HP Deskjet 3050A e-All-in-One user reviews

Pros Cheap printer

Cons You get what you pay for

Summary Short version: Don't buy an HP printer. There are many other better options with at least some semblance of technical support. Even their own in-home support technician told me "I wouldn't buy a Deskjet 3520".

Long version: I bought a Deskjet 3050A in March 2012. It worked right out of the box.....for about one day. I called HP's "tech support", whose first suggestion was to unplug the "printer" for 30 seconds, plug it back in, then it should work. And it did.....for about one day. Then I called "tech support" again, and they changed the IP address of the "printer". The problem was again "fixed".....for about one day. This went on for quite a while. Every time I'd call, they'd try something else and it would work....for about one day. Finally, on about the seventh call (each of which lasted between one and two hours, by the way), I called and they ran out of things to try. So they threw up their hands and blamed my router, my computer, my other computer, my smartphone, my wife's smartphone, my dog, whatever they could blame that wasn't their "printer". By this time, I had been assigned a "case manager" named Liz. She made me do another call, but this time with an "upper-level support technician". He got it working again....for about one day. I called her again - she said we were out of options. I was irate. All I wanted was my money back, but she wouldn't do it. It took quite a bit of "convincing", but finally she offered to give me a replacement "printer" - a Deskjet 3520A - which I didn't want because I knew it would exhibit the same problem (same network card, same firmware, etc.). I reluctantly agreed and it came about a week later. Surprisingly it worked.....FOR ABOUT ONE DAY! I called Liz, who told me there was nothing she could do. Once again, I was irate. This time, after a bit more "convincing", she agreed to send an in-home support technician to my house for free. He came over and struggled for over two hours with it. At this point, he asked why we bought that printer. He said "I wouldn't buy a Deskjet 3520 - you should get a " some other HP printer I don't remember. Just as he was about to give up trying to fix my "printer", he tried installing the software a different way - by telling Windows to ask for the CD, which most people know does the same thing as installing it with the installer. Miraculously, it worked....WAIT FOR IT....WAIT FOR IT...FOR ABOUT ONE DAY!!!! I once again called Liz, who told me again that we were done. And that's it. Now I have a 20 pound paperweight.

I used to LOVE HP printers. Before I bought the 3050A, I saw some reviews that the wireless card sometimes drops out. I even read one from a guy whose story was similar to mine. But I bought the thing anyway because I really thought HP had their **** together. Man, was I wrong. Don't go down the same path I did. Try a different brand. Like I said, there are plenty of other options for the same price (or less), and some good tech support that you likely won't even need.

In case you're wondering about my level of technical expertise, I'm an engineer. I know how to troubleshoot a network, perform software installations, etc. (hell, I've even written a device driver). I can assure you the problem was not on my end.