This new auth system will make me sell my printers

Bambu Lab X1 Series General discussions
1248

well i’m fairly sure that on modern cars any meaningful change is indeed locked to the brand (then there are people who hack the ECU, but that’s not supported or even tolerated by the brands) I don’t think you can change a stereo on a Tesla, but hey i might be wrong :smiley:

you want them to deploy a solution that meets your goals, not theirs as a company, so yeah i don’t know what to say to that. We as consumers have a lot of power, when a company doesn’t meet our criteria we move on and go to another.

I also don’t like that i can’t upgrade my Mac’s RAM or internal hard-drives, but it was my conscious choice to purchase it

Anyways i will continue using Bambu, i’m good with cloud, if they change their minds and decide to open, it’s fine by me :smiley: (but i doubt it will happen, especially with the next gen)

1249

I don’t really trust any of them, on either side of the coin. It’s not enough to just create good content; I think a lot of youtubers fall into the trap of baiting on drama to gain views, money, etc.

I lean into the folks I know here; in that we talk, I get a glimpse into their workflows, their setups, their lives. I think it’s more worthwhile to see how it impacts people on that level, rather than the drama driven speculation of youtube. A lot of our fellow designers here, they use these machines every day. A lot of the designers here too play heavily into Makerworld, so they further understand the system as a whole, and the sort of things Bambu is doing as a whole. They aren’t outsiders making videos to capitalize on the latest drama, but actual users of the machines, of the systems, of the ecosystem.

I mean, everyone wants to go on about how awesome Louis Rossmann is, but at the same time he’s getting a bit of flack for his hit piece (I’m being hyperbolic with that choice of words) on LTT that is just… I don’t know. I personally think it makes him look petty and like he just wants to find things to complain about all day.

We idealize people that parrot our views, but fail to see how out of touch they actually are with us on an individual level; while we ignore those around us that are our friends, that are the real people in our lives that we can actually relate to on some level. They are way closer to us than anyone on Youtube spouting whatever they can to get views.

I mean, do you think Louis Rossmann or slant 3d have used Bambu printers? Do you think they use Makerworld, or have any deeper understanding to the history of? (I realize slant 3d actually does 3d printing, but he’s in a bit of a different league/arena from us too, so I’d still take his opinions with a grain of salt)

It’s not to discredit their opinions; I don’t mean to go as far; but I think it’s more so to consider how you weigh those opinions, and to remember that in a lot of ways they are wanting to make money from those opinions.

Then you got a guy like Johnny Bit, that is an active user, an active designer. He understands more so what Bambu is about as a whole, but he’s not a consumer driven user either, so what he actively wants and gets out of his printers goes beyond the basics; to the extent of, it’s an insight on where things evolve towards once you start moving past simply being a consumer. It’s much easier to look at someone like Johnny and the real world limitations he’s running into, and go okay this could hit me too.

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1250

This shows my car knowledge and enthusiasm for “modern cars”. Let’s just say that I can change my car’s stereo without problem :wink:

That being said:

Both of those are known at the time of purchase. That’s one of the pain points: had those limits been known at the time of the purchase, people relying on them would choose other printers. This is one point that regardless of your stance on “the cloud” or whatever the product at hand is, no company should be allowed to take away from the product you own ability it had at the point of purchase. Consumers shouldn’t be faced with “I’ve altered the deal, pray I don’t alter it any further.”

:100: spot on!

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1251

lol at this post being featured in the community recap email. Nothing to see indeed. Just another person talking about something they know nothing about.

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1252

Don’t underestimate the value of talking about something you know nothing about. Much learning begins that way grasshopper. At some age you drop your ego and ask stupid questions because you want to hear it from an actual living expert. Even bullshidding can be a learniing experience because those who know the truth will pull you back in line.:slight_smile:

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1253

That does not matter. Him shilling the printers and towing the company line only increases his revenue through affiliate money.
If a small creator like NBR made several thousand $ off of that program in a shorter timeframe(he had affiliate status taken away because he did not unilaterally praise them).

You can see a direct quote of the affiliate program T&C’s in this short.

Or simply look at these restrictions coming with Bambu Connect and ask yourself why that is necessary for their claimed security reasons

Screenshot_20250131_091231_Firefox Beta
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Why does it need to connect to their servers at all if I’m sending things locally?
Why does it not let me calibrate my machine?
Why can I not access the camera feed?
Etc.

There is nothing malicious you could send to the printer that requires this. Motion and temperatures are limited in firmware. It is straight up to inconvenience people and force them into their own inferior slicer.
Couple that with the wishy washy statements made to The Verge and you know what’s going to happen. Notice how they only commit to the current series(while still keeping a backdoor open with the whole “security issues” excuse to remove further offline access in the future). They can’t lock the current printers down fully because they would get sued and clapped out of existence by users and regulators.

However between the lines it is very apparent that a further lock down is coming in new products, including filament lock in.

This has happened before, happens now and will always happen and it just takes away ownership further from things WE paid for.

Watch this in full and rethink your position.

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1254

You state filament lock will come with future models. That is just speculation. If they do come out with such a limitation on a future model then we will know at point of sale so can make an informed choice as to whether that suits us or not. Personally I do not believe they would go that route as it would undoubtedly be their downfall, the market would not put up with it.

I fully get the other arguments, why do we ever need to be forced to go inline to do a local print. I agree 100% that we should argue that, We always knew Bambu were not going to plat the open source game like most other brands. That is IMO their own short sightedness. Creality once had the same ethos but were persuaded to change their ways. I hope Bambu do too. They have without question improved the whole sector with their innovative product. The sector had stagnated a little before the X1 arrived. Competition is always a good thing. But brands can all to easily shoot themselves in the foot and be nothing but a memory almost as fast as they arrived.

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1255

I don’t have anything I can usefully add to discussion, I just wanted to ask whether you realise that the phrase “nothing to see here” means the exact opposite? “Nothing to see here gov’nor, move along” is a comic expression originally used in the UK in situations where there was indeed something significant to see but which The Powers That Be wanted to cover up. ( Google Search ) I believe the line has even crossed the pond and would be recognised as satirical by most Americans ( Move Along, Nothing to See Here - TV Tropes ). So it took me (and probably quite a few of the British readers here) a little while when reading this thread to realise that you meant it literally and were not actually agreeing with the posters!

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1256

Are you so sure that people wouldn’t put up with it? I see way too many people handwaving the current change under the guise of “well, it just works so what’s the problem?”.
Sure it is speculation, but if you read the answers they gave and think about how they respond to this question compared to others where they categorically rule out changes/fears you really do know what’s up.
Pushing back against stuff like that early is always positive. Sitting there and letting it happen will not make them change course.

Quote from the article:

1c) Will Bambu publicly commit to never putting any existing printer functionality behind a subscription?
Yes.

2) Will Bambu publicly commit to never restricting the use of third-party filament in any way, shape, or form?
For our current product line, yes. We have no plans to restrict the use of third-party filament in any way.

4) Will Bambu publicly commit to permanently keep the Developer mode with local MQTT, livestream and FTP and never remove it in any future update or shipping batch of the X1, P1, A1, and A1 Mini?
Yes. However, if a severe security issue arises in the future, we may need to make adjustments to address it. Users can always choose whether to update their printer firmware or not.

5) Will Bambu publicly commit to offering and keeping the local Developer mode available in any future printers it releases?
We cannot commit to features for non-existent future printers. However, we will clearly communicate all relevant details before customers make their purchase decisions.

Do you see what they’re doing?
They are willing to categorically rule out some things in there, but are wishy washy with just as important of a topic.

The RFID system is locked down for a reason, filament is dirt cheap to actually make and there are extreme margins on it - especially the more “exotic” materials.

Bambu is not and never was the small start-up company people thought they were. There was a lot of technical and business knowledge(and money) already at the start. They know what they’re doing here and how to push the boundaries.

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1257

It’s interesting that you use this to try to discredit the PrintFarmAcademy’s opinion. Yet every single Prusa Core One “release/review” video I watched today has a plug in it… “Affiliate link in the description”. Yup even NBR’s had one.

1258

Quite to the contrary! I said I’m sure that it has no impact on his stance and it was a side note.

What discredits his opinion is what I said above that sidenote:

As to “reviews”:

Every single of those videos was made by content creator who got the review unit. I don’t trust content creators and especially those “reviewing” stuff they got for free and even more those who have affiliate links. Best reviews are made by people buying things, working them and showing inards :stuck_out_tongue:

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1259

100% agree. Sadly this isn’t the world we live in and those reviews are rarely made.

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1260

Item 2 on your list for instance, that is something no company would answer. Let’s give you a reason why. What if Bambu said yes. What if they then release a commercial machine, on the likes of a large company would use. They open themselves to litigation. That is often the case for “political” non answers. They cannot predict the future so have to be careful what they say. So never be amazed that you don’t get the exact answer you want from any company, as they all have to protect themselves.

As for people not buying from them if they locked down consumer machines I do see them struggling. Compare the X1 to the Prusa Core One or the new Qidi or Creality machines. Why would anyone, knowing it would severely limit their material selection, availability, cost etc buy from a company that restricts them? Bambu would have to compete on price as well as create versions and colours of every filament on the market. Then they would have to make them available through local distributors, shops and the likes of Amazon etc. They simply cannot do that and to believe the average maker is that stupid to fool for it would be arrogant to say the least.

Consumers do walk with their feet, and I a, sure Bambu know that. Given how vocal this community is I am quite sure they will not want to push their luck, there is just too much good competition for them to risk it. As much as we want Bambu to be as open and supportive as say Prusa, we always knew that was not going to happen.

1261

Regarding PrintFarm Academy, I like the guy, love the contribution he gives to various different communities so I’ll give him a little leeway, BUT, his view was way too dismissive. Its dismissive as a business owner, its dismissive as an individual spending his or her money. But that’s his view, and he is entitled to view it in anyway he wants.

I fully understand his view and feel it could have been articulated better, but it is what it is. His view… largely, the change is just a little bit more locked down than it was. In all honesty, its effectively a nothing-burger on its own. BUT (big but here), the tea leaves tell a problematic story and its difficult to simply dismiss the possibilities, along with the bumbled response.

Personally, I’m not a BBL hater from this, but I’ve certainly lost some reverence for them. So much so, I can’t see myself buying their next printer. That may change in the distant future, but it will take some doing.

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1262

Well, maybe Bambu Lab should change their name to something as simple as “Bambuzzled”. Just a thought.

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1263

It may turn out that there exists a more reasoned justification that won’t be revealed until sometime after one or more of the new printers is announced, because maybe it has something to do with them. That might explain why the current justification doesn’t seem to hold any water, but why Bamu is sticking to its position anyway. I guess maybe we’ll know in a couple of months, as Bambu has said it will announce its fancy new flagship in Q1 2025 and that it will have been worth the wait. So, I’m willing to give Bambu the benefit of the doubt for a couple of months, and I’ll simply hold off upgrading for now, as Orca Slicer advises.

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1264

On the surface, being reasonable sounds reasonable. Waiting sounds reasonable. But, what might you suppose, In your wildest imagination would necessitate removing features and user choice from long-released printers? What dangers might they be protecting us from? What could be so important to the future that the past must be changed?

I’d have to tie myself into mental knots to give them the benefit of the doubt in this case.

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1266

What are you talking about? The X1E is a X1 series printer, us canceling an order due to BBL insane control issues fits this thread, so, what are you talking about?

1267

Not sure if it was you I was replying to, but someone created the post I replied to as it’s own topic inside the share your prints category, not a part of this thread. It was then merged by @JonRaymond into this topic.

1268

I think I missed something!
What exactly has BBL fooled us into???