HP

Parts availability

72/100

Schematics

75/100

Repair friendliness

66/100

OEM pricing

66/100

Software locks

73/100

PIRG graded HP laptops C in 2025 and B- in 2026 (improving). HP publishes detailed Maintenance & Service Guides for its business EliteBook/ProBook lines and sells parts via PartSurfer, with few software locks; consumer Pavilion/Envy lines are less serviceable (more adhesive, less documentation). No model is on iFixit's curated laptop score list, so repair-friendliness is inferred from PIRG's France-index data rather than a direct teardown score. Average lands low-C.

Parts availability

40/100

Schematics

35/100

Repair friendliness

30/100

OEM pricing

18/100

Software locks

12/100

HP is the documented worst offender for cartridge DRM. Its 'Dynamic Security' system, introduced in 2016, uses a chip to authenticate cartridges; firmware updates (notably the November 2020 push) blocked non-HP and even previously-working cartridges. This triggered multiple lawsuits: a US class action settled in 2025 with no payout and no admission of wrongdoing (only ~21 listed LaserJet models gained the option to decline/remove Dynamic Security; restrictions remain for most printers made after 2016), and a $12M fine in Italy. An HP executive openly boasted in 2023 that its ink subscription 'locks' customers in. PIRG documents razor-and-blades pricing with ink marked up roughly 10,000% ($1.18/oz wholesale vs ~$118/oz in cartridges) plus Instant Ink subscription lock-in. Official public board schematics are unavailable; consumer inkjets are largely disposable.