Third-party status
DisputedDisputed: Brother denies blocking; some owners report rejections
Brother says updates do not block third-party toner. An HL-L2350DW owner says a toner error was fixed only by moving the original chip, and a hobbyist claims a 2026 update on a sister model blocks clones. Disputed.
What to do now
What to buy instead
- Genuine Brother TN760. Always accepted.
- Compatible TN760 from a seller with a firmware return policy. Ask what happens if an update rejects it.
- Account required
- No
- Cartridges
- Brother TN730 / TN760 toner, DR730 drum
- Blocking firmware
- None reported
- Last checked
Also applies to: Other printers that take TN730/TN760 toner, such as the HL-L2395DW (check your toner number).
Third-party and remanufactured cartridges
- Brother says its firmware updates do not block third-party ink or toner, and repeats this on its own US support site.[1][2][3]
- In March 2025 Louis Rossmann accused Brother of using updates against third-party toner. Ars Technica found the claims rest mostly on owner posts it could not confirm.[1][4]
- In March 2025 a Hacker News commenter said an HL-L2350DW and an MFC-L2690DW showed an error with third-party toner until they moved the chip from an empty Brother cartridge.[5]
- In the same thread, an HL-L2370DW owner said third-party toner had worked for years, on firmware they had never knowingly updated.[5]
- A hobbyist repository (May 2026) claims firmware ZG (April 2026) on the HL-L2395DW, which takes the same TN760, rejects third-party chips. Brother has not confirmed this.[6]
Brother account and subscriptions
- We found no Brother statement that the HL-L2350DW needs an account or subscription to print.[7]
Firmware that blocked cartridges
- Hobbyist claim only: HL-L2395DW firmware ZC (March 2024) worked and ZG (April 2026) blocks. No source names an HL-L2350DW version.[6]
To see your version, print a printer status report or open the printer's web page. Compare it with the firmware list.
Workarounds that sources back up
- Move the chip from an empty genuine Brother cartridge to the third-party one.[5] Owner report. It may stop working after an update.
- Hold off on firmware updates until reports on the new version appear.[1] Brother recommends updating. We have not verified an auto-update off switch on this model.
What does not reliably work
What to buy instead
- Genuine Brother TN760. Always accepted. Shop
- Compatible TN760 from a seller with a firmware return policy. Ask what happens if an update rejects it. Shop
These are plain store links. We earn nothing from them today. Disclosure.
What we could not verify
- The hobbyist claim that HL-L2395DW firmware ZG blocks third-party TN760 toner.
- Whether the same applies to the HL-L2350DW.
- Any Brother statement on authenticated toner chips.
Know something we missed? Dated sources beat opinions. Corrections go on the page with a date.
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Sources
- Ars Technica: Brother denies using firmware updates to brick printers with third-party ink (published Mar 5, 2025)
- The Register: Brother denies dirty toner tricks (updated Mar 7 and 11) (published Mar 6, 2025)
- Brother USA support: Toner Error (read Oct 21, 2026)
- Tom's Hardware: Brother accused of locking down third-party cartridges via firmware updates (published Mar 4, 2025)
- Hacker News comment: Brother toner error fixed by moving the OEM chip (published Mar 5, 2025)
- brother-altfw (hobbyist repository, commit of May 30, 2026) (read Oct 21, 2026)
- Brother USA: HL-L2350DW product page (read Oct 21, 2026)