The Bambu Lab firmware update controversy: what changed and what stays local

The controversy is over Bambu Lab firmware that, since early 2025, rejects printing and control commands from unapproved software in both cloud mode and standard LAN mode. Printing does not need the cloud: Bambu Studio, memory-card printing and LAN Only mode work with no internet connection or account. Third-party control is what changed: OrcaSlicer and other slicers now send prints through Bambu Connect, and control tools such as Home Assistant and the Panda Touch need Developer Mode, an option inside LAN Only mode.

Facts below are as of October 22, 2026, from Bambu Lab’s posts, wiki and release notes and from dated press coverage.

What was the Bambu Lab firmware update controversy?

The Bambu Lab firmware update controversy is the dispute over authorization control, a firmware change Bambu Lab announced on January 16, 2025 that blocks unauthorized software from starting prints or controlling its printers. Some developers and owners criticized the loss of direct third-party control; Bambu Lab calls the change a security measure.

Bambu Lab’s announcement says the change is “mitigating any risk of remote hacks or printer exposure issues”. Its FAQ adds that Bambu saw “peaks of up to 30 million unauthorized requests per day” to its cloud through unofficial channels. What the announcement lists:

• Needs authorization. Binding the printer, remote video, firmware upgrades, “initiating a print job (via LAN or cloud mode)”, and control of motion, temperature, fans, AMS (Automatic Material System) settings and calibration.
• Does not. Status reporting, printing from a memory card and firmware updates from a memory card.

Date	What happened
June 11, 2024	P1 firmware 01.06.00.00 stops commands sent through the printer’s local MQTT broker (the messaging channel local apps use) from starting prints or heating the nozzle and bed while the printer is logged in to Bambu Cloud. Bambu Lab gave the reason as avoiding conflicts between two control channels, and pointed Home Assistant and Panda Touch users to LAN Only mode.
January 16, 2025	Bambu Lab announces authorization control, X1 series first, P and A series later. Beta X1 firmware 01.08.03.00 opens January 17. Bambu Connect 1.0.4 beta is released.
January 20, 2025	A second post adds an optional Developer Mode for the X1, P1, A1 and A1 mini.
March 12, 2025	X1 firmware 01.08.05.00 ships authorization control and Developer Mode.
March 25, 2025	The H2D’s first firmware, 01.01.00.00, ships with both. Bambu Lab had said all future models would include authorization control “as standard”.
June 3, 2025	P1 firmware 01.08.02.00 and A1 and A1 mini firmware 01.05.00.00 add authorization control and Developer Mode.
July 6, 2025	OrcaSlicer merges a switch between Bambu’s legacy network plugin and the newer plugin that current firmware needs.

What was the backlash over the Bambu Lab firmware update?

Criticism came from OrcaSlicer’s lead developer SoftFever, from creators and owners whose reactions The Verge reported, and from Prusa Research CEO Josef Prusa. Bambu Lab replied in a January 20, 2025 blog post and through spokesperson Nadia Yaakoubi’s answers to The Verge on January 22.

Who, and when	What they said or reported	Bambu Lab’s response
SoftFever, OrcaSlicer’s lead developer, January 18, 2025	Bambu Lab “informed me of this change two days before their announcement”, and its team is “not going to greenlight OrcaSlicer to send prints directly to their machine.” The Verge reported on January 24 that he advised owners not to upgrade.	To The Verge: discussions with SoftFever had been under way since January 14, and “messages were exchanged, files were sent, and their receipt was confirmed”, adding that “‘Work with’ might be ambiguous.”
The Verge (Sean Hollister), January 22, 2025	Reported that some creators pledged to stop buying Bambu printers and pulled models from its repository, and that some owners worried about subscriptions and limits on third-party filament.	No subscription “to control or print from our printers over a home network” for the current product line, and “no plans to restrict the use of third-party filament in any way.”
The Verge, January 22, 2025	Reported that hackers had extracted Bambu Connect’s private key and authentication certificate.	“No, this doesn’t change our plans, and we’ve taken immediate action.”
Josef Prusa, Prusa Research CEO, on LinkedIn (reported by 3D Printing Industry, February 3, 2025)	“Quite scary where the 3DP industry is moving”, adding “control of your data.”	To The Verge: “LAN mode: Nothing is transmitted through our servers.”

Bambu Lab’s January 20 post called seven circulating claims “entirely false”, including that it would remotely “brick” printers, that third-party filament would be disabled, and that a subscription would become mandatory. The same post said “our communication might have contributed to the confusion.”

Does the Bambu Lab firmware update force cloud dependency?

No. In LAN Only mode, Bambu Studio prints with the printer’s access code and no account or internet connection. The firmware restricts which software may start prints and control the printer, on your network as well as in the cloud.

Asked by The Verge whether current and future printers would stay controllable over LAN without an account or internet access, Bambu Lab answered “For current models: Yes.” For future products it said it aims to keep the function but that “committing to a specific technical approach indefinitely is not responsible.” Its Trust Center post says LAN-Only Mode “keeps your printer off the internet entirely (no cloud connection, period)”.

What works, by mode, on firmware with authorization control:

Task (alphabetical)	Standard mode (cloud, or LAN Only without Developer Mode)	LAN Only mode with Developer Mode
Bambu Handy app	Works in cloud mode; not available in LAN Only mode	Not available
Bambu Studio printing and control	Works	Works over LAN
Firmware update from a memory card or USB drive	Works	Works
Home Assistant (ha-bambulab integration)	Reads status and sensors; most control actions stop	Reads and controls
OrcaSlicer and other third-party slicers	Slice, then send the job through Bambu Connect	Send directly over LAN
Panda Touch and other control accessories	Monitoring and LED control only	Bambu Lab keeps the ports open; support depends on the accessory maker
Printing from a memory card at the printer	Works	Works
Remote printing and monitoring away from home	Works in cloud mode	Not available
Status reporting over MQTT	Works	Works

Developer Mode turns the authorization checks off and opens the MQTT channel, the live stream and FTP (file transfer) to tools on your network. Bambu Lab says Developer Mode “will not allow the printer to be connected to Bambu Cloud”. Its January 20, 2025 post adds that Bambu Lab “will not be able to provide customer support for this mode.” OrcaSlicer’s 2.3.2 beta notes (February 14, 2026) say full support for the H2D and H2S needs both LAN mode and Developer Mode on the printer. Setup steps are in the LAN-only mode guide.

Should you update your Bambu Lab printer’s firmware?

Whether to update a Bambu Lab printer depends on what controls it. For Bambu Studio, Bambu Handy or memory-card printing, nothing changes, and current firmware adds bug fixes, security patches and newer accessory support. If OrcaSlicer, Home Assistant or a touchscreen accessory controls it, updating means sending OrcaSlicer jobs through Bambu Connect or turning on Developer Mode.

What current firmware adds

The newest release for each series in Bambu Lab’s release history, as of October 22, 2026 (alphabetical):

Printer series	Latest firmware	What Bambu Lab lists
A1, A1 mini	01.08.01.00 (June 3, 2026)	“Included necessary security updates”, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian, a PLA Pure preset, external spool and flow calibration fixes
H2D	01.04.00.00 (August 26, 2026)	Filament Track Switch support, foreign object detection toggle, improved hole accuracy compensation
P1 series	01.10.00.00 (March 30, 2026)	“Included critical security patches”, multi-color printing from the external spool, power loss recovery fix
X1 series	01.12.00.00 (August 4, 2026)	“Includes essential security updates”, purge chute pile-up detection

Some hardware needs a minimum version. The AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT need X1 firmware 01.09.00.00 or P1 firmware 01.08.00.00 (both April 29, 2025), and Bambu Lab says to update the printer before connecting them. E3D High-Flow hotends on the X1 need 01.11.00.00 (November 25, 2025). For H2D firmware 01.04.00.00, Bambu Lab recommends finishing projects in progress first: “Mixing parts printed before and after the update may cause fit or assembly issues.”

The X1 series reached end of life on March 31, 2026. Bambu Lab says X1 firmware will get bug fixes and feature updates to May 31, 2027, and security patches to May 31, 2029.

What staying on older firmware means

The FAQ in Bambu Lab’s January 16, 2025 announcement says you may keep older firmware, but “the printers may miss out on important security fixes or bug patches.” The same post says older firmware still works with old and new versions of Bambu Studio and Bambu Handy “without restrictions”. SoftFever wrote on January 18, 2025 that “as long as the firmware is not upgraded, the existing plugin will still work”. OrcaSlicer keeps a legacy network plugin option for printers on old firmware.

Printers that launched with authorization control (the H2D and later models) have no older firmware to stay on. Direct third-party control on them needs Developer Mode. On the P1 series, firmware below 01.09.01.00 must first take an offline update to the “Bridge Firmware” 01.09.01.00 before any later version. If an update stalls, see fixing a stuck Bambu firmware update.

Can you roll back?

Yes, from Bambu Handy: Device, ☰, Settings, Firmware Version, then “I want to update to a historical version”, and pick a version. The printer restarts on its own; Bambu Lab says to run a calibration afterward. Bambu Lab told The Verge that “Firmware rollback was and always will be available”, and the X1, P1, A1 and A1 mini releases that introduced authorization control each list “Downgrade firmware to a previous version if needed”.

Only listed versions are offered. Bambu Lab’s downgrade guide calls it “a list of recent firmware updates”, and its X1 notes call it “a curated list of previous firmware versions”. The guide covers Bambu Handy only, and Bambu Handy is not available in LAN Only mode, so rolling back this way needs the printer bound to your account.

Can you turn off Bambu Lab firmware updates?

Bambu Lab documents no switch to disable firmware updates. A Bambu Lab printer on Wi-Fi and bound to an account checks the cloud for new firmware, and nothing installs until you confirm the prompt. LAN Only mode keeps the printer off the internet, so you install updates offline from a memory card or USB drive.

How the prompt works, per Bambu Lab’s guides:

• X1 series. Touch Yes on the prompt, then Update on the Update page, then Yes to start.
• P1 series. Press OK on the prompt to start the update.

Bambu Lab’s guides show no option to skip a version. On Bambu Lab’s forum, an owner reported on January 7, 2024 that after a downgrade the prompt returns at each boot and can be cancelled. Bambu Connect can also install firmware, from its printer details page under About Printer, since version 1.2.0 (February 27, 2025).

Bambu Lab told The Verge on January 22, 2025 that “Users can always choose whether to update their printer firmware or not.” The Verge also reported that Bambu Lab’s Terms of Use give it “the right to block new print jobs until a printer has finished automatically downloading firmware updates.” Bambu Lab’s January 20, 2025 post lists “Firmware updates will block your printer’s ability to print” among the claims it calls false.

Bambu Lab does not describe any update check in LAN Only mode. It does warn that on the X1 in LAN mode, failure detection relies on “the information it has in the latest firmware”, and recommends updating regularly. The LAN-only mode guide covers the offline update for each printer series.

Does Bambu Connect work in LAN mode?

Yes. Bambu Connect, Bambu Lab’s desktop app for sending sliced files from third-party slicers, discovers and connects to printers in LAN Only mode. Bambu Lab says LAN mode through Bambu Connect requires “neither internet access nor a user account”. Slice in OrcaSlicer or another slicer, and Bambu Connect sends the file to the printer.

What Bambu Lab’s Bambu Connect page lists, as of its August 13, 2026 update:

• Status. Still in beta; the current download is version 2.5.0-beta.15.
• Platforms. Windows and macOS (Apple silicon and Intel). Linux is listed as under development.
• Features. Cloud account login, a list of bound printers, LAN discovery and connection, importing Bambu Lab G-code or 3MF files to print, and basic controls such as axis movement.
• Not supported. Live view: “Liveview functionality is not yet supported.”
• Printers. H2D support arrived in version 2.0.0-beta.7 (June 26, 2025), and H2S, H2D Pro and P2S in version 2.1.0-beta.4 (November 12, 2025).

The workflow, as SoftFever described it from the beta on January 19, 2025:

1. Slice in OrcaSlicer and save the file. OrcaSlicer hands it to Bambu Connect.
2. In Bambu Connect, select the printer and click Print.
3. Set the AMS mapping and click Send.

Bambu Lab’s January 20, 2025 post says the “previous device tab in the slicer is replaced by a new application window.”

Bambu Lab does not document Bambu Connect with Developer Mode on. In Developer Mode the printer accepts commands without authorization, and Bambu Lab says third-party software “will continue to work without any modifications”, so a slicer sends to the printer directly. How the two paths differ:

• Bambu Connect. Keeps authorization on, works in cloud mode or LAN Only mode, and is Bambu Lab’s supported path for third-party slicers.
• Developer Mode. Turns authorization off and has no cloud connection or Bambu Lab customer support. Bambu Lab says it gives you “full control over your printer and its network security.”

If the printer will not connect in either mode, see Bambu LAN mode not working. How Bambu Lab’s warranty treats unofficial firmware and third-party parts is covered in does upgrading void the warranty.