Security News > 2021 > October > Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink
Canon USA is being sued for not allowing owners of certain printers to use the scanner of faxing functions if they run out of ink.
Since at least 2016, other customers have contacted Canon about this exact problem [1, 2] and were told by support agents that ink cartridges must be installed and contain ink to use the printer's features, as shown by the agent's response below.
Further posts [1. 2] found by BleepingComputer also shows Canon telling customers that all inks tanks must contain ink if they wish to print in greyscale, as it may damage the printer.
"The PIXMA MX710 must have all ink tanks installed and they all must contain ink. If you attempt to print with no ink or an empty ink, you would risk damaging the printer," a support agent posted to the Canon forums.
"As opposed to the"single function" printers it sells, Canon calls these multifunction devices a "3-in-1" or "4-in-1" for the fact they purportedly provide three or four functions," reads the class action complaint against Canon USA. "In truth, the All-in-One Printers do not scan or fax documents when the devices have low or empty ink cartridges, and Canon's advertising claims are false, misleading, and reasonably likely to deceive the public."
"There is no reason or technical basis for manufacturing the All-in-One Printers with an ink level detection function that causes the scanner to stop functioning when ink is low or empty. Canon designed the All-in-One Printers in such a way to require consumers to maintain ink in their devices regardless of whether they intend to print," continues the complaint.