only option would be to trash the printer and buy another one.... maybe a InkTank printer (EcoTank or SmartTank) ?? Who knows!!
If I could scream from the mountain tops to never purchase an HP printer, I would. Incredibly frustrating process and product that now omits USB/any practical way of setting it up. Everything is done through an app, which works when your printer from hell doesn't get stuck in a technical loop where it won't get recognized by anything - so you have absolutely no way of troubleshooting it. This printer gives me flashbacks to the scene from Office Space and makes a printing press seem appealing.
The setup process of my printer was a pain. For £129 you would have thought that the built in dual band WiFi card supports 802.11ac. But no, it has to be a/n/ac mixed, which they don't tell you about. Then I thought for £129 HP could have included a LAN adapter? Again, no. Sorely disappointing.
"Also, it locks the printer to forever be required to use official HP ink cartridges." I'm pretty sure that's illegal. It's also a pretty good reason not to buy an HP printer.
@@mgr_BRZ i personally don't like the morality, but that's why they are (forced) to give you value in free ink for 6 months and so called premium mobile apps. They are in the right to say your product was subsidized to value of 6months and special cloud services you are contracted to meet the terms (locked printer) you agreed to IN exchange for that subsidy value. What i really expect is inevitable that the mobile phone app will be given a fictional value and all printers will use that as a metric (no ink/toner included) for such unfair terms.
I gave up on HP 4 years ago. I spent $200- on a printer and $50- on ink. I printed less than 30 black & white pages. On the 6 month anniversary I receive a message I was out of yellow ink and all functions stopped working. I tried to work with their tech support. I shook the cartridge and got yellow ink on my shirt and desk. I sent the cartridge to their CEO and purchased an Epson. The same thing happened 6 months after plugging it in. In both cases it cost me over $1.50 to print each page. F%$#@ them both.
Sounds like a con game. What do they call the card game with three card face down getting shuffled around and somehow you can never find the right one ? Sounds like a scam. Too complicated
My printer will not print and error message says to “cannot use printer please contact Instantink”, but I cannot contact them as they are out of country! Anyone have this message and/or know how to resolve. I haven’t been able to print for 3 weeks! Help!
The worst program ever. I lost a cc and the monthly subscription failed to process so HP turned off my printer. I had to resubscribe to continue printing then cancelled the service. Shortly after that my printer stopped printing again with the error code "you must subscribe to HP instant Ink". So now my printer will not print.
That’s because your ink cartridge is the instant ink cartridge. If you cancelled cell service your phone wouldn’t work with that sim card. You will need to replace your cartridge since the Instant Ink cartridge is tied to that service.
@@kev-reviews Are you even a real person “keyreview”? Like you, I do not get paid to give good reviews about horrible programs. Your analogy is faulty. My phone service is prorated, I only pay for what I use. I can move my number before changing phone service. I am not charged for the rest of the month when I change service.
They disable the instant ink cartridges if someone quits paying - understandable. Miss a payment on just about any service and they will disable that service until it is paid. You would still be able to buy replacement cartridges and use the printer as normal.
Just ordered a HP OfficeJet Pro 8025e with instant ink option. Coming from a Canon MG 5220 that was a very awesome machine lasted 8-10 years loved it but no longer available And Canon did not have anything i wanted in my price range. Well HP sent me cracked printer 🖨️ and they were a joke to deal with hade to return because I purchased from Walmart online from HP and they would not send me a replacement so I’m done ☑️ with HP and went and bought Epson WorkForce pro WF-4820 and really like 👍 it .
This all sounds like a time share. They have to be screwing you they can't help themselves. If you want to print lots and not have to worry get an Epson ECO tank. You will pay more up front, but who needs these subscriptions?
An XL cartridge is rated at 200 pages output. $30.00/200pages = .15 per page. The 1500 pages of Instant ink divided by the cost of $49.99 = .03 per page cost. The percentage difference between .15 and .03 is 80% 👍🏼
Ink replacement is sent based on how much you print and when ink levels are low. For example if you don't print a lot and your ink levels are high it could be months before there is a need for replacement. Down side of not printing regularly is that ink could get dry. And then print quality is bad to none. In that point system is still reading good ink levels. Again if you print more, faster spending ink, faster getting replacement. Ink is sent when needed.
Wouldn’t recommend this printer or instant ink, worked with the original cartridges,signed up to instant ink got nothing put problems after that, only works on 2.4gz frequency, phoned up internet company they separated frequencies got back to hp support again Benny 3 times now they can’t link instant ink account to printer as printer is offline. Issue still not resolved going round in circles now.
These people, i.e., instant ink, have commondeard my printer now for over a week. If I try to cancel, they take my printer hostage again. I cant get rid of them, and they still want my credit card and won't allow me to get them off my back. I have waisted medical issues since I can't print when I need to, as they keep interfering with my printer. Any more, I will be taking them to court. This is impending my health. Otherwise, I have to go to a better printer like Epsom or cannon.
Hp laptop died 1 month after its warranty expired after 1 yr, piece of junk !! Hp printer did not work because of flash support A got acer laptop and cannon printer 2years later working good. By Hp never again.
HP can stuffit! Possibly the worst aspect of printer shopping/buying is the PARASITIC relationship the manufacturers attempt to foist on consumers. Ink jet users are nothing more than Lambs to the Slaughter--may as well hand HP your checkbook. Laser printer users suffer the least, but only if they ignore/skip the marketing of OEM products and questionable features. I don't need big brother to monitor my printer use, tell me what ink/toner to buy and when to buy it. Any printer company that wants your credit card number after purchase is using and abusing you. Think about it--would you buy a car that forced you to use their brand of gasoline, at the price they establish--forever? Or worse, suddenly discontinue that flavor of "gasoline", forcing you to buy a new car every two years? Not likely--don't be rube!
When you say “lock the printer,” what happened. Do you mean if you cancelled the instant ink plan it would not let you print any more with the instant ink cartridge?
You're a shill for HP. The Instant Ink is a ripoff at any level. It looks going in but after four years, drag out the calculator and see how much you have spent.
Dont believe this guy, Instant in is much worse off in the long run. Buy a printer with Inktank/Inkwells and it will be 10 times more economical. You you are worried about your print heads/link trying up, set a reminder once a week and print a single page. Problem sovled.
brah, first i thought 20 minutes of video on hp+ was nutz. then, i thought its probably needed as i also had no clue of the requirements of plus, or about the cost differences. short story, totally worth the time! thanks, man. super helpful. its instant ink for me...
I had instant ink for a while and it was the best service. The thing that I liked the most is that no matter what you print, pictures, documents, charts, etc it all costs the same. I won’t lie there were a few times I worried about going over my monthly allotment, but I enjoyed the service while I had it. If I printed more I would resubscribe.
Thank you very much indeed for this wonderful comprehensive summary about HP+ and Instant Ink. I am about to set up a new printer and was very worried about everything that I might have to worry about if I agreed to sign up to the HP+ and Instant ink program! You have explained everything that I was worried about and saved me calling HP to try and work out what it is all about. What a wonderful detailed summary!
Great video. I just made a deeper video about that ink they send out. Not only do they charge you no matter what, even if you do not print, they will LOCK YOUR PRINTER from printing if you lapse the subscription. I encourage anyone who sees this to look at my video too, purely because I told the customer support at HP that I was going to make a video about them. We need to make more people aware of this and make HP understand that we wont put up with this.
I hope I can find your video
Note: They only lock out the existing Instant Ink cartridge since it would be part of a cancelled subscription. Anyone could then go buy a new cartridge to resume printing.
If they allowed the Instant Ink cartridges to work on a cancelled subscription, everyone would signup to get a cartridge, then cancel until they needed a new one….the subscription model doesn’t work like that
Here in the UK my dad got a new hp printer with 6 months free. With Ink still left in cartridge he decided to cancel the plan. So even though it was still an hp cartridge installed he could not use the printer. He got in contact with them and they explained if he wanted to use the ink left he would have to restart the plan or buy his own ink.
Wow. Thanks for sharing
That's quite dodgy. Thanks for sharing. Ideally, he shouldn't have to get back on the plan. He should be able to cancel but won't be able to use any other ink except the Hp ink.
@@kev-reviews thanks for your reviews. Can u pls explain the difference between the 6month plan hp + and instant ink one for hp
That and more is the Reason, i am tired of this game an stop buying HP Printers. At Work our Internet is instable. So i can not print if HP is not watching?
They just did same to me , I'm so fuming.
One additional thing I discovered - I generally get HP Care Pack on all my laptops and printers for 3 years. I got HP+ on my latest printer, and now the system won’t let me sign up for the Care Pack. It’s something I can live with since I have one year additional warranty, but it’s something to be aware of if the Care Pack is important to you.
Bought a printer with ink tanks, ink lasts forever and super cheap!
Had such printer in school, and boy, they print 100+ pages a day. 7 dollar bottle would last for months at this pace (3000 pages/month).
Run a mile from anything "smart" - it`s not there to help you. It was never intended to. You`re just handing control of your products and devices to the supplier.
Thanks for the review. I've been using HP Instant Ink with my printer since I bought it 5 years ago. I'm now buying another HP printer and was confused about the "new" HP+ program. After watching your review, I will definitely opt out of HP+ and continue on with HP Instant Ink. I do NOT want to tie myself to HP only ink / cartridges should I want to drop Instant Ink in the future.
This was a very helpful review.
Anyone with any sense and who values their time - say NO to both HP+ and Instant Ink. HP+ isn't even explained well, and makes no sense. Don't waste your time working out the cost of ink cartridges and pages - just buy your ink when you need it and live your life.
Live your life lol😂😂 I think I agree
Excellent video Kev. It was very helpful to me. I have a new HP printer arriving from Costco on Monday and I have found all this stuff very confusing. In fact, I still don't feel totally comfortable with what I've learned. My old Office Jet Pro 8600 Plus has been made unusable by firmware updates and the printer is still like new. I refilled the cartridges once and the second time it will not let me use them. I also bought two sets of off-brand cartridges from Amazon and had to return both. So while I am still getting a new HP I just don't feel good about it. Oh and by the way re: HP +, Costco gives give you a second year of warranty on electronics as you probably know
Thanks. HP+ will extend the warranty to 3-years if I recall correctly
Thanks for this. Located in Sweden we get a 3 month free HP+, but when I chose not to go with HP+, I still got 2 month free instant ink. I got an error when using non-HP cartridge, I guess because of instant ink subscription.
Thanks. And, yes. During instant ink subscription it will be locked from using outside cartridges
Kevin, what a wonderful presentation! If I accept HP+ do you know if I can downgrade to just Instant Ink and still use my printer if I'm not happy with it after several months? It sounds like a good deal but my desire to commit may wane after a bit.
Currently, HP+ doesn’t have any cost. If they do start charging I can only imagine that they would allow an opt out of + and use Instant Ink only. If they didn’t I think they would permanently lose a big chunk of current owners
You can't "cancel" and have extra ink. Once you cancel, all cartridges are bricked, even cartridges in the printer that have ink in them.
Thanks for the video! As a brand new owner of a HP 9025e, if I subscribe now to Instant Ink, do I have to swap out the new still-full carts that came with the printer for the Instant Ink carts? If so, it would seem a total waste. Also, I tend to shut down my printer at night: would this cause probs with HP calculating correct ink levels/pages printed? I'll forego the HP+ plan as it does not offer me any benefits.
Congrats on the new printer. You don’t swap out the initial cartridges for Instant Ink until they’re depleted/low. As far as turning off the printer each night I believe you’re supposed to keep it online and connected all the time so it can do updates and monitoring
@@kev-reviews Thanks. Always-on may be the deal breaker for me alas.
Sign in and check your account just before the end of your month is up. Look at how much you've printed. You can still change your plan within that month. If you've printed beyond your plan's amount, it can be cheaper to get a bigger plan. Money saved. But immediately, lower your plan. HP won't allow let it take effect until the next month. Perfect! Next month, you're back down to the small plan automatically and if you just check it before the monthly cycle completes, you can do it all over again. And while you're there, you might notice you have subscription pages that won't be saved. So you might want to 'use them, or lose them'. We used them to stock up on full-colored fliers. Was told if we're ever going to go nuts printing, to give them a call, they'll send extra ink in advance.
Just bought a 9018e (still unopened). Am I able to skip this whole HP+ thing, and buy my own ink refills, whether they are HP or third-party ink refills? I don’t care for the idea that HP can lock me out of my own printer.
Yes. If you don’t subscribe to HP+ you still have the option to get instant ink or to skip both and use whatever ink you want
I know it says always connected. But what happens if you have a storm or your internet goes out for 2 days? Are you forfeiting the agreement that you made with them? Because where I live sometimes it goes out for a couple hours and sometimes it's out for a day
I only have a cell phone hotspot for internet. Only 15g per month of use. I finally got this printer working after an hour and a half on HPs tech support. Bought it 8 months ago. Printer will only be connected when I print. If HP doesn't like it, too bad.
As I understand it periodic outages don’t affect function
@@Hugh_Manitee lol
Perfect video. You've answered all my questions. Thank you!
If anything becomes faulty, or you have been hacked, or if you default on your payment or if you change your card number; in otherwords, if there is a problem with your account, they will control your printer. They will not permit you to continue printing. You will have to get a hold of HP support in order to rectify the problem and that could be from half to a full day gettting it resolved. Be aware that they control your network and who knows how far they can get into your privacy. So if you don'T mind living with HP in your living room, then go ahead, make their day.
I'll just stick to instant ink. It saves me a ton of money and I dont have to worry about ink usage ever again. Also it does not require the printer to be on 24/7. I turn it on maybe 3-4 times a month, head to the instant website to update page count and off I go. Also at 5:24, instant ink requires your printer to auto update. Just saying:) Also I still use the free plan which is 15 pages per month, but with no rollover, until my printer goes poof. I'm taking real good care of my current printer haha. Oh and at 13:33 they used to send out 2 cartridges for every shipment, but it has changed to just 1.
It is nice to be able to print full color pages without concern and counting no more than if I printed a single sentence 👍🏼. Have you noticed how bizarrely long the instant Ink cartridges last? Mine was down to “replace cartridge soon” and I never did. The ink level meter eventually reset and I’ve been using the same cartridge for at least the past 90 pages since that alert.
@@kev-reviews I replace them when I notice errors in the print itself, such as streaks or missing color. A cartridge is just a sponge with a really dumb chip. How the printer pretends to know how much of each color is used (in a tri color cartridge) is a little puzzling to me. However instant ink never cease to amaze me. I'm so glad I discovered it by accident when looking for new expensive Canon cartridges :p They also seem to learn how often they need to send cartridges - In the beginning I was printing 15 pages on the spot every month. I always had a spare cartridge ready to go if I needed it. It's now down to maybe 6 pages per month (for the last year), and they dont send me as many cartridges like they used to. It's all good. As long as I have some ink.
10:28 Quick question: can you explain me how you get to your print cost of 0.15 per page, if the cartridge costs $30 and it can print 1500 pages? In my calculation it would be 0.02 cents and thus way cheaper than the subscription. Thank you
An XL cartridge is rated at 200 pages output. $30.00/200pages = .15 per page. The 1500 pages of Instant ink divided by the cost of $49.99 = .03 per page cost. The percentage difference between .15 and .03 is 80% 👍🏼
@@kev-reviews Crickey a toner that is only 200 pages that's gotta be an error the black mono laser toners start at 500-1100 pages.
but the question came up because the video doesn't have the 200 page figure or need quantity 8x 200pg $30 toner
just displays says $30/1500 vs $49.95/1500
For example, if I have instant ink and I’m nowhere near running out of in for now, does Hp automatically charge you each month and send you new cartridges even if you aren’t running out? It says monthly subscription it’s something I’m confused with
The monthly subscription means you’re billed monthly for the service. Ink is sent as it is needed at no additional cost. There is no ‘monthly’ shipment unless you were to use up all the ink each month.
Basically you don't own the ink. It's all about the number of pages you print.
although hp has made decent printers, their main business is not the printer itself, it's the ink/toner. they will sell the printer at a loss sometimes, and make large amounts of profit from the ink, and make it extremely hard to use any other ink than their brand.
Hi @kev, I just got HP printer with 9 months of ink subscription. I just wanted to know how can I signup to get free 9 months of ink and how does it works? Also which plan do we need to select to get the free ink for 9 months?
When I setup my printer I was offered the option to enroll and receive the free months. It should be part of the setup process. Congrats on the new printer!
I got a question
Can I just use the free 6 months and then stop??
Yes, but you would have to buy HP branded ink after that. It would block the use of non-hp cartridges
So if I buy a printer from Hp and not use Hp+ will I be able to still use the Instant ink subscription?
Yes. HP+ is (at least at the time I made the video) an option to choose or reject at printer setup
@@kev-reviews but aren't you forced to have HP+ to check for pages per month and ink levels? I mean without HP+ how dows Instant Ink service knows
No. Instant ink is a separate service. Instant ink also requires the printer to be connected to the internet. That’s how it lets HP know when to send ink
Many thanks for making this insightfull video.
I have instant ink subscription and I haven’t yet inserted the instant ink cartridge yet and the subscription only starts once the first subscription cartridge is inserted
It will use the existing cartridge until it is depleted. I like that they aren’t wasting ink unnecessarily 👍🏻
@@kev-reviews yes true
@@kev-reviews hp can also recycle used cartridges which is eco friendly
Yep. I’ve sent in a full bag of them once and I’m working on filling my second bag full for recycling. Prepaid return shipping for the used cartridges too!
@@kev-reviews yea handy
Thank you, you really helped me make an informed decision! Blessings!
The reason you only got color replacement ink and not the black one as well is that the system knows you have a spare one that is not installed.
Yes. Which I mentioned. My question was were they going to send 2 at a time (which would reduce overall shipping costs) or only what is needed.
@@kev-reviews only when needed. You can always check estimated sending dates of each ink on your dashboard (from hp smart > get supplies > past shipment information)
You can also request additional cartridges
We have several cartridges, they keep sending them. Apparently not aware we still have unopened ones...?
@@kev-reviews That cartridge could sit for years depending on the user.
Really helpful, thank you.
I absolutely dislike HP at this point. I spent two hours simply trying to the HP4155E set up. The level of customer service with HP is horrible. It was not like this in the past. As soon as I can find another printer I will be replacing my printers. I tried to remove the security feature and my printer no longer functioned. I'm in the process of filing a formal complaint against HP with the FTC.
What happens when the connection fails? No internet service is 24/7 infallible.
It states that short disruptions aren’t an issue. Basically, it just needs to be able to report useable and ink levels for replacement on a regular basis
@KevReviews Thanks. One more question, how you came up with these numbers. 10:40 the $30 XL = .15/page. I think I'm missing something.
An XL cartridge is rated at 200 pages output. $30.00/200pages = .15 per page. The 1500 pages of Instant ink divided by the cost of $49.99 = .03 per page cost. The percentage difference between .15 and .03 is 80% 👍🏼
@@kev-reviews Thanks Kev!
Ink Tank printers are getting much cheaper now and they are way more economical. this seem like a rip-off to me.
I have a canon printer which has XXL cartridges (which can be purchased in a store)
I bought a ridiculously cheap Hp printer when it was on sale for Black Friday 2 years ago. It started to break down after about 6 months (you have to manually feed the papers since the roller won’t automatically do it.) then the problem is the same with me I’ll go 3-4 months without printing and the ink will dry up. I don’t print enough to justify a plan and I usually print at home. At this point all I do is use it to scan and fax stuff (the rarity is to fax it to my local dmv and stuff haha). But I won’t purchase another printer until we’ll I don’t see a use. I might buy a laser one and just not deal with cheap printer problems anymore. I’m 25 and I’m sick and tired of all companies start doing their own thing and calling it (company name) + hahaha it so unoriginal and it’s just tok complicated
That happens all the time with my deskjet 4000 series.
Same issue with my HP 7155 . The worst printer ever. Had it replaced but it also printed poorly, the ink cartridge would dry because I only needed it once a year to print important documents to mail out. Refilling ink didn’t always work. They gave me a inkjet pro 8020 and so far its great except now it doesn’t allow me to print using their app. I guess HP wants to get me to buy new cartridges. I wouldn’t be surprised if my refilled HP cartridges would suddenly stop working.
Does HP monitor printer content that is printed or just volume of pages printed? Privacy is a big issue..
Just page print count. I’m not aware of any monitoring or saving outside of anything I select to save on their servers
Hpinstantink not only locks you to genuine HP cartridges, but ONLY HP cartridges sent by instant ink. My printer was uplugged a while, needed to print, didn't want to wait for ink via mail, bought the same HP cartridge at walmart, plugged it in and HP locked my store bought ink cartridge because it was not sent by instantink. Super disappointed, now I have ink I can't use AND have to wait for new one in that mail.
I asked support one day and they said you could buy from a store as long as it was HP, so this is good info to share. Thanks for posting. Did you call instant ink support to see if there was a way to use the new cartridges? I read somewhere that purchased cartridges didn’t count against the print quota, so at some point it worked.
That’s deplorable
They don't block non-Instant Ink cartridges. If you want to buy a T.V. show on DVD and not use your cable service to watch it, they'll be all to happy to save themselves the bandwidth. You'd just be paying for ink twice.
I drank the Kool-aid and fell for the 6 months of free Instant Ink with a new printer purchase. It is so close to a scam. HP was not transparent. The cartridge they sent me would not work in the printer with an error issue after an hour and a half on the phone with them. Eventually, they determined I would need a new ink cartridge. Which was a two-week wait for it to show up. Prior to the six months ending, I cancelled the Instant Ink program. They still billed me for a month (some BS about billing in advance) and then HP promptly disabled my printer. None of this was revealed to me when I questioned them about the program prior to taking advantage of the perk. Now I cannot remove my credit card account from my HP online account. I called HP and even the CSR could not remove my CC. Not sure how this is even legal. Fortunately, the credit card company refunded the money and blocked HP. Shameful way to do business, or maybe HP is so hard for the money that they need to be so sneaky. No longer an HP customer.
Does printing photo papers also counts as Papers from your monthly HP inshtantInk subscription or are they charged separately?
Yes. Everything from a single dot to a full page counts as a page.
@@kev-reviews have been using free sub for almost 9 months, 4 more to go. that 700 pages per month of these 13 free months supply would've been really of use if I printed more than average 40 pages per month.
After the free subscription duration, are you planning to continue with instant ink?
I’m already on my 2nd year with Instant Ink 👍🏻
I set mine up and ran the alignment and clean head functions. They were some pretty bad streaky prints, but it was working. The black cartridge only printed exactly 50 pages (that coincidentally was the same as the plan I signed up for), and then it stopped printing black all together, which I found odd. It didn't fade. It wasn't like the ink was getting low. The black ink just stopped.
I assumed this instant ink plan was where they would send you more ink when you needed it. They shut off ink cartridges that still have ink! That's some wasteful and fishy tactics HP. On top of that, this video tells me there's an overage fee?
This is going back into the box and will be sent back. No thanks, HP.
Too late for me. After a couple of years I realized I was paying way too much - compared to what ink would cost me if I actually bought my own ink from after-market sources. Now my printer will not accept any thing other that HP Ink. which is Is there any way that I can get my printer (extract all the HP Smart +) and return my printer back to what it was when I bought it.
5 months of free ink is just bait in a trap. Now my printer is a brick unless I pay $116 for HP ink. HP 9010 series, 9015e. I will be selling this one and buying another as it is a good printer.
Plus I did have a big print job and figuring that I was paying $7 a month for 100 pages and usually using 2 0r 3. This time I used 300 and was charged about $40. So better think about it carefully.
Can u sign up for hp+ after declining it..because I would love the print anywhere
According to HP, no. Have you completed the setup process yet?
@@kev-reviews unfortunately I did..I don't understand why they do not give u another opportunity..I was thinking about removing the printer and start the setup again🤔setting it up as a new printer
They have to use the “very low” language because technically it still has some ink because the sponge can’t ever be fully depleted
Thanks for sharing
I have the instant ink the .99 cent a month roll over
Useful info, wish I saw this video after much less effective researching. HP+ feels like a trap... the kind where in a couple years I'm stuck with yet another useless (but perfectly intact) printer that is destined for the recycling heap unless I pay a monthly ransom. I might do it anyways since cloud print will be of some value for the time being, plus there is a big backlog of documents I want to print using the free 6 month instant ink period. It will just suck when the device succumbs to planned obsolescence way too soon,
thank you sir
Only concern here would be if, after a while, HP decide to increase the subscriptions price (to a unbearable price), them what??? You would be tied to that choice no matter what price is.... or only option would be to trash the printer and buy another one.... maybe a InkTank printer (EcoTank or SmartTank) ?? Who knows!!
I suspect, given the competition on the printer market that they will keep it low in relation to ink cartridges
If I could scream from the mountain tops to never purchase an HP printer, I would. Incredibly frustrating process and product that now omits USB/any practical way of setting it up. Everything is done through an app, which works when your printer from hell doesn't get stuck in a technical loop where it won't get recognized by anything - so you have absolutely no way of troubleshooting it.
This printer gives me flashbacks to the scene from Office Space and makes a printing press seem appealing.
Not buying a laser printer was the first mistake.
Lol. Color laser printers are too pricey for my meager print needs
I wish I would've got something else
The setup process of my printer was a pain. For £129 you would have thought that the built in dual band WiFi card supports 802.11ac. But no, it has to be a/n/ac mixed, which they don't tell you about. Then I thought for £129 HP could have included a LAN adapter? Again, no. Sorely disappointing.
Thanks for sharing
"Also, it locks the printer to forever be required to use official HP ink cartridges."
I'm pretty sure that's illegal. It's also a pretty good reason not to buy an HP printer.
How is it illegal? You agree to it when you sign the contract?
@@Fifury161 But what if you don't like the service or want to cancel... you are forced to stick with original cartridges.
@@mgr_BRZ i personally don't like the morality, but that's why they are (forced) to give you value in free ink for 6 months and so called premium mobile apps.
They are in the right to say your product was subsidized to value of 6months and special cloud services
you are contracted to meet the terms (locked printer) you agreed to IN exchange for that subsidy value.
What i really expect is inevitable that the mobile phone app will be given a fictional value and all printers will use that as a metric (no ink/toner included) for such unfair terms.
Never use HP!!!!
A friend would never let his friend buy HP
I gave up on HP 4 years ago. I spent $200- on a printer and $50- on ink. I printed less than 30 black & white pages. On the 6 month anniversary I receive a message I was out of yellow ink and all functions stopped working. I tried to work with their tech support. I shook the cartridge and got yellow ink on my shirt and desk. I sent the cartridge to their CEO and purchased an Epson. The same thing happened 6 months after plugging it in. In both cases it cost me over $1.50 to print each page. F%$#@ them both.
Tinfoil hat can be satisfied by putting the printer on a second virtual network that cannot see into the primary network. :)
True, but that would also eliminate the ability to print to the printer without being either directly connected or having to use the HP app to print
Sounds like a con game. What do they call the card game with three card face down getting shuffled around and somehow you can never find the right one ? Sounds like a scam. Too complicated
My printer will not print and error message says to “cannot use printer please contact Instantink”, but I cannot contact them as they are out of country! Anyone have this message and/or know how to resolve. I haven’t been able to print for 3 weeks! Help!
How about calling regular HP support? They may be able to get it fixed since you aren’t an instant ink subscriber
The worst program ever. I lost a cc and the monthly subscription failed to process so HP turned off my printer. I had to resubscribe to continue printing then cancelled the service. Shortly after that my printer stopped printing again with the error code "you must subscribe to HP instant Ink". So now my printer will not print.
That’s because your ink cartridge is the instant ink cartridge. If you cancelled cell service your phone wouldn’t work with that sim card. You will need to replace your cartridge since the Instant Ink cartridge is tied to that service.
@@kev-reviews Are you even a real person “keyreview”? Like you, I do not get paid to give good reviews about horrible programs. Your analogy is faulty. My phone service is prorated, I only pay for what I use. I can move my number before changing phone service. I am not charged for the rest of the month when I change service.
6 minutes in.. my god this is a totally hostile anti-consumer 'service'.
Lol
wont print
Miss a payment and they knock out your printer
They disable the instant ink cartridges if someone quits paying - understandable. Miss a payment on just about any service and they will disable that service until it is paid. You would still be able to buy replacement cartridges and use the printer as normal.
Just ordered a HP OfficeJet Pro 8025e with instant ink option. Coming from a Canon MG 5220 that was a very awesome machine lasted 8-10 years loved it but no longer available And Canon did not have anything i wanted in my price range. Well HP sent me cracked printer 🖨️ and they were a joke to deal with hade to return because I purchased from Walmart online from HP and they would not send me a replacement so I’m done ☑️ with HP and went and bought Epson WorkForce pro WF-4820 and really like 👍 it .
This all sounds like a time share. They have to be screwing you they can't help themselves. If you want to print lots and not have to worry get an Epson ECO tank. You will pay more up front, but who needs these subscriptions?
Honestly this product was awful for me plus I canceled 3 separate times and was still charged. They have horrible costumer service
HP is a bad actor. Banned as a vendor in our company.
What did they do to get banned?
$30/1500 pages=0.15??? How ?
An XL cartridge is rated at 200 pages output. $30.00/200pages = .15 per page. The 1500 pages of Instant ink divided by the cost of $49.99 = .03 per page cost. The percentage difference between .15 and .03 is 80% 👍🏼
HP Plus is HP minus. Don't buy HP. Buy Epson. More fair and better solution.
Color Laser Printer Gang checking in... Don't buy injet.
Nice, but too pricey for my meager print needs
Thanks for your video….I won’t be buying a hp printer…
Absolutely not! NEVER EVER BUY HP PRODUCTS!
Straight answer - NO
Hp is garbage... the printer works sometimes, and even if you keep paying, they send you ink when they feel like it.
So far they’ve been really good with ink for mine - and I’ve been going through the cartridges
@@kev-reviews what model do you have?
Deskjet 2742e
Ink replacement is sent based on how much you print and when ink levels are low. For example if you don't print a lot and your ink levels are high it could be months before there is a need for replacement. Down side of not printing regularly is that ink could get dry. And then print quality is bad to none. In that point system is still reading good ink levels. Again if you print more, faster spending ink, faster getting replacement. Ink is sent when needed.
Wouldn’t recommend this printer or instant ink, worked with the original cartridges,signed up to instant ink got nothing put problems after that, only works on 2.4gz frequency, phoned up internet company they separated frequencies got back to hp support again Benny 3 times now they can’t link instant ink account to printer as printer is offline. Issue still not resolved going round in circles now.
I don't get why people don't just buy laser printers. Inkjets have been a scam since day one. The printer is a loss leader for overpriced ink.
These people, i.e., instant ink, have commondeard my printer now for over a week. If I try to cancel, they take my printer hostage again. I cant get rid of them, and they still want my credit card and won't allow me to get them off my back. I have waisted medical issues since I can't print when I need to, as they keep interfering with my printer.
Any more, I will be taking them to court. This is impending my health.
Otherwise, I have to go to a better printer like Epsom or cannon.
Made the mistake of joining. Now can’t print after cancel. Message of damaged or corrupted. DON’T BUY!!!
Avoid HP Instant Ink at all costs
I’m enjoying mine. It has saved me lots of money
Hp laptop died 1 month after its warranty expired after 1 yr, piece of junk !! Hp printer did not work because of flash support
A got acer laptop and cannon printer 2years later working good. By Hp never again.
Don’t buy!!
HP can stuffit! Possibly the worst aspect of printer shopping/buying is the PARASITIC relationship the manufacturers attempt to foist on consumers. Ink jet users are nothing more than Lambs to the Slaughter--may as well hand HP your checkbook. Laser printer users suffer the least, but only if they ignore/skip the marketing of OEM products and questionable features. I don't need big brother to monitor my printer use, tell me what ink/toner to buy and when to buy it. Any printer company that wants your credit card number after purchase is using and abusing you. Think about it--would you buy a car that forced you to use their brand of gasoline, at the price they establish--forever? Or worse, suddenly discontinue that flavor of "gasoline", forcing you to buy a new car every two years? Not likely--don't be rube!
No good, HP will lock the printer even if they owe you 300 pages as it happened to me. It is not worth it. You'll lose more than you get.
When you say “lock the printer,” what happened. Do you mean if you cancelled the instant ink plan it would not let you print any more with the instant ink cartridge?
LOL your dad doesn't love you, were you a bad child?
You're a shill for HP. The Instant Ink is a ripoff at any level. It looks going in but after four years, drag out the calculator and see how much you have spent.
Dont believe this guy, Instant in is much worse off in the long run. Buy a printer with Inktank/Inkwells and it will be 10 times more economical. You you are worried about your print heads/link trying up, set a reminder once a week and print a single page. Problem sovled.