Canon scrambles as its own printers think ink cartridges are fake due to chip shortage

As a result of the ongoing global chip shortage, Canon is scrambling to appease a wave of furious customers after its own ink cartridges are malfunctioning and being read as fake.

A widespread outcry has made the rounds on social media, as Canon printers are not affirming the legitimacy of Canon ink cartridges while the Japanese company works to obtain the semiconductor chips that verify them.

In the meantime, Canon has been forced to explain to its customers how to bypass and override a digital rights management tool that previously didn’t allow customers to use any other cartridge brand other than Canon.

The German branch of Canon Germany issued a public statement on its website—which was also emailed to customers—explaining that due to the lack of chips, official Canon ink was being misread in the printers as counterfeit.

A total of 19 printer models have been affected, prompting the temporary workaround. Instructions on Canon’s official website outline how and why to ignore warnings that were previously in place to forbid customers from using non-Canon ink.

A global shortage in semiconductor chips has affected products from video games and computers to even automobiles. The chips are tiny transistors made from silicon, which is found in most of the minerals on the earth’s surface. They allow computers, smart phones, appliances vehicles to function.

Messages made by U.S. TODAY to Canon U.S. on Wednesday morning were not immediately returned.

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