Bambu Lab recently announced a firmware security update for its printers that would introduce an official “authorization control” system for critical printer operations. The update is presented as a way to mitigate the “risk of remote hacks or printer exposure issues that have happened in the past, and also lower the risk of abnormal traffic or attacks.”
The new firmware will not allow Bambu Lab printers to interface with popular 3rd party software or hardware upgrades such as Orca Slicer or BigTreeTech’s Panda Touch screen. Now, users will need to download “Bambu Connect” to act as a one-way go-between.
Users of Bambu’s house slicer, Bambu Studio, are unaffected by this update, which will continue functioning as expected.
Bambu Lab listed the following “critical operations” that will require authorization and therefore will not be accessible through 3rd party products:
- Binding and unbinding the printer.
- Initiating remote video access.
- Performing firmware upgrades.
- Initiating a print job (via LAN or cloud mode).
- Controlling motion system, temperature, fans, AMS settings, calibrations, etc.
This means if you use Orca Slicer you will not be able to remotely detect the type or color of filament in your AMS, monitor your prints in the Orca Slicer device tab, or change the speed or hotend temperature. You will have to manually coordinate your filament colors before painting a model, send gcode through Bambu Connect’s interface and stand in front of your printer to manually change the speed or temperature. Bambu Lab said you can monitor – but not change – these functions through Bambu Connect. The go between program did not launch with access to the webcam, so if you want to watch your first layer go down, you’ll need to physically lay eyeballs on your printer.