Is your HP+ printer actually locked to Original HP ink?

If you turned on HP+ when you first set up the OfficeJet Pro 9015e, the printer is required to run on Original HP ink cartridges only, and HP's own wording says that requirement lasts for the life of the printer. If you skipped HP+ at setup, the printer still will not accept a cartridge that carries a modified or non-HP chip, but HP's published policy for this printer says a cartridge that reuses genuine HP electronic circuitry, including a remanufactured or refilled one, is allowed to work. Which situation applies to your unit comes down to a choice made on the setup screen, not something fixed permanently into the 9015e as a model.

So the real decision is not "does this printer allow third-party ink" in general. It is whether this specific unit got enrolled in HP+, and, if it did not, whether a given third-party cartridge reuses HP circuitry or replaces it with something else. Both questions have concrete answers you can check before buying anything.

HP publishes both conditions on the OfficeJet Pro 9015e's own product page, under the specifications: one paragraph for dynamic security and one for HP+, written for this printer rather than as a general policy. That page is the most specific manufacturer source for this exact model, even though HP currently shows it there as discontinued for new purchases — the specification text quoted below is what's still published on that page: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-officejet-pro-9015e-all-in-one-printer

"HP+" and the chip check that blocks some third-party cartridges get talked about as though they are the same lockout. They are not, and HP's product page for the 9015e states both separately.

On the chip check, which is present on the 9015e whether or not HP+ is active: "This printer is intended to work only with cartridges that have new or reused HP electronic circuitry, and it uses dynamic security measures to block cartridges using modified or non-HP circuitry. Periodic firmware updates will maintain the effectiveness of these measures and block cartridges that previously worked. Reused HP electronic circuitry enables the use of reused, remanufactured, and refilled cartridges."

On HP+, which only applies if it was activated: "This is an HP+ enabled printer. Choose HP+ at product setup to activate benefits. HP+ requires an HP account, ongoing connection to the internet, and exclusive use of Original HP Ink cartridges for the life of the printer."

The difference is in what each system tolerates. The chip check looks for a genuine HP chip or circuit board; a refilled or remanufactured cartridge that reuses one passes it. HP+ looks for Original HP ink specifically, so the same reused-chip cartridge that satisfies the chip check still fails HP+'s condition. A 9015e can be subject to one of these without the other.

The "e" at the end of 9015e marks the printer as built to support HP+, not as proof that HP+ is switched on. HP's own FAQ page is direct about this: getting HP+ means a customer must buy an HP+ enabled printer, then "confirm or activate HP+ during printer setup." The same page says a customer can also choose to skip HP+ activation at setup instead, and skipping it means the printer does not get HP+'s benefits. The FAQ names HP OfficeJet Pro 8000e and 9000e Series, DeskJet 2700e and 4100e Series, and ENVY 6000e and 6400e Series as "currently" eligible — HP's own word, and a hint the list can change. HP's separate HP+ page, apart from the FAQ, groups eligible printers by broad product family — ENVY, OfficeJet Pro, and DeskJet — rather than by that specific named list, so a model can be HP+ eligible without matching one of those exact series names. Treat the FAQ's list as a snapshot rather than something to match your model number against, and check your own model's product page instead, the way the 9015e's own page states its HP+ status directly.

Two ways to settle it for your printer rather than guess:

• HP+ requires an HP account connected to the printer, on HP's own wording, for as long as HP+ runs. If no HP account was ever created or signed into during setup, or the printer has never gone online, HP+'s own conditions are not being met, which is a reasonable sign it is not active.
• Your HP account is generally the more direct way to check than trying to infer it: sign in to the HP Smart app or your HP account dashboard and look at what is currently shown for this printer there, rather than relying on memory of what was chosen at setup.

HP's FAQ page answers what happens if HP+ is declined at setup, but has no entry for reversing HP+ once it is active. The requirements section frames Original HP ink as necessary for the life of the printer, with no stated exception or expiration. HP's published materials do not describe a self-service way to undo it. Contacting HP support directly is the only documented route to ask, and it is worth going in without assuming a particular outcome, since HP has not published one.

HP's dynamic security disclosure includes a detail worth planning around: the check "can change during the life of the printer, including in response to firmware updates," and a cartridge using a non-HP chip "may function for a period of time, but then cease to function." A cartridge that prints fine today on a non-HP+ 9015e is not a guarantee it keeps working after the next automatic firmware update. The same disclosure notes that using a non-HP cartridge does not by itself void the printer's limited warranty, but any print-head or printer damage attributable to that cartridge is excluded from warranty coverage.

If your printer ever refuses a cartridge outright and reports a chip or circuitry problem on the screen, that is the dynamic-security mechanism talking, not the HP+ account condition. What that message means and what to do about it is covered on its own, since the fix differs from the HP+ question here.

Once you have confirmed your 9015e is not running HP+, the remaining questions are which reused-circuitry cartridge to buy and whether it is worth it. For the exact cartridge number this model takes, use the cartridge finder rather than trust a listing page's guess, since numbers get attached to the wrong model often enough to matter. Before assuming third-party is automatically cheaper, run the comparison on what a printer actually costs per page: a lower price per cartridge does not always beat a high-yield Original HP cartridge once yield is factored in, and if yield claims are on your mind at all, when an XL cartridge is worth it covers that separately.

• The HP Smart app or your HP account dashboard, for whether this specific printer is currently attached with HP+ active.
• The product or spec page for your exact model number on hp.com, which for the 9015e states both the dynamic-security and HP+ conditions in full rather than as a general policy.
• Your printer's firmware update setting, since that is the channel through which chip-check enforcement can change without you doing anything.