Ink Cartridge Number

After navigating around the HP website, I find myself at an HP SureSupply home page that is different than what I've seen in the past.



I notice that this page says "Enter your printer name or ink cartridge number". The search on the HP SureSupply page  with which I am familiar only allows searching by printer model, not ink cartridge number.  I enter my ink number "HP 02", and press Enter.

It load the page with which I am familiar and prompts me to select from a list of printers with "02" in their model numbers. The 02 ink cartridges are not in the list.

HP Slow Web Printing

It appears that some browser add-on installed along with my HP printer driver is slowing down my loading of web pages. Nice going HP. Let's slow down loading of every web page so you can give me "HP Smart Web Printing". I don't know what that is, but I don't think I want any "smart" anything from HP.

Contact HP

I click the "Contact HP" link at the top-right of the HP SureSupply home page.



A new page opens and asks that I confirm my location before I continue. (I had just entered my location and language on the previous page.)

I click the "Submit" button to confirm my location.



I am returned to the HP SureSupply home page. I think I've been here before. ;)

What happens if I click "Contact HP" again?

Please help us

Once again, some component of the multitude of software included with the HP printer drivers tells me I need ink.



I click the button to buy ink online. This time, not only does it fail to detect what printer I have: it fails to detect my language and location.




Notice the warning in the red box? It is asking me to verify the name of the printer that it could not identify. Verify? Verify implies that some data exists and needs checking.

Now, take notice of the top left of the page -- the darkened part. What does it say? It says "English-United States". It seems that it has already determined the correct language and location. So, why ask me again?

What's wrong with this picture?

Well, not much if we ignore the claims that this is the easiest way to shop for HP printer supplies.

The problem is that I got this page while trying to remove an out-of-stock item from my shopping cart. After selecting a number of items to purchase, I attempted to remove one item that was out of stock. I entered "0" in a quantity edit box and clicked an "Update" link.

Rather than update my shopping cart, it took me back here. It is requiring that I select my printer and items to purchase all over again.

I could not get this specific issue to reproduce, but I've been bounced back to this page about a half dozen times in my attempt to select ink today.

No online vendors could be found for your selected products

I went to HP.com to order printer supplies direct from HP. This HP.com web site told me "Ordering ink and toner has never been so simple, efficient and fast." I added a product presented to me by this HP.com web site to an HP.com web site shopping cart.  However, now this HP.com web site tells me it can't find any vendors for the product it offered to me on this HP.com web site, and tells me I should visit HP.com. I think I'll go to a local store and buy a different printer -- one without an HP label.

You have not filled in the following fields properly

Actually, I did fill in the fields properly. I entered my address. Then I logged in once I thought of trying my HP Passport (used for business software support access) credentials. And while the login succeeded, it wiped out what I had previously entered. It also failed to carry over my information that is saved in my HP Passport single-sign-on profile.

So now, the HP Home & Home Office Store tells me I did something wrong?

I also notice that they have kindly rechecked the box requesting to be put on the HP marketing mailing list. I had previously set that to OFF in both this checkout form and in my HP Passport profile.

For security reasons

After logging into the HP Home & Home Office Store, don't click on the plus sign on the step showing that you are logged in. If you do, it will log you out.

However, it will kindly inform you that you have an account with them. And for security reasons, they will display your email address twice within the same box.



Interesting feature. Typically, clicking a plus sign in a GUI gives you more information, not less.

You tried to create a new account

Trying to order ink from the HP Home and Home Office Store to which the HP printer driver software on my computer took me, I get the following:

You tried to create a new account using an e-mail address that matches an existing account. To continue your checkout process, do not fill in the password fields.

I've never ordered anything from an HP online store. How can my e-mail address match an existing account? If I continue the checkout process without filling in the password fields, will this order be associated with some existing account without any credential verification? Or will it not be associated with any account? Will I be able to access this order if there is no account associated with it?

Some later experimentation revealed that this store accepted my HP Passport single-sign-on credentials that I've used for support with HP Mercury test tool products.  I never would have expected that account to be the same account I need to use to order ink cartridges for my home printer.

Next

I enter my information into the "1. Order summary" form on the right and click Next. And what do you think I get? Do you think it took me to the next step? No.

It takes me to the HP Home & Home Office Store home page.  No HP, I do not want to buy a new computer or printer. I was attempting to use HP SureSupply to buy an ink cartridge.  You know, the service you advertise as "The easiest way to shop for Original HP supplies." How difficult was this before there was this easy method?

Signature may be required for delivery

If a signature may be required for delivery of ink to users of printers designed for Home use, this may be about as far from the "easiest way to shop for Original HP supplies" as one can get. It is easier to go by a local store than visit UPS or FedEx in the evening to retrieve a package the driver wouldn't leave on the porch when no one is home.

We apologize-

The first HP SureSupply web page that led me here said "Ordering ink and toner has never been so simple, efficient and fast." I disagree. It seems I can't even adjust the quantity of something in my cart without encountering an error.

Multiple items were found for your search

Multiple items were found for my search? I didn't search for anything. I clicked a link to view my shopping cart and checkout.

Please select the item? There's only one item in my cart -- the one item I put there. I already selected one of the item and placed it in my cart. Why should I have to make a selection of one from a list of one when I already selected what I want?

Choose Series

I can't "Choose series" when the drop-down list remains disabled after I select the type of printer from the first drop-down list.

Compare Savings

Yes HP, I would like to save money by ordering something that is not in stock - anywhere.



(I put the first item in the shopping cart. The software presented the second as a money-saving option.)

Cartridge(s) Empty

I start up my computer and get a warning that my printer has one or more empty ink cartridges.




I click the link for more information.

A "Cartridge(s) Empty" window opens and tells me that the magenta cartridge needs replacing.



I've never purchased ink direct from HP before. Thinking that, just maybe, they have an integrated system that supports quickly ordering replacements for empty or low ink cartridges, I click the "Buy Now at hp.com" button.

Rather than take me direct to an option to purchase the one cartridge I need, it asks me what printer I have. I would have thought that transferring my printer information to the HP online printer supply store, SureSupply, would have been a feature included in the over 300 megabytes of HP software added to my computer when I installed the printer drivers.




So, what kind of printer do I have? I know what ink I need, but I don't remember the printer model number. The ink is "HP 02". That is easy to remember. The name and number of the printer isn't so easy to remember.



Since the software that warned I am out of ink still shows "HP Photosmart C6100 series" on my screen, I am able to make the required selections from the first two drop-down lists.



However, I still don't know the exact model. I have to get up from my desk and go look at the printer to get the model number.



So far, this isn't looking like the "easiest way to shop for Original HP supplies".

Am I expecting too much to think the software on my computer could tell the online store what ink I need, or what printer I have? Am I expecting too much to think I should be able to select ink by the ink type?

Content not available; please try again

For nearly a week now, I've been trying to download some sales-oriented documents from HP Software. Every time, I get the message dialog above. I've tried multiple browsers. I've tried different times of day. I've tried on different days. Should I do as the dialog says and "please try again" again?  Does trying again change anything? How many times are prospective customers expected to try again?

Not being able to deliver sales literature seems a huge failure for a company in the business of selling process and tools to help others build, test, manage, and monitor software systems.

A few other problems I've noted while attempting to get documents:

• Users are required to login using an HP Passport account to attempt to download sales literature.
• In spite of HP having info in an HP Passport account profile, users are required to enter detailed contact information and complete a survey for EACH document requested. 
• Some info is carried over from the HP Passport account to the document request form while other, such as the mailing address' State, is not.
• Form data validation errors are not clearly identified -- leaving users to guess as to what must be fixed to submit the form.

It appears that the process for requesting online documents may example how HP treats customers -- forcing them to comply with software systems rather than HP conforming to customer needs. If I were currently in the market for any of their products, I'd have given up days ago and be checking out their competition.

Sign in again too soon

I get the following in response to logging into the HP software support site.



I last signed in about 24 hours ago.  Is signing in the next day too soon?  If so, how long should I wait?

Or is this trying to tell me that a browser cookie issue may be forcing me to sign in again too soon?

This is a fairly useless error message.  I refreshed the page and my post sign-in destination page is displayed.

The not-so-automatic automatic backup

NTI Shadow is a backup program advertised to automatically backup data to a NAS file server as files are changed.

However, it appears that the designers of the software failed to seriously consider that one may be using a mobile computer that does not always have access to the network file server. I don't think I should have to manually restart backup jobs every time I connect and disconnect from the network.

HP Update

Submitted by Tom Nielsen:

I installed Windows 7 three weeks ago. This morning, for the first time, the incomplete update window appeared. Note that it is incomplete: no way to dismiss/close it.