Setting the Record Straight on Cloud Access and Community

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1099

I agree with this statement when using Studio. It does not match my experience with OrcaSlicer and LAN-only mode. I’ve been using that combination nearly exclusively for 18 months, with the printer blocked at the router.

There is no need to store the flow ratio or PA in the printer. I think that location was chosen to benefit Makerworld, which is irrelevant in LAN mode. (They had better options.)

OrcaSlicers stores flow ratio and pressure advance in the user’s filament profiles, and the sliced G-code overrides any values that may be stored on the printer. So, unlike Studio, there is no limit on the number of profiles, calibrations are not lost if the factory settings are restored, and profiles are easily backed up with the rest of the system.

OrcaSlicer also makes more reliable LAN connections. I have only one printer, so I never need to re-select it; there is no need to visit the Device tab to select the printer. The connection is not lost during long sessions. I never see "No Printer " on the Device tab, as I constantly do in Studio. This is fixable by Bambu; they chose not to.

I’ve had no video issues at all, and my prints are never delayed or blocked by busy servers.

2 Likes
1100

I’m talking about when using Bambu Studio, their OWN software in LAN/DEV mode. They don’t even get that right.

I had to move away from using Orca Slicer for the X2D due to Filament Track Switch support not being added yet. Orca does not show either AMS when using it so it never assigns any filament.

And yah, Orca doesn’t have these issues when I was using it before I got Track Switch.

1101

Right, I wasn’t referring to Orca Slicer, I was more trying to point out how ridiculous claims are being made by people who have never used LAN/DEV mode.

Sadly I can’t use Orca Slicer right now because I added Filament Track Switch and 2nd AMS to the X2D, due to pending support, Orca does not see either AMS, thus I can’t use it directly. The only way is to manually add the filaments/profiles in orca, slice, export and use Bambu Connect to assign, but that has it’s own issues with track switch equipped x2D.

So switched to Bambu Studio in mean time (still in LAN mode) and it is so bad. Because of this, I also have to rely on Bambu’s system of handling PA values.

Regarding the profiles, I was referring to the custom filament profiles themselves. I use lot of non Bambu filament and I create a profile for it. Say I make a profile for iSANMATE Matte PLA and I save it, when I go and load the filament in the AMS, I can go on screen to assign filament for that slot, because the custom profile gets sent to the printer via cloud (and only cloud), iSANMATE would now show up as one of the choices under Brand, and depending on what material profiles you have for that brand, they will also become available in Material section. Selecting this then links this slot/filament to that profile. So when you use the sync function in Bambu Studio, it auto selects the profile for that filament. Which intself is reliant on Bambu Studio being signed into cloud lol… all while the profiles are also stored locally, Studio just doesn’t use them for sync function and force cloud use in this instance as well.

But in order for all this to work, the printer needs to have the profile on it’s storage. You CANNOT manually send or upload the filament profile, which would be definition of what Developer Mode should allow one to do. Nope, that transfer can ONLY happen via cloud, which you can ONLY get using the Network Plugin, which in itself is now in question if it’s a AGPL protected or not…but besides that, there are general features like this they intentionally gated to make the user experience a worse one if they don’t use their Cloud services along with all the other issues I mentioned.

They can’t even be bothered to provide a decent experience when users are using their own freaking official software but in LAN mode, which I’m sure is also why people move to Orca when staying local. Truth is that they want LAN mode option to go away so badly but they also can’t completely get rid of it without bigger backlash, so other option obviously is to make the experience worse or impossible to do some things at all without at least briefly switching to cloud mode.

1 Like
1102

Maybe they could propose a localication change for enUS to change “LAN-Only mode” to “LAN Mode”, the word “only” does a lot of improper heavy lifting for assumptions.

1103

Their definition of LAN and DEV modes seem to differ a bit from what they normally are in devices that have LAN/DEV modes.

If I can’t even sync profiles to the locally saved ones in Bambu Studio (on printer or on PC), instead they FORCE you to log in in Bambu Studio for this to work (even when on LAN mode)…then yah, it can’t be LAN “only”. lol

Reminds me of the SNL skit called “Almost Pizza”……it should be….”Almost LAN”. Look it up, you’ll know what I’m talking about if you understand Bambu LAN mode lol.

1104

Turning on LAN mode disables cloud connectivity, no?

1105

From the Machine’s perspective, yes. The phrase “LAN only” to me means “All stuff will be handled on LAN only” not “A subset of features remain available, and those will be handled on LAN, and the software you need to use on the other end of the LAN is crippled if it too is without WAN” So perhaps it’s just a localization issue about expectations =p

1 Like
1106

Gotcha. Yeah, I honestly think the way they force things through the cloud is stupid. For example, if you initiate a print from the printer’s control, you have no ability to remotely monitor it or get notifications from Bambu Handy. I have complained about this since the very beginning. They act like it’s the only way it is possible, instead of acknowledging that the printer could just ping the cloud to announce it has started a print.

1107

It appears that unless the data is piped through the cloud, they are not that concerned with it. Regardless if it is supporting Handy or LAN based features. Lot of things that could be local are gate kept behind their cloud service.

I also have a U1, it’s been on LAN since the day I unboxed it and I haven’t had a single hurdle, limitation or a cloud reliant feature I couldn’t use. To say it’s “not possible” it just a crux (not you saying, I’m referring to Bambu’s excuses"). It IS possible, it’s just not something they are willing to put time into making possible, that’s the difference.

1 Like
1108

Allowing for a real LAN only mode would jeopardize Bambu’s “walled garden“ business model, as it would remove any form of control Bambu currently has over users’ printers. It has very little to do with what stl files and printer settings users are using (though, despite Bambu’s claims and BS arguments to the contrary, their TOS and T&Cs clearly state it collects data from each and every print job going through their cloud), rather it has to do more with encroaching on users’ purchased printers, further locking them down into Bambu’s “ecosystem” and forcing increased dependency, while ensuring further revenue streams.

See more here.

1 Like
1109

? I put my Bambu printers into LAN mode right out of the box and they’re working perfectly. I used the cloud once to update my P1S firmware and haven’t been out of LAN mode since. The connection never drops. Bambu Studio talks to the printers with no problems. Filament profiles are sent from the PCs just fine. I’ve had no issues since January 2025 when I got my first Bambu printer.