#KEURIG 2.0 MODEL NUMBER LOCATION HOW TO#
Keurig released the restricted new machines in June, and by the end of August, competing companies had already figured out how to make their own knockoff pods that work in Keurig 2.0 machines (apparently, that ink's special infrared-reflecting quality is pretty easy to imitate if you have the right equipment).īut that still doesn't solve the problem of getting your older K-cups, or non-branded refillable pods, to work in a Keurig 2.0. So Keurig tweaked its machines to ensure that, instead of working with any properly sized pod, they could only work in the presence of special-wavelength infrared ink.
That's also why Keurig's fourth-quarter results for fiscal year 2013 suggested that up to 12 percent of all coffee or tea pods brewed in Keurig machines came from “unlicensed third-party” sources. Keurig's patent on K-cup technology expired in 2013, which is why off-brand or refillable K-cup-style coffee pods exploded all over the market since then. Meanwhile, everybody else on the planet suggested it was because Keurig got greedy. Why did Keurig make the switch specifically to add restrictions and limitations to its new-model machines? At the time, Keurig executives and spokespeople said the restrictions were intended to protect ordinary consumers from whatever low-quality horrors are inherent in non-Keurig-branded beverage-pod products.
Although Keurig wouldn't explain the specific details of how it worked, one executive did say that it involved shining infrared light on the ink and measuring the wavelength reflected back. Keurig released its brand-restricted 2.0 machines last June, and the “RFID/DRM” restrictions turned out to involve a special type of proprietary ink. That's how Keurig 2.0 machines work: instead of using any pod or K-cup, including those inexpensive refillable ones that work with any brand of coffee, tea or cocoa you like, Keurig 2.0 machines only work with officially branded Keurig pods, which means Keurig doesn't just make money from the sale of its Keurig 2.0 brewing machines, but also collects a licensing fee every single time that machine is used.Īt least, that's what Keurig hoped would happen. But the new version of your oven was designed to only bake foods officially licensed by the oven manufacturer: if you try using an off-brand cake mix in your new oven, or even your older boxes of manufacturer-approved cake mix, you can't turn the oven on. What does that even mean? To make an analogy: imagine that your oven (or stove, or toaster, or any other kitchen appliance) used to be able to cook any brand of food you put in it. That's not an accident: Keurig deliberately designed its 2.0 machines to only work with pods equipped with the hot-drinks equivalent of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions. If you have a Keurig 2.0, released since summer 2014, you've noticed that your old K-cups and refillable pods won't work in it. Photo credit: KeurigGood news for owners of Keurig 2.0 machines who don't mind working outside official channels: it's now possible to hack your way around the machines' ridiculous “digital rights management”-style restrictions, so that your old K-cups and non-branded pods will finally work in Keurig 2.0 models, in addition to original Keurigs.
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