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Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

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Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#151

Post by MezzoDelCammin »

I'm kinda curious what will this lockdown do to the efforts to replace their controller and/or firmware with something more open. Something like [1]

It's nice to have a private key to their cloud authentication, but ultimately it's the printers firmware that's the issue. While Bambu owns and updates that, they can change the keys basically anytime they decide that they had enough of the alternative Bambu Connect servers that people will inevitably create with the current keys.

[1] https://github.com/ChazLayyd/Bambu-Lab-Klipper-Conversion

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#152

Post by Mashimo »

ddingus wrote: post #147
Mashimo wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the AMS unit for the Bambu is somewhat sealed and has desiccant in it. "take a load" - I don't know what kind of load, do you mean the fact that PLA is creeping under sustained load? If that is YOUR usecase that is fine, but that does not mean that set and forget works just fine for others. Btw gun people use PLA plus just fine.

"Take a load" = perform mechanically and or structurally at levels of force, temperatures, etc. at levels higher than the properties of PLA allow for. Don't get me wrong here. PLA is a great polymer, However you can't really expect parts made with it to hold up when compared to other "engineering grade" polymers.

Well for example layer bonding is better compared to some other materials. It's just that load over time it will creep. And of course shite under temperature.

It can be a fantastic material for some functional parts.

But even if not, I don't see how it's invalidates that there are printers out there that are more or less set and forget.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#153

Post by mls-pl »

DrBenCarson wrote: post #78
nialv7 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

bait-and-switch? We, those who advocate for open source 3D printers, saw it coming from miles away. This has very very clearly been their plan all along, they themselves said as much (e.g. they are doing the "apple model"). They have been very transparent about this, yet people still fell for it.

AFAIK, Apple has never retroactively removed functionality from devices people already purchased Selling a walled garden is one thing, building walls around a garden you already bought is another thing entirely

And main difference with Apple is that you don't have to log in to their services on iPhone yet still have full _phone_ functionality.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#154

Post by dns_snek »

MindSpunk wrote: post #64
phito wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe bamboo printers were too cheap which lead them towards their subscription based model. Everyone complains about enshittification (YouTube ads, subscription models etc..), but then refuse to pay the real price premium goods and services cost. You get what you pay for.

What subscription? They're restricting remote access APIs in new firmware because they pose a security threat.

There is no security threat, it's an excuse. I own a printer and operate it in LAN mode. It requires authentication with 8 digit code.

If you think they care about security, let me remind you that this company used to connect to their cloud in plaintext. The only security they really care about is that of their revenue.

If they actually cared about security, they would let us disconnect these printers from the cloud completely and allow us to manage our own mTLS certificates.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#155

Post by LeoPanthera »

nialv7 wrote: post #34
NelsonMinar wrote: post #24

I am angry at the bait-and-switch Bambu is pulling. I bought one of their printers in the Black Friday sale on the understanding it was reasonably hackable and open. Now they're trying to lock it down so I can't print on my own printer without using their approved software and DRM chain. It's outrageous. More info on the hacking (the first in what may be a long stupid fight): https://hackaday.com/2025/01/19/bambu-con…

bait-and-switch? We, those who advocate for open source 3D printers, saw it coming from miles away. This has very very clearly been their plan all along, they themselves said as much (e.g. they are doing the "apple model"). They have been very transparent about this, yet people still fell for it.

"Fell for it" implies that everyone buying a Bambu printer expected some degree of openness. Maybe some customers actually want an "Apple model", where the device mostly looks after itself and "just works" as much as possible.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#156

Post by the_mitsuhiko »

teruakohatu wrote: post #134
ThouYS wrote: post #117

I wish Prusa weren't asleep at the wheel, then we would have bought a core one (that is, the hypothetical variant with large build volume and same quality as bambulab). Instead, we bought a P1S, which is, technically speaking, a fantastic machine.

Not really asleep at the wheel. More like they invented the wheel, produced the open source slicer (a fork of the original slicer but vastly improved), which was then used by Bambu who could manufacture a printer for less in China rather than in the EU. Prusa themselves run 600 printers. They are commercial grade. If I was using a printer for commercial design or prototyping I would go with Prusa. Not only because I…

> which was then used by Bambu who could manufacture a printer for less in China rather than in the EU.

I'm not at all convinced that Prusa's main issue is the cost. Yes, cost is a huge part of it, but the other one is also just usability. When the X1C launched and later the A1, there was a huge difference in usability between what Prusa and Bambu had. Prusa is catching up and that is good. But they will have to do more on that front still, and the higher cost is less of a concern. It becomes a problem when the more expensive printer is worse too.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#157

Post by theshrike79 »

Xelbair wrote: post #128
po wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This led to slower device performance without informing users, which is a removal of expected performance functionality. As opposed to the device unexpectedly shutting down due to a degraded battery not being able to push enough energy to support the CPU? They didn't remove expected performance, they prevented crashes which are by definition 0 performance. All Li-ion batteries degrade over time. That's not removing…

the problem isn't that they've done it. the problem is that user got no choice. Some might prefer degraded performance, others might prefer to charge their devices more often. Also seller should have no business touching anything that they've already sold - they do might offer support, but it should be up to user to accept it or not.

It's not a matter of "charging more often". The phone just shut down when the battery was somewhere between 0-40%

Source: had two 6S's in the family. In the cold it could just suddenly shut down mid-call from 60% battery.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#158

Post by theshrike79 »

jillyboel wrote: post #145
po wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This led to slower device performance without informing users, which is a removal of expected performance functionality. As opposed to the device unexpectedly shutting down due to a degraded battery not being able to push enough energy to support the CPU? They didn't remove expected performance, they prevented crashes which are by definition 0 performance. All Li-ion batteries degrade over time. That's not removing…

> All Li-ion batteries degrade over time So they know this yet they refuse to let users swap the battery?

Users can swap the battery?

  1) open phone
  2) remove battery
  3) replace battery
  4) close phone
It just requires more tools than your fingers, like every single mainstream phone.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#159

Post by dns_snek »

wongarsu wrote: post #102
hatsunearu wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really really hope people saying this is a nothingburger is actually right, because I do have a P1S, use orcaslicer, and would like it to continue to work. Hoping this is just a miscommunication.

Bambu Connect is explicitly about allowing you to continue to use your favorite slicer. They make it less convenient (instead of pressing print you now have to save, load the file in Bambu Connect and then press print), but they don't prevent you from doing it. Once the update actually rolls out to the P1S obviously. Which may not even happen with the current backlash

> Bambu Connect is explicitly about allowing you to continue to use your favorite slicer.

For now. They're putting themselves in the middleman position where they get the final say over what we can print on the printers that we supposedly "own".

It's naive to think that they won't try to extract revenue from that privileged position, they wouldn't have spent R&D resources on it otherwise.

Re: Reverse Engineering Bambu Connect

#160

Post by ddingus »

debugnik wrote: post #139
cuu508 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some are good, some are bad, buyer beware. No direct experience, but I recently read[1] Brother HL-L3220CW counts printed pages, and refuses to print after a set number of pages, even if there's still toner in the cartridge. Some models have a way to reset the page count but this one apparently does not. [1] https://spicausis-lv.translate.goog/2025/01-brother/?_x_tr_s... (I also use a Brother B/W laser printer, got i…

Does the printer also refuse to print when using toners not part of the EcoPro subscription, though? Or is this just another case of people expecting their subscription toners/cartridges to last beyond their payment? I can't blame them, the marketing is sneaky about it, I just see it often on threads about HP. The post did mention the other toners that came with the printer also locked, but I think I remember reading…

I have a L2395DW and its factory cartridge just ran out!

Factory setting is to stop printing. It can be changed to basically print anyway.

That worked, delivering increasingly crappy prints until replacement toner cartridges arrived.

Swapped one in and the machine is back to printing fine.

I did buy aftermarket, cheap as I could find for replacement.

The factory cart still had 5 percent or so, when compared to the new ones, of toner in it.

Haven't had the sam

All said and done I am pretty happy. Toner got well used, replacement was cheap.

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