HP printer ink lockout (2016): did it need fixing?

2016

HP

Before: HP OfficeJet printers that took cheaper third-party ink cartridges without complaint.
The fix: A firmware update, set to switch on September 13, 2016, made printers reject cartridges without HP chips.
Then: Printers started calling perfectly good cartridges damaged. HP admitted no fault, but paid $1.5 million to settle a US class action and up to $1.35 million to settle in Europe.

Kept it.

HP printers were still blocking non-HP chips in 2023.

Your call

More fixes nobody asked for

2015

Philips Lighting

Before: A Hue bridge that ran any ZigBee Light Link bulb, including cheaper ones from GE and Cree.
The fix: A December 2015 bridge update cut off bulbs Philips had not certified, citing 'interoperability issues.'
Then: Owners with other brands' bulbs found them locked out. Within days Philips called the move 'a mistake,' said some people had been using uncertified lights without any issue, and promised an update to let them back in.

Took it back

Other brands allowed back in, plus a 'Friends of Hue' sticker program.

Your call

2011

Netflix

Before: Netflix: DVDs by mail and streaming, one account, one website.
The fix: Split the plans with a price hike, then said DVDs would move to a separate site called Qwikster.
Then: Netflix lost 800,000 US subscribers that quarter. Reed Hastings killed Qwikster on October 10, 2011, about three weeks after announcing it.

Took it back

Qwikster never launched. The price increase stayed.

Your call

2018

Snap

Before: Snapchat, with friends' Stories and celebrity posts in the same place.
The fix: Split the app so friends went on one side and brands, publishers and celebrities on the other.
Then: More than 1.2 million people signed a petition to undo it. Kylie Jenner tweeted that she had stopped opening the app, and Snap lost about $1.3 billion in market value.

Half took it back

Snap added tabs to make Stories easier to find but kept the split.

Your call