If you’re planning a PaperCut MF upgrade to version 26 this year, there’s a change coming that could catch your office off guard. PaperCut is sunsetting support for legacy embedded devices, and the moment you complete the PaperCut MF upgrade, any end-of-life units still in your fleet get disabled automatically. There’s no grace period and no warning email two weeks later. It happens during the install.
For law firms, medical offices, and state agencies running print management across a mixed fleet of copiers, that’s not a footnote. It’s a potential Monday morning fire drill if nobody checked the fleet first. Here’s what actually changes with a PaperCut MF upgrade, which devices are at risk, and how to get ahead of it before anyone touches the upgrade button.
What Changes With a PaperCut MF Upgrade to Version 26
Older versions of PaperCut MF would flag end-of-life (EOL) devices with a warning and let them keep running. Version 26 removes that grace period. Once the PaperCut MF upgrade completes, any EOL device types are disabled by default, and administrators have to acknowledge the change during setup.
After that first login post-upgrade, admins see a “Disabled End of Life devices detected” notice. From there, affected devices show up as “Not Licensed (EOL),” the Enable/Disable toggle locks to “Disabled indefinitely,” and the device type disappears from the list when someone tries to add a new embedded device. Communication with that unit stops, and it may throw a connectivity error at the panel.
There is a workaround. Under Options > Advanced > Enable Unsupported End of Life (EOL) Devices, an admin can opt back in. But PaperCut is explicit that re-enabled EOL devices get no support, no security patches, and no compatibility guarantees going forward — and a persistent banner reminds you of that every time you’re in the Devices tab. See PaperCut’s own end-of-life device behavior documentation for the full technical breakdown.
Which Devices Are Actually at Risk
PaperCut doesn’t retire a device type on a whim. A device typically lands on the EOL list when the manufacturer discontinues firmware, SDK, or OS support for that embedded platform; when a security vulnerability can’t reasonably be patched; or when so few of that device remain in the field that maintaining support isn’t practical anymore.
In plain terms: the older the copier or MFP, the more likely its embedded panel is running on a platform PaperCut has already flagged. A five-year-old Canon, Ricoh, Kyocera, or Toshiba unit with an aging firmware build is a reasonable candidate. A machine that’s been refreshed in the last two or three years usually isn’t.
How to Prepare Before You Run the PaperCut MF Upgrade
You don’t want to find out your front-desk copier is disabled because someone in IT clicked “upgrade” on a Friday afternoon. A few steps before that happens:
- Inventory every device tied to PaperCut, including model and firmware version, not just the newest units.
- Cross-check that list against PaperCut’s published EOL device list before scheduling the PaperCut MF upgrade.
- Flag any device that’s likely to be affected and decide now: replace it, or accept the unsupported opt-in as a short-term bridge.
- Loop in whoever handles your copier fleet — for ABS customers, that’s your account rep — so a hardware refresh can be planned instead of discovered.
None of this requires you to delay the PaperCut MF upgrade itself. It just means doing the audit before the update instead of after the help desk tickets start coming in.
The risk of running unsupported hardware isn’t unique to print management. CISA’s own guidance on end-of-support edge devices makes the same point: unpatched, unsupported hardware becomes an easy target because it stops receiving the fixes that keep it secure. Read the CISA directive on end-of-support edge devices for the broader security case.
What This Means for Tallahassee Businesses
Most offices we work with in Tallahassee, Thomasville, and across North Florida and South Georgia aren’t running a single copier brand or a single generation of hardware. Fleets get built up over years, one lease at a time, and that’s exactly the environment where a PaperCut MF upgrade can surprise you.
Medical offices need print and scan devices configured to support HIPAA requirements without interruption. State agencies working under NASPO agreements need equipment that stays compliant and online. Law firms can’t afford a scan-to-network device going dark in the middle of discovery production. A PaperCut MF upgrade that quietly disables a five-year-old device in the middle of any of that is a bigger deal than it sounds.
ABS can run the device audit before you touch the upgrade, tell you exactly which units in your fleet are flagged, and build a refresh plan around your budget instead of an emergency. That’s the difference between a planned transition and a scramble.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will a PaperCut MF upgrade disable my devices without any warning?
A: You’ll see a prompt during the upgrade requiring acknowledgment if EOL devices are detected, and a notice the first time you log in afterward. But the devices are disabled automatically as part of that same process — there’s no separate advance warning period once you’re on version 26.
Q: Can we keep using an EOL device after the PaperCut MF upgrade?
A: Yes, through the manual opt-in under Options > Advanced. PaperCut will keep it running, but without support, security updates, or any compatibility guarantee, and a persistent warning banner stays visible until you turn that setting off.
Q: How do we know which of our devices are affected before we upgrade?
A: Check your device models and firmware against PaperCut’s published EOL list, or have ABS run a fleet audit. Knowing before the PaperCut MF upgrade beats finding out after.