Brother HL-2170W 23ppm Laser Printer with Wireless and Wired Network Interfaces
Brother
- HL-2170W
Searching for Videos..
Reviews
(111)
+ 1 likes
I decided to buy the new Brother HL-2170W wireless monochrome laser jet the first week it became available to the public in late December, 2007. It arrived mid-week. Yesterday I tried to install it and I failed miserably. Went to the Brother website, and noticed only one FAQ was posted. I intepreted the single question as, What if I do NOT want to use the supplied HL-2170W install CD, and elect go through the process manually? The lengthy Brother response included a statement in the first paragraph that said "Check your CD version and call the Brother toll free number if you have the earlier version ... If you have a CD that is version X, you do not need to call Brother, and follow the detailed steps listed below and install the printer and driver without the CD". Then I noticed Step 13 in the response was cut-off in mid sentence. My Takaway was this: the CD that came with my HL-2170W might be flawed.
So I called the Seller on Saturday afternoon, said I want to return the product,
So I called the Seller on Saturday afternoon, said I want to return the product,
...
more
+ 0 likes
The printer replaced an older Brother laser printer that we were unable to repair with new toner and a drum. This printer works really well, is compact, and the wireless feature is a great help to our family and the computers we have throughout the home. Paper loads easily. Sale price was great, too. So glad that we purchased it!
+ 0 likes
This is a great printer. You get a lot of bang for your buck. The print quality is fantastic. It is extremely easy to install the printer. I cannot think of a single thing about this printer that is negative. I am so impressed with this printer!!!
+ 0 likes
This set-up is very easily. I have a PC connected via USB and then used the wireless feature to connect it to my home network (since I did not have an extra wired connection where I placed the Printer). My router supported the Automatic Wireless setup that this printer used which allowed me to have it on the network in 5 mintues. I then went into my router and made the IP address, on the printer static, (so, it would not change and potentially cause a problem for the other pcs in my home connected to this printer via the network). Currently have 4 PCs sharing this printer with no problems... Print quality and speed is perfect. This is my first Brother printer and I am very impressed.
+ 0 likes
After years of ink jet printers and costly replacement cartridges that dry up we went for a simple laser printer. The Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer has been a solid perfomer for our needs.
All we really wanted is a basic printer that can be dependable enough to support our home network of computers that consists of one Windows 7 64-bit laptop, two Windows XP desktops, one Mac Book Pro, and one iMac (both with Leopard). All machines work flawlessly with this printer. The iMac even uses Parallels to run Windows XP and we can print from there as well.
The only real gripe I have with it is it is slow to be recognized hard-wired to the network (but fine once it is) during installing the driver on each machine and attempting to get it to connect via wireless was beyond frustrating. Since its footprint is so small we just placed it under our desk and have it hard-wired. Setting it up with a dedicated IP did not seem to help. So after two hours of
All we really wanted is a basic printer that can be dependable enough to support our home network of computers that consists of one Windows 7 64-bit laptop, two Windows XP desktops, one Mac Book Pro, and one iMac (both with Leopard). All machines work flawlessly with this printer. The iMac even uses Parallels to run Windows XP and we can print from there as well.
The only real gripe I have with it is it is slow to be recognized hard-wired to the network (but fine once it is) during installing the driver on each machine and attempting to get it to connect via wireless was beyond frustrating. Since its footprint is so small we just placed it under our desk and have it hard-wired. Setting it up with a dedicated IP did not seem to help. So after two hours of
...
more
+ 0 likes
It is an ok printer for the money. Never had any problems setting up on a lead mac machine and using bonjour to let my linux and other mac machines 'see' it. But once I replaced lead computer with windows pc, nothing works network-wise. Even connected direct to router via ethernet, still doesn't work. Good printer, IF, you connect via USB for ONE computer.
+ 0 likes
Bought printer at NYC BB store around April 2009. Printer never left any marks on any pages while original temp toner cartridge was used. It lasted until about 2 weeks ago - midOct. Longer than expected. Purchased new cartridge for the Brother HL-2170W laser printer online from Inkjet Superstore. Had to contact Brother about how to get old toner cartridge/existing drum out and install new cartridge and existing drum into printer since company's data wasn't too clear about that activity. That was accomplished during phone chat with Brother customer service today.
Printed out several pages with new toner cartridge installed and four small ink marks appeared on left side of each page. Brother told me I would have to buy a new drum unit for the cartridge to get clean pages again!!!! Cost of small plastic drum: more than $100 or about my same special printer purchase price!!!
I may buy another printer from another company. Had a H-P laser printer before for more than 15 years.
Anybody
Printed out several pages with new toner cartridge installed and four small ink marks appeared on left side of each page. Brother told me I would have to buy a new drum unit for the cartridge to get clean pages again!!!! Cost of small plastic drum: more than $100 or about my same special printer purchase price!!!
I may buy another printer from another company. Had a H-P laser printer before for more than 15 years.
Anybody
...
more
+ 0 likes
This is a very good printer. Until now, I have had terrible luck with other inkjet printers, and I was very happy to finally have a printer that actually prints and does not need incessant cartridge head cleaning. I bought the printer on sale last week, at a lower price than is currently listed. However, I would gladly pay the current price, since this really is a well made, high quality printer.
+ 0 likes
Following the in-box provided directions I had this printer connected and operating wirelessly in 10 minutes. It worked first time on my protected wireless network (Airport) with the Mac I used to set it up and my second Mac needed no set-up whatsoever other than adding the printer in System Preferences. Excellent printer for the price. Compact and light - easy to move around as needed. The toner is expensive but then all are regardless of brand.
+ 0 likes
First non-HP printer. Replacing HP laser that was wearing out. Setup was reasonable. Works very well wirelessly on network with (4) Vista laptops, (2) MAC Snow Leopard and (1) MAC Tiger laptop, and (2) Dell Windows XP desktops. Not sure what MAC issues others had, but pretty straight forward.
Difficult to find comparable features anywhere else near this price point. Great for home use, would need more long term experience before could recommend for business. Read setup instructions carefully and pick one method.
Pages tend to curl slightly. Probably better choices for graphics.
Really like this printer value so far.
Difficult to find comparable features anywhere else near this price point. Great for home use, would need more long term experience before could recommend for business. Read setup instructions carefully and pick one method.
Pages tend to curl slightly. Probably better choices for graphics.
Really like this printer value so far.
+ 0 likes
I love this printer! I wish I had gotten it sooner, it would have saved me a lot of money on ink as well as buying credits to print at my university. My favorite feature is the Manual Duplex printing option to print out double-sided pages, it makes duplex printing so easy and painless, especially for powerpoint handouts. Another great feature is the ability to load a bunch of 4x6 notecards into the size-adjustable tray. It's a really great investment, I highly recommend this printer for its quality, versatility, price and ease of use. Props to the reviewer who suggested putting opaque tape over the translucent ends of the toner cartridge to extend the life of the starter cartridge. Thanks :-)
+ 0 likes
I've seen other reviews mentioning difficulty in wireless setup and saying the printer was noisy when turned on. I didn't experience either of these issues. I plugged it into a router, it got an address, I went to the web interface and configured wireless. (Hidden network, WPA2 encryption.) It connected without issue.
More recent Linux distributions have a driver for the printer, which works well. CentOS (based on RHEL5) required me to download a driver and cupswrapper from Brothers' site--the whole process took less than 5 minutes. Mac OSX Snow Leopard, once pointed to the IP address, configured it without problem--I didn't need to use the installation CD.
Seems to be a fairly trouble free printer, and for the price (on sale for $89.95 when I bought it) I have no complaints.
I'm giving it a 5 star rating, but I have no need for anything but a simple printer. Therefore, whether or not it has duplex and other more advanced features wasn't important to me.
What
More recent Linux distributions have a driver for the printer, which works well. CentOS (based on RHEL5) required me to download a driver and cupswrapper from Brothers' site--the whole process took less than 5 minutes. Mac OSX Snow Leopard, once pointed to the IP address, configured it without problem--I didn't need to use the installation CD.
Seems to be a fairly trouble free printer, and for the price (on sale for $89.95 when I bought it) I have no complaints.
I'm giving it a 5 star rating, but I have no need for anything but a simple printer. Therefore, whether or not it has duplex and other more advanced features wasn't important to me.
What
...
more
+ 0 likes
I ordered this printer from Amazon last Saturday with free super saver shipping. It arrived by Wednesday afternoon. Great price as I saved $60 off local electronic/office stores. Setup with my HP laptop (running Vista) in under an hour. As other reviewers have said, READ THE MANUAL and if setting up as a wireless printer, use a direct connect network cable to do the setup. The only problem I had was I did not select the correct security type for my network and had to repeat the steps again. Also, those using strong WEP encryption (26 characters) you can cut/paste the key (do not have to type in the string, 2Xs), this helps save you from typos. I also setup a wireless desktop computer (XP Home) to use this printer. This was a bit more of a challenge. The manual did not cover installing onto additional computers, but you need to select install "driver only" option. Installation was easy, and seem to be successful, but I could not print afterwards. Another customer review on this web site
...
more
+ 0 likes
I purchased the HL-2170W and and extra Brother toner from Amazon. After following the Quick Setup instructions I tried printing the test page from my computer. The page that came out of the printer was blank. It is possible to print the printer setting directly from the printer and bypass the computer. That page was also blank. I could only find the Brother tech support phone number on another website as Brother does not publish it on theirs. After a 20 minute hold the tech support guy informed me the printer was defective and I needed to send it back for repair. Needless to say I was not thrilled to purchase a new printer and it did not work out of the box.
+ 0 likes
Great wireless printer for the money. we have purchased 10 over the last 15 months and have no problems. These are used to print scanned orders at shows not pictures.
+ 0 likes
This review serves only to attest that the printer worked right out of the box on Ubuntu 9.04 (Linux), no installation of anything required. My printer is hooked up via network cable to my router and shared on the intranet. Cannot attest to local or infrastructure install.
+ 0 likes
Used a network cable to set up the wireless function and everything went smooth. Works with three different computers from rooms all over a two story house. Very quick from sleep mode to first page print. My experience with
Brother printers in the past tells me that I must use Brother Toner or the quality will start to decline quickly. Reloads, and generics will ruin your printer. I have a 5 year old Brother multi-function printer that needs a new drum. I just use the MFC for faxing and bought this wonderful printer on sale for less than the price of a drum.
Brother printers in the past tells me that I must use Brother Toner or the quality will start to decline quickly. Reloads, and generics will ruin your printer. I have a 5 year old Brother multi-function printer that needs a new drum. I just use the MFC for faxing and bought this wonderful printer on sale for less than the price of a drum.
+ 0 likes
Worked great for a few months, then it constantly started displaying a "clean corona wire" print error. The suggested quick fix does not work. Brother support kept telling me I needed a new toner cartridge. After several more attempts at troubleshooting, it printed a few pages which were perfectly fine. (It did NOT need a new toner cartridge.). It prints a few pages, then the error message pops up again. I have to do their suggested troubleshoot routine about 5-20 times before it starts printing again. Only to have to go through the whole thing again after a few pages print. Incredibly frustrating. Brother will not take the printer back because they say it works just fine after the troubleshooting. I'm going to throw this away and start over with a HP.
+ 0 likes
A great little printer. Output is clear, printing speed is fine. The wireless setup worked flawlessly (but beware; as with all wirelessly-networked printers, you have to follow the instructions, which include temporarily connecting the printer to your router with an Ethernet cable).
+ 0 likes
This printer is excellent for home use. For the price, this printer is great. I only recommend this for personal and home use. This may not be great for business. It is a little bit noisy even you are not printing, but I am not a heavy user. I turn the printer off when I am not printing, so that I don't have to hear the that noice that came from the printer. When I am ready to print, I turn the printer on.
+ 0 likes
After purchasing three all-in-one printers in the past five from various companies, I got sick of replacing the toner after a month or two. So after looking into laser printers prices and toner prices I came to the conclusion that not only would the printer be comparable in price, but the toner would last many times that of a normal toner cartridge. The Brother HL-2170W ended up being at the top of the list. Advantages -Holds many pages of paper, around 200 -Toner lasts an exorbitant length of time (my starter one lasted 6-8 months and printed 1000 pages before it ran out of toner) -Prices are now comparable to normal printers -Wireless connection built-in -Prints very quickly, about one page every couple of seconds -Very rarely have I had errors, normally just paper jams -Able to print stats about the printer entailing: page count, toner life, drum life, errors recorded, IP settings, et cetera -Toner cartridge price is comparable to inkjet printers -Even at medium quality prints incredibly
...
more
+ 0 likes
I have had my Brother HL-2170W for a week now. I am really impressed. I researched for several days reading reviews. I decided to purchase since the price on Amazon was $109.00 compared to $149 + at local stores. For this price range, this laser printer is just about the best thing ever. Pros: Nice quality feel, small, light weight, super fast, 32MB Memory, easy set up, cheaper toner replacements compared to other brands, wireless Cons: The only issue I can think of, but only if I were completley knit-picking would be that there is a slight crinkle at the top of the page, but this is common on lasers and is very minimal. I feel I got more printer than I paid for. Seriously, I can not believe this little tiny entry level printer has such sharp print and is so fast and quiet. From sleep mode, it literally warms up in less than 10 seconds and prints. You can't go wrong with this little printer for you home office. I love it. Everyone should have one of these.
+ 0 likes
I read a number of reviews in here that I totally empathized with - the frustration of a new wireless toy performing in a less than optimal way out of box. It appears that many opt to just wire it and forget it. If you go straight to a router using the network cable this is certainly a valid approach (although ask yourself why you are buying a wireless printer) option. The USB option seems to be the only approach I would discourage. If you are after a USB printer there are likely better options for you (on price and feature). So- some brief background : My home network has 16 machines running (no, really) in 4 vLANs. 4 Win servers, 2 Ubuntu workstations, 4 XP machines and the rest Macs (all running Leopard or Tiger). Before buying the HL-2170W, I had one Samsung ML-6060 laser printer I've owned since the Lord wore short pants (I simply don't understand how it can keep going like it has but it still works) and the idea of not having to walk back to the office to get a printed copy
...
more
+ 0 likes
I will first talk about the printer itself - that is completely what my review and 5 stars is about. All the people leaving 4 stars or less for a GREAT printer at a GREAT price because of the setup issues they have, DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM! Read my review in full, and then base your decision to buy/not buy the printer, and/or use the advice when setting up the printer yourself. Printer Review: I work with networked laser printers every day at work. Lexmark mainly, but they are full-sized corporate monster printers. They are easy to set up and for the most part easy to maintain. I literally could see my locations using this Brother printer for paper only printing with no problems! The pages per minute are more than enough for mass-printing jobs, and way more than enough for anyone printing at home. What made me even start to look for a laser printer with toner at home was the unreal amount of ink cartridges my wife and I were going through in moderate (at most) use. $30 black and
...
more
+ 0 likes
I bought this printer for a small space to hook up to my MacBook. It took about 6 minutes to have it installed and printing! The prints are exceptionally crisp and clear and because it is a laser printer, I will get thousands of prints (based on what I am printing.) It warms up quickly and prints fast. Also it is quiet. I have never had a Brother probuct, but if this printer is an example of their quality, they are a great company.
+ 0 likes
I am a college student. I've had this printer for 2 months, and I've printed 800+ pages with it; usually 10-30 pages at a time.
First, you should know that this printer does not come with a printer/USB cable. However, if you are replacing a fairly modern printer, you can just re-use that cable. Otherwise, you have to purchase the cable. Fortunately, the printer comes with a starter toner, which lets you print quite a bit before buying a new cartridge.
Setup was ridiculously easy, even for wireless printing. I love the speed of printing -- it really comes in handy when printing medium-quality documents for personal use. Please note: This is not a high-resolution printer! Don't expect to print great black-and-white pictures with this equipment. This printer is for documents. While it's not so great for images, it really does a fantastic job at printing papers/essays/articles.
My only complaint is that this printer does a poor job of double-sided printing for documents
First, you should know that this printer does not come with a printer/USB cable. However, if you are replacing a fairly modern printer, you can just re-use that cable. Otherwise, you have to purchase the cable. Fortunately, the printer comes with a starter toner, which lets you print quite a bit before buying a new cartridge.
Setup was ridiculously easy, even for wireless printing. I love the speed of printing -- it really comes in handy when printing medium-quality documents for personal use. Please note: This is not a high-resolution printer! Don't expect to print great black-and-white pictures with this equipment. This printer is for documents. While it's not so great for images, it really does a fantastic job at printing papers/essays/articles.
My only complaint is that this printer does a poor job of double-sided printing for documents
...
more
+ 0 likes
Price is great, print quality is great and setup is easy. I had this unit setup in a few minutes to work with my wireless network. Then I disabled the wireless and put it on my 8-port router and within I guess 30 minutes had it setup and printing from all four of my computers throughout the house. I had an HP Lasejet printer before this and the print quality was good on that too, but it was a nightmare to get it to do network printing. The HP one was NOT a network ready printer, but I had a USB print server that I used with other printers. The HP printer just refused to work consistently with that network printer. I got so sick of it that I dumped in the trash and bought this Brother printer. This thing is awesome.
+ 0 likes
If you buy this printer and do not use the wireless feature, you must be ignorant. Took me 10 minutes to have this printer on my wireless network and printing. You should know how your wireless router/access point is configured for security prior to installing this printer. Once you know your SSID, MAC Address of the printer, Security Key, and the Channel your router is configured for broadcasting, you are set to go. There's no need to configure this printer for Static IP like someone of the techheads have mentioned in previous reviews here, because the print driver has a feature called "Node Name", which looks for the name of the printer or Node you named it when you went into the Printer's Wireless Setup Page from your web browser. When your router at some point assigns a new IP address to the printer, it will never make a difference to your computer finding it since it never looks for the IP address, only Node Name. If you ever do need to get back into the Printer's setup from your web
...
more
+ 0 likes
We have had Brother products for a number of years operating in a home office atmosphere. We required a wireless unit and went on line to do basic research. This particular model had high scores. We did not experience any of the problems noted in other reviews setting up the wireless interface... and that is from a guy who knows the difference between ON and Off at least 50% of the time.... Quality is good enough for routine corespondence and I have not had an occassion to try anything that required graphics... Like most products today, most of the parts are plastic... I would think that for light use if will be around for a number of years. I would however opt for a more robust model if I had a need for a volume printer. I would recommend this printer, especially for the price.
+ 0 likes
A great little unit that I put on my book shelf. It's a little loud, but for the price you can't complain. Wireless feature is great as I can print from anywhere in the house using my laptop. When installing the wireless feature on my Mac I was only able to set up the wireless once I installed the driver, not the other way that the wizard wants you to. The set up wizard was not able to find the printer on the network before that. Otherwise a good unit.
+ 0 likes
Printer sharing was a great idea but its days are numbered. You already know how it goes: You're in the family room with a laptop and you need to print something on the printer attached to the desktop in the bedroom that's become the home office. You click the Print icon and then make the pilgrimage to wake up the desktop or call out and hope someone's near enough to wake it up. This printer fit right into our Mac household which includes a MacBook that occasionally runs Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. The WiFi setup was delightfully boring using the network cable method. And, hey, who DOESN'T have an extra network cable around the house? You follow the step-by-step instructions without compromising your WiFi security. When you're finished, you unplug the network cable and you're printing wirelessly (is that a real word?) from anywhere in the house. Setting up the printer in Windows via Boot Camp was like adding any other network printer. I needed only to pick the IP address of the
...
more
+ 0 likes
In a nutshell, I'm a mac person and pretty much a expert on networks, wireless etc. so, I thought I'd try one these printers out so we could all share it in the house.
Those of you who are mac users are pretty much used to plug and play with a few tweaks but in order to set the wireless up for this printer you'll need patience, a mac expert and a lot of time. In other words FORGET IT!
I just ended up using the USB 2 connection into my time capsule. Much easier.
Those of you who are mac users are pretty much used to plug and play with a few tweaks but in order to set the wireless up for this printer you'll need patience, a mac expert and a lot of time. In other words FORGET IT!
I just ended up using the USB 2 connection into my time capsule. Much easier.
+ 0 likes
There was no driver to download/install or any fuss getting this working perfectly in Ubuntu 8.10. After plugging in the USB cable, the printer was available and worked without any configuration (I didn't even have to run through an add printer wizard). Next I tried setting it up as a network printer. I plugged it into an open port on my router, and went to System > Administration > Printing in Gnome. I clicked the option to add a printer, let the system find it, and the setup was complete, test page printed fine. It also seems solid and well constructed compared to similarly priced options. The toner cartridge was easy to insert. I don't know much about printers, but didn't even open the manual and was printing a few minutes after opening the box. If you want a cheap monochrome laser printer, this is a good buy.
+ 0 likes
This is my fourth Brother HL laser printer. My trusty old 5170DN works fine, but it needs toner soon and the price of a new cartridge isn't much cheaper than a new WIRELESS printer. It's great, i can put it in a closet, or in a cabinet downstairs, or anywhere and my wifi will hit it from any of my computers. As for installation, under Mac OSX, it's a breeze. Personally, I HATE "installation" CD's that come with peripherals like this. I don't want a bunch of crappy bloatware on my system that i don't need. All i want are the proper drivers and I'll let the operating system handle things. For OSX, i connected it to my network via ethernet, opened Safari, clicked the "bookmark" icon on the left side of the bookmark bar and selected opened the Bonjour browswer. Found the printer, double clicked on it, and boom, was using the web interface (userid = admin; password=access). From there, i configured it to my wifi network, easily (make sure you turn on DHCP if you plan on using it, it's
...
more
+ 0 likes
This is an excellent machine for the price. I bought it on sale for $99 and the original printer cartridge lasted an entire year! I am an office manager and we use this constantly. Instead of immediately replacing the cartridge, we'd take it out and shake it and it'd last another month. It is awesome. I do wish I'd purchased one with automatic duplexing so I'll do that next time. This is the first Brother printer I've purchased and I'm very happy with it.
+ 0 likes
If you are looking for a great entry level laser printer, this is the one you want. It installed with no problems right out of the box. I have had no problems with it. Save yourself some money and when the toner light starts flashing, take the toner out and put a little piece of tape on the clear circle window located on the bottom of the toner. This will get you another 500 pages at least out of the toner.
+ 0 likes
Excellent printer. WIFI enables you to place this printer anywhere within your house (as long as it can connect to WIFI). Any PC in your house can send a print job to this printer via network. Setup will require two steps. First, you will need connect the printer to your network router via wire (temporarily) so that you can set the encription code for your WIFI network. Once encription code is set, then you can remove the cable to connect to WIFI without a network cable. Once it is connected via WIFI, you will need to install the printer driver on all PCs in your house (you no longer need to use wire to connect the printer). The print quality is as good as any good laser printer (600dpi). It is fast to print (2.6sec/page). The replacement toner cartige is not too expensive (~$50 for 3000 sheets). Recommended.
+ 0 likes
I got it for my home office, to replace an inkjet that was slow & dried up from infrequent use. It has a small foot print that includes a full paper tray. This keeps dust off the paper & the paper path free from debris that causes jams. It’ prints fast
& very quietly. I can print direct from USB, any PC on the network via the Ethernet 10/100 or wireless, without needing a wireless router. It’s a good value for all of the features. I recommend this for home, dorm or small office.
+ 0 likes
This printer was easy to add to our network and has been working very well. Quality product, have not had issues with paper jams and its very quiet.
+ 0 likes
In most respects this is a very good printer. One recurring annoyance for me - I use different papers a lot and therefore like to be able to feed paper manually rather than change the paper in the tray all the time - is that it's hard to get the paper in the manual feed slot so that it feeds straight through, that is, without going off a little to one side or the other and then coming out with the text printed crooked on the page. Also, the paper guides on the manual feed slot are hard to adjust - there are no "clicks" for when you get them set for standard sizes of paper. This printer is faster than the last one I had, but the manual feed deficiencies are definitely a drawback.
+ 0 likes
I've been a HP laser snob for a long time. In recent years, HP quality has taken a nosedive to the point where I was ready to buy anything but an HP. I picked up this little (it isn't much bigger than a few reams of paper) printer and am very happy with it. It was much easier to setup than the instructions imply, so don't let them bother you. Wireless is flawless with both PCs and Macs (but use wired ethernet for initial setup). Warmup time is brief, pages come out quickly, and quality is great.
+ 0 likes
I bought the HL-2170W from Amazon at the beginning of 2008. I found it very easy to configure for both wired and wireless networks, although I use mine on a wired connection out of convenience. I print mostly plain text, and the quality is very good.
I have but two complaints:
First, the paper comes out slightly curled, but this is a fact of life for a printer this size.
Second, Brother has programmed the printer such that when its thinks the toner is empty, it stops working. This happened to me when I was printing some important documents. I did some internet searches and examined the toner cartridge. There is a clear plastic circle at each end of the toner cartridge. The printer shines a light through to see how full the toner is. Simply cover one of them with a piece of opaque tape, and the printer will think that the toner is full. I've already gotten 1500+ pages out of the starter toner that was "empty" at 983, with no difference in printed quality.
I have but two complaints:
First, the paper comes out slightly curled, but this is a fact of life for a printer this size.
Second, Brother has programmed the printer such that when its thinks the toner is empty, it stops working. This happened to me when I was printing some important documents. I did some internet searches and examined the toner cartridge. There is a clear plastic circle at each end of the toner cartridge. The printer shines a light through to see how full the toner is. Simply cover one of them with a piece of opaque tape, and the printer will think that the toner is full. I've already gotten 1500+ pages out of the starter toner that was "empty" at 983, with no difference in printed quality.
+ 0 likes
I took the advice of others and followed the wireless installation instructions as described. I used the ethernet cable initially between the printer and router as suggested which resulted in a flawless setup. I now have my desktop and my wife's laptop connected wirelessly. I have test printed from the upstairs bedroom and also the kitchen with no problems. This will be perfect for my wife whenever she works from home.
+ 0 likes
Wireless networking works great if you set it up exactly as the manual suggests (wired connection first). Prints quickly, quietly, and with excellent results, especially for its price range. I recommend it highly for casual home use.
+ 0 likes
The printer is good, cheap and works pretty uncomplicated. I print a lot and so far it really does well... of course only time can tell the true quality, but so far I'm very happy. The only weak spot to me is that the toner seems not to print all the way till it's empty but only till the printer signals it - other than an old HP I had where I could prolong the toner life for weeks after it officially was empty.
But for this price a top printer.
+ 0 likes
I setup the printer with my wireless router using my Macbook Pro. A network cable was needed to connect the printer to the router temporarily for setting up the wireless access. I followed the instructions on the manual, and found that it seemed not as difficult as other reviews mentioned previously.
+ 0 likes
First I read all the reviews here, and that is why I bought this machine. Great price compared to local supply store. I print alot of office documents and flyers (no color). That being said I got a new computer about a week before the printer arrived. The only issue I have is in printing multiples. I used the Microsoft Works program in my old computer, I did not have Microsoft Office. In the new computer I could never get anything to print more then (1) copy. I would say 50 copies, I would get 1. I troubleshot out the yazoo online and basically alot of people found that there is something in the new WINDOWS VISTA programming and some laser printers that caused this problem. I solved it by using Microsoft Office, I had a trial version and did some documents there and had no problem printing multiple copies. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is if you print alot of the same flyer or documents. Wouldn't want to sit there and click print 200 times. In office it worked, so
...
more
+ 0 likes
Setup was a snap on both my Vista and XP machines. You may need to reboot at least once during each software installation. My wife's XP machine took a few tries before it finally could link to the printer. Print quality and speed rate a 10.
+ 0 likes
Contrary to published reports, setup of the wireless connection was effortless. In fact, the entire procedure from opening the box to prinitng a report took less than 10 minutes.
Follow the instructions, take your time, and enjoy this printer ~ it's GREAT !
Follow the instructions, take your time, and enjoy this printer ~ it's GREAT !
+ 0 likes
Overall its a great printer. It's a little bit harder to set up wirelessly. Ethernet cable for initial install for wireless is much easier. Works great on my wifes' hp with vista, my macbook(leopard) and windows xp in bootcamp. Overall its a great price, if you catch it on sale for $100 for a black n white printer. Cartridge's are ~$45 for the regular printer cartridge, which isn't 2 bad. Print saver mode will net you about 2-2200 pages
+ 0 likes
I bought this based upon the positive reviews and I'm really disappointed. It replaces an HP 1200 and doesn't come close to measuring up. My HP was fast...printed immediately on command...the Brother is so slow I'm not sure if it's going to print or not, I just counted to 20 before it printed this page...it's noisy and my documents and envelopes looks wrinkled and shabby. The manual feeder doesn't take the paper well and prints crooked...not very desirable when printing checks. The instructions say not to put bond paper in the tray but to use the manual feed one at a time...not a very convenient feature. And, it doesn't come with a USB cable so I had to stop the installation and go shopping. I received the item today and I'm sending it back and getting an HP.
+ 0 likes
I love this printer, very fast, and the price is right. All my computers in my house is setup to use it. the wi-fi is setup to use the wireless router, so all the Wired Lan computers can still use it wireless. I have not Wires attached to this printer. you will need to attach to a computer by wire the first time setting and manual config the ip address, dont use the DHCP, because if the power goes out, it will have problems reconnecting, once setup is finished, disconnect the wires and put this printer anywhere in the house. By the way in your router, use the mac address to keep it paired, by use of Wireless Card Access List.
+ 0 likes
I love this printer, very fast, and the price is right. All my computers in my house is setup to use it. the wi-fi is setup to use the wireless router, so all the Wired Lan computers can still use it wireless. I have not Wires attached to this printer. you will need to attach to a computer by wire the first time setting and manual config the ip address, dont use the DHCP, because if the power goes out, it will have problems reconnecting, once setup is finished, disconnect the wires and put this printer anywhere in the house. By the way in your router, use the mac address to keep it paired, by use of Wireless Card Access List.
+ 0 likes
I am very content with my purchase. This is perfect for my home office!
Having read some reviews, I was a bit skeptical about the setup of the printer. Per the instructions, I plugged in a temporary ethernet cable. The set up was extremely easy and flawless on my (newer) iMac. Setting up two other computers (on in XP, the other in OS X) to work wirelessly was just as easy! I'm not sure why other users had problems.
There are some nice features that I wouldn't have expected, such as the ability to do two sided printing (to save paper and to carry less paper around.) Sure, you print the odd pages first then put the pages BACK into the printer's paper reserve, but it works flawlessly.
Also, I was surprised to find that printing works wirelessly even if the computer only has an Ethernet connection, with my Airport router.
My only minor complaint is that it is a bit loud. And the printer stays on (blowing the fan) for several minutes after printing a page.
Having read some reviews, I was a bit skeptical about the setup of the printer. Per the instructions, I plugged in a temporary ethernet cable. The set up was extremely easy and flawless on my (newer) iMac. Setting up two other computers (on in XP, the other in OS X) to work wirelessly was just as easy! I'm not sure why other users had problems.
There are some nice features that I wouldn't have expected, such as the ability to do two sided printing (to save paper and to carry less paper around.) Sure, you print the odd pages first then put the pages BACK into the printer's paper reserve, but it works flawlessly.
Also, I was surprised to find that printing works wirelessly even if the computer only has an Ethernet connection, with my Airport router.
My only minor complaint is that it is a bit loud. And the printer stays on (blowing the fan) for several minutes after printing a page.
...
more
+ 0 likes
I bought this because I needed a network printer and had no need for an all in one. I've had it for a day or two so I can not speak to the toner cartridge issue i've heard about, but I set it up with the driver software from brother.com. after installing the drivers on both my macs I plugged in the printer with ethernet cable went in system prefs and clicked the add button. 10 minutes total time to setup this printer on two macs, can not beat that. It's been working great, highly recommend this
+ 0 likes
I bought this printer about 6 months ago and I have been very satisfied with it. Plugged it in and did a quick set up and it works perfectly. The quality, speed and size are all good. Wi-Fi is such a nice feature.
The one problem I had was when trying to install the driver on a PC. I had to go through a few things in the manual to get it working properly.
Overall, for 100 bucks you are not going to find a better printer.
The one problem I had was when trying to install the driver on a PC. I had to go through a few things in the manual to get it working properly.
Overall, for 100 bucks you are not going to find a better printer.
+ 0 likes
The installation of this printer was fast and easy using a wired Ethernet connection. There is one glitch in using the networked printer. It appears to be "asleep" at times and will not start printing. To fix this using Windows XP is to uninstall the printer. Then reinstall it manually as a directly connected printer on a TCP port using the existing driver.
+ 0 likes
I have 6 of these in use currently through out my company. Great little printer for everyday use. We use them through the network communication feature and have had very little issue with any of them. It is a solid printer.
+ 0 likes
Would not recommend this printer. It touts about 3000 copies per cartridge when in reality it only produces about 300 (max.) copies per cartridge (even when set on economy mode). You'll spend a fortune in printer cartridges within the first month or two. I don't print that much and this thing has gone through 3 cartridges in the first two months at $45.00 a pop. It won't warn you when it is running low on toner, it will just stop printing in mid job. Then you have to run out and purchase another cartridge.
I have never written a product review but felt it was necessary to warn others about this product. I'm ready to toss this printer out and purchase something else that won't run me broke. It will not be something made by Brother.
I have never written a product review but felt it was necessary to warn others about this product. I'm ready to toss this printer out and purchase something else that won't run me broke. It will not be something made by Brother.
+ 0 likes
I decided to get this printer since I have 2 Vista laptops, and 2 Win XP desktops, all running on wireless adapters. I followed the instructions carefully, and temporarily plugged an ethernet cable from the router to the printer before the CD setup. The whole process took me about 10 minutes. Now we all have wireless printing capability, very cool. No need to buy or use a USB cable for this printer! Output quality is very good. I am extremely satisfied with this purchase.
+ 0 likes
Wrieless printing has been a real PITA for me - I have tried three different Wi-Fi print servers, and all three have been returned as "useless". So, it was with some trepidation that I read the reviews, good and bad, of the Brother laser with wireless network support built-in.
When I saw it at BB a few days ago at the remarkable price of $89.99 (the stables two doors down has it at $149.99), I decided to tempt fate and give wireless printing another go.
The installation was fast and flawless, on both of my Windows machines (one XP and one Vista), and on my MacBook as well. I couldn't be happier )or more surprised).
When I saw it at BB a few days ago at the remarkable price of $89.99 (the stables two doors down has it at $149.99), I decided to tempt fate and give wireless printing another go.
The installation was fast and flawless, on both of my Windows machines (one XP and one Vista), and on my MacBook as well. I couldn't be happier )or more surprised).
+ 0 likes
Looked good on paper but was extremely difficult to set up. User manual was of no use ....would be a good, reasonably priced printer if set up procedures were easier. Purchase it if you are tech savvy ....stay away or hire someone if you are not.
+ 0 likes
The HL 2170W is easy to set up and install, whether as a USB stand alone, or a networked wired or wireless printer. Although not a "business-class" printer, it is built solidly enough for it's intended market, home/small business users. This is about the lowest cost laser out there, and yet it has excellent print speed and print quality. It is reasonably quiet, not particularly better or worse than many other laser printers.. Maybe not "elegant", but not ugly either, it blends into my home-office well.
I use this in combination with a quality photo ink jet (networked), as ink jets are still too slow, and too costly at printing out pages of text, but color lasers are not yet truly "prime-time:,An ink jet combined with a good B&W laser is a great printing solution for many folks, and the Brother 2170W fits that niche well!
BTW, the toner-saving setting is just perfect!! Plenty enough print quality at a setting that keeps toner costs down!
I use this in combination with a quality photo ink jet (networked), as ink jets are still too slow, and too costly at printing out pages of text, but color lasers are not yet truly "prime-time:,An ink jet combined with a good B&W laser is a great printing solution for many folks, and the Brother 2170W fits that niche well!
BTW, the toner-saving setting is just perfect!! Plenty enough print quality at a setting that keeps toner costs down!
+ 0 likes
I saw this printer and just had to have it.
I've been wanting to get a wireless printer for some time. I have a laptop, my daughter has a laptop, and I have a desktop. BUT, I could not print on anything beside the desktop. Unless I shared out the printer and left my PC on ALL THE TIME....I didn't want to do that. Also, the idea of just having to plug this into a socket and not running any CAT5 was great.
So I started looking around for a wireless printer. I checked HP's site, since I've had good luck with their products. Well, they did not have a laser printer with wireless. I just couldn't find one. And I wanted to stay away from inkjet technology. I wanted something that was FAST.
Well, I saw this printer on sale and thought it was perfect. So I went ahead and bought it.
First off, let me tell you, I've been playing with computers my whole life and have been working in the IT field for most of my adult life. I tried to set this up myself without reading directions. Folks, let
I've been wanting to get a wireless printer for some time. I have a laptop, my daughter has a laptop, and I have a desktop. BUT, I could not print on anything beside the desktop. Unless I shared out the printer and left my PC on ALL THE TIME....I didn't want to do that. Also, the idea of just having to plug this into a socket and not running any CAT5 was great.
So I started looking around for a wireless printer. I checked HP's site, since I've had good luck with their products. Well, they did not have a laser printer with wireless. I just couldn't find one. And I wanted to stay away from inkjet technology. I wanted something that was FAST.
Well, I saw this printer on sale and thought it was perfect. So I went ahead and bought it.
First off, let me tell you, I've been playing with computers my whole life and have been working in the IT field for most of my adult life. I tried to set this up myself without reading directions. Folks, let
...
more
+ 0 likes
toner that came with it is a trial. it will give about 1000 copies where a new toner will give 1500 or more. Wired worked great. Need to know a little about networking to get the wireless working. The online document walked me step by step with no problems. There is no delay in printing any document and my printer is 100 feet away from my wireless linksys router. I think the price was great.
+ 0 likes
I've had this printer for about 2 months and it works great. It did run out of toner after only 500 pages and I had to get another cartridge, but since then I've figured out how to change the settings to use less toner, especially on documents that don't need to be of the best quality. And those documents still look great, so you can't tell a lot of difference. It prints very fast as well, which is great, since I print a lot of large documents, 50+ pages.
+ 0 likes
I bought this printer for my wife and I to use for graduate school and it works great. The wireless set-up was simple and allowed us to put the printer where it benefits us the most, with no wires or cables attached. The toner is reasonably priced and so was the printer at $99. If you need a monochrome laser printer I think this is an excellent choice for the cost.
+ 0 likes
Printer worked great right out of the box. One note is to make sure you plug the printer into your wired network to set up the wireless networking. After the initial setup you can remove the printer from the wired network and you should have no issues with the wireless. Other computers will be able to install the drivers and see the computer wirelessly, took about three minutes each to have five other computers start using the printer wirelessly. Use the node name for discovery instead of IP if you have DHCP.
It took about 15 minutes to setup the printer without any issues.
Print quality is good and wakup from sleep to print is very fast.
+ 0 likes
I bought this printer after reading reviews that it was difficult to install wirelessly. Being relatively computer savvy and comparing those reviews with others, I was confident I could handle it. It was WAY more difficult than I expected - simply because neither the provided documentation or online instructions covered what I needed to do to get the printer to communicate with my FIOS router. Brother DEFINITELY needs to update their instructions.
IF YOU ARE USING FIOS, HERE ARE SOME TIPS:
If you have FIOS, don't even bother reading the woefully insufficient enclosed instructions. Go straight to the online documentation at the Brother Solutions Center (google search) and read all the way and follow all the instructions in those 36 pages. You'll need every step.
Disable ALL firewalls INCLUDING the one within the FIOS router. Actually the router just allows you to "minimize" the firewall but that is enough to get the installation done. I disabled windows and Norton
IF YOU ARE USING FIOS, HERE ARE SOME TIPS:
If you have FIOS, don't even bother reading the woefully insufficient enclosed instructions. Go straight to the online documentation at the Brother Solutions Center (google search) and read all the way and follow all the instructions in those 36 pages. You'll need every step.
Disable ALL firewalls INCLUDING the one within the FIOS router. Actually the router just allows you to "minimize" the firewall but that is enough to get the installation done. I disabled windows and Norton
...
more
+ 0 likes
If you are a student or business and print lots of B/W text this printer is perfect. And what a relief to be untethered from the printer! Although I wasn't planning to, I have gradually pared my home office down to one tall file cabinet in guest room closet. Goodbye clutter, hello space! Also, long stretches of time on the computer are less tedious & claustrophobic if you can move anywhere.
SETUP/USAGE: Clear, easy instructions. Great tech support, if needed. Simple to use.
GOOD DESIGN: Printer and drum are only parts consumer needs to access. Even paper jams are direct access and easy to fix.
STRONG SIGNAL: Router is in hall closet, printer is in a living room cabinet with audio/video equipment, yet I can sit in the same room (or outside on patio) with my laptop and printouts are done by the time I walk across the room. Fast and quiet!
PRINT QUALITY/VOLUME: As an online student, I can print out a textbook chapter without worrying about running out of ink. Extrafine
SETUP/USAGE: Clear, easy instructions. Great tech support, if needed. Simple to use.
GOOD DESIGN: Printer and drum are only parts consumer needs to access. Even paper jams are direct access and easy to fix.
STRONG SIGNAL: Router is in hall closet, printer is in a living room cabinet with audio/video equipment, yet I can sit in the same room (or outside on patio) with my laptop and printouts are done by the time I walk across the room. Fast and quiet!
PRINT QUALITY/VOLUME: As an online student, I can print out a textbook chapter without worrying about running out of ink. Extrafine
...
more
+ 0 likes
This is a great printer. I bought this printer at $99.00 when it was on sale. I might not have bought it at the regular price but at the sale price, I couldn't resist. If you are hesitant, you might want to wait until it goes on sale because this printer went on sale twice at $99 while I was waiting to purchase it. This printer is great, fast printing, quiet and generally a good printer. I needed a laser printer because i'm in law school and I needed to print lots of documents and have the ability to highlight without the ink smudging. I didn't need any frills, and the printer provides that. just a basic black and white laser printer at an affordable price. However, setting the printer to work wirelessly with a macbook was a pain. My friend set up hers rather quickly with the help of a friend (who works in IT) for her pc, but for the macbook it took hours to figure out. The instructions provided with the printer do not help at all. But, if you want to use it with an usb cable, it's quick
...
more
+ 0 likes
This printer was the best value in small desktop lasers, when I conducted a recent search. I was somewhat hesitant by some other comments on wireless setup, but found that reading the directions carefully, it was very easy to setup, and working within about 10 minutes. No problems whatsoever. My network is NOT a "one button" setup network - we have a hidden SSID, use WPA2 with AES encryption, so I went with the "network cable" initial setup, then once configured, use it wireless. Installing the print drivers on the various machines in our house went great - each machine was printing within 3 minutes of putting in the installation CD.
So far, this is one of the easiest wireless products to add to the network, and print quality is great. I am impressed with Brother's documentation and software. Nice work.
I had ordered an extra toner cartridge with the printer - in hindsight, I would probably order the TN-360 cartridge (large capacity) instead of the TN-330 cartridge, but
So far, this is one of the easiest wireless products to add to the network, and print quality is great. I am impressed with Brother's documentation and software. Nice work.
I had ordered an extra toner cartridge with the printer - in hindsight, I would probably order the TN-360 cartridge (large capacity) instead of the TN-330 cartridge, but
...
more
+ 0 likes
I really needed a wireless printer and I am glad I got this one. Set up was easy and my 15 year old had me up and running in 10 minutes. It took up very little space on my desk. I was impressed with the print speed and quality.
Even though I got this at a sale price (even the regular price was lower than the competitors) I think the pice was a little high. It works great so I am happy.
I highly recommend!
Even though I got this at a sale price (even the regular price was lower than the competitors) I think the pice was a little high. It works great so I am happy.
I highly recommend!
+ 0 likes
I just ordered this printer a few days ago for my office. I love it!! This printer compliments the CPU that I own as well as my work necessities. It's a good deal.
+ 0 likes
Setup is a breeze in both USB and wireless modes, as long as you follow the directions. Prints beautifully and quickly locally and on the network. Couldn't believe the features for the price!
+ 0 likes
First off the most amazing this is the price. It's a hundrd dollars for a laser printer. Secondly it is wireless which really helps. You don't have to deal with all the cords. Before this printer I had 3 printers in the house! Now I don't even need them because all comps will print from this one.
Even the quality is great. I would definitely recommend this product.
Even the quality is great. I would definitely recommend this product.
+ 0 likes
First of all, it's very easy to install. I put the printer in the living room cos this printer can supply wireless communication. It's so wonderful.
Secondly, the quqlity of print-out is beyond my expectation.
Thirdly, It can inform me of the status of its drum and toner whenever I need it.
It is worthwhile to buy and use it.
Secondly, the quqlity of print-out is beyond my expectation.
Thirdly, It can inform me of the status of its drum and toner whenever I need it.
It is worthwhile to buy and use it.
+ 0 likes
I got this printer on sale a few months ago. It is used with our wireless network and was easy to set up. The printer is fairly compact in size for a laser and doesn't take up as much space as our old one. It is very quiet and fast. For the price, this is definitly a good printer. I love the wireless capability and it is hard to find all these features at this price range.
+ 0 likes
I paid $99.00 for this printer from Best Buy a week ago. I see the price has gone up again. Anyway, the setup on this printer was as simple as can be. I followed the instructions and the recommendations the mfg. made when setting it up on my wireless network, and it worked perfect, the first time. I set up 2 laptops in under 15 minutes. Both work flawlessly using the wireless printer. As stated before, I would HIGHLY suggest connecting direct to the router for setup, as recommended by the mfg. Even at the higher price, I'd still recommend this printer.
+ 0 likes
I purchased this printer because of its wireless capabilities and the fact that it is a laser printer, at that. It is compact enough to fit just about anywhere, the print quality is excellent, has a toner save mode, toner is relatively inexpensive and it has remarkable printing speed. The only drawback is that the initial setup is rather complicated, and the directions do no cover what you actually need to do to set it up...but I called Brother customer support and they walked me through the process and the printer was up and running in less than 20 minutes.
+ 0 likes
I have an iMac and PC at home and needed a wireless printer. For the price this is unbeatable. For 99% of our needs B&W was all we needed. The wireless setup was seamless and easy. The installer and instructions that came with the product were the best I have ever seen.
+ 0 likes
Bought this printer becase I need a Vista compatible printer, and got a lot more than I expected! This printer is compatibale with Win2K, Win 2K3 Server, XP, and Vista. It has USB, Wireless and Wired network connections. When fully set up through it's web interface, it will even send you an email if there is a problem! Highly recommended.
+ 0 likes
I recently began working from a home office to save gas....and started spending a mint on inkjet cartridges. After fairly extensive research I knew what I wanted but was nearly scared off by all the nightmare stories of people who couldn't get wireless printers to work. Finally, after becoming paralyzed by overanalysis, I took the advice of the guy on this board who said to stop worrying about brand names and networks and just buy this thing because it works. Mine came in today and I used the wired setup-highly recommended-and no more than twenty minutes later I printed about 100 pages of work junk wirelessly.....and it was beautiful. Fast, better quality than I expected, and absolutely seamless setup. Buy it.
+ 0 likes
While both HL-2140 and HL-2170w are cheap, the total running cost is not as low as they appear. The main problem is that Brother does NOT offer real high yield toner for HL-2140 and HL-2170w.
While other "High Yield" toner print more than 6,000 pages, TN360's capacity is only 2,600 pages.Each page will cost you 2 cents while real high yied tonners like TN570 and TN 580 less than 1 cent, excluding paper and depreciation of the printer. In addition, the users of TN570 and TN580 have the choices between genuine and recycled toners.
If you print a large number of pages, I would recommend other models
While other "High Yield" toner print more than 6,000 pages, TN360's capacity is only 2,600 pages.Each page will cost you 2 cents while real high yied tonners like TN570 and TN 580 less than 1 cent, excluding paper and depreciation of the printer. In addition, the users of TN570 and TN580 have the choices between genuine and recycled toners.
If you print a large number of pages, I would recommend other models
+ 0 likes
I found the key to an easy setup is to use a cable to connect the printer to your router which is the recommended procedure for installation. At a specific point it's ok to disconnect from the router. Follow the instructions for this procedure and you'll be printing in no time (less than 10 mins). I did this for my wife's Toshiba laptop and my MacBook Pro. It works perfectly for both. While I was at it installed it on my office desktop. It has been 6 weeks and no problems have surfaced.
+ 0 likes
Love this printer. It is a workhorse, it doesn't let crinkled paper get stuck, it works fast, it came with an toner cartridge that lasted 1,000 pages. Brother is always there to help me when I have a problem with the printer, which happened on installation. They walked me through it. This a wireless printer that works on computers all over the house. If you want a black and white printer that is inexpensive and works great, get this one!
+ 0 likes
I just bought it a few hours ago, product looks really great. I took me a while to figure out how to configure it manually without installing the entire software, but just the drivers, and I could do it. After that, everything works excellent at any place in the whole house. Wohoo!!! no more cables!!!
+ 0 likes
I had originally set out to purchase ink cartridges for my color ink jet, but when I compared the ink prices with the then-current sale price, for about $20 more, it was a no-brainer to purchase this printer. I find this printer a terrific value even at the regular price compared to any other offerings currently available. considering that 95% of my printing is black and white, the value is even greater.
Installation went smoothly for both Windows XP, 2000 and CUPS for Linux. The Status Monitor works more reliably for Windows 2000 than XP, but I have never had the printer fail to print (as long as I had it turned on!).
Linux CUPS does not have this exact model listed, but I found one for a similar laser printer that works perfectly.
This printer has a very quick warm up time. From its sleep stage, I can print a one or two page document, and by the time I get up and cross the bedroom, it has finished printing.
The output is sharp and clear, even down to
Installation went smoothly for both Windows XP, 2000 and CUPS for Linux. The Status Monitor works more reliably for Windows 2000 than XP, but I have never had the printer fail to print (as long as I had it turned on!).
Linux CUPS does not have this exact model listed, but I found one for a similar laser printer that works perfectly.
This printer has a very quick warm up time. From its sleep stage, I can print a one or two page document, and by the time I get up and cross the bedroom, it has finished printing.
The output is sharp and clear, even down to
...
more
+ 0 likes
I bought this printer about 5 days ago. I wanted wireless capability because I had no choice other than to put the router and printer in separate rooms. Set up was easy. Just temporarily hook up the network cable, and follow the instructions from the CD. The software found my SSID, so all I had to enter was the WEP encription key. I was printing wirelessly in just minutes. The printer is really fast, with only a slight delay from pushing print to having the print job waiting for me at the printer. The print quality for text documents is great. It rivals some of the laser printers at work. The fan is a little noisy, but the printer is in another room, so I am not there to hear it. Viewing and adjusting the settings is quite easy too. Just click the printer icon in the task bar and select printer home page and change any settings you want. The task bar icon will also let you view any messages sent from the printer such as low toner, or error messages like paper jams. Aside from the fan noise,
...
more
+ 0 likes
Just bought the brother 2170w today. Great price ( 99.99 on sale) had some reward coupons so that made it even cheaper.
Setup is simple. If you know basic wireless setup ertc then its easy as can be. i would guess non wireless is even easier. Best setup option is as mentioned before...use the temporary ether cable to your router, run through the setup. All you need to know are the usuals like the SSID, keys etc or if you have the later easy setup stuff for wireless that works too.
I almost went with an HP p1006 or an HP P1505 but this little wonderful Brother model has them beat. Nice internal paper tray that does not make the footprint larger, plus wired and wireless networking included.
A steal at 99.99.
Setup is simple. If you know basic wireless setup ertc then its easy as can be. i would guess non wireless is even easier. Best setup option is as mentioned before...use the temporary ether cable to your router, run through the setup. All you need to know are the usuals like the SSID, keys etc or if you have the later easy setup stuff for wireless that works too.
I almost went with an HP p1006 or an HP P1505 but this little wonderful Brother model has them beat. Nice internal paper tray that does not make the footprint larger, plus wired and wireless networking included.
A steal at 99.99.
+ 0 likes
This is our 3rd Brother laser printer (including one multi-function printer/fax) and all three have been rock solid. Adding this printer to our wireless network was very easy and all of our computers (all Apples running OS X, 10.5) found it and configured the drivers automatically.
The printer is fast and with very good output quality. Replacement toner is relatively inexpensive and we get a lot of copies out of these printers between toner or drum replacements.
I have recommended Brother's printers to others and without exception have heard back only positive comments.
The printer is fast and with very good output quality. Replacement toner is relatively inexpensive and we get a lot of copies out of these printers between toner or drum replacements.
I have recommended Brother's printers to others and without exception have heard back only positive comments.
+ 0 likes
I have no wireless network. I wanted only to be able to print from one of three laptops from anywhere in the house without carrying computer to printer and plugging in USB cable. Initial installation failed. The manual does not seem to cover this particular contingency so I went online and found explicit instructions in the FAQ. The printer works well usually finished printing by the time I walk to the printer.
+ 0 likes
wireless network doesn't work. configuring it once and detected all wireless connection in the area. unfortunately, it failed to connect to mine. Since then, wireless detection fail completely regardless of reset or any possible attempt to change the setting. I guess unless the ROM memory is erased and re-program by the factory, the networking of this printer is dead once it is not configured "properly" the first time. One can argue that USB still works, and I do acknowledge this. But, why would anyone consider paying extra for this "network" printer if USB is all one needs.
OK printer, great price, wireless network sucks. I'd suggest Brother to "fix" networking part and make it more user-friendly to avoid lots of returns.
OK printer, great price, wireless network sucks. I'd suggest Brother to "fix" networking part and make it more user-friendly to avoid lots of returns.
+ 0 likes
I read on here about problems earlier users have had setting up wireless. Well, I did exactly what was suggested on here (especially hooking up a wired connection first) and had 4 wired and wireless PC's up in about an hour, all now on wireless. Printing is flawless and I'm really happy. Should be LOTS cheaper than the ink jets I've been using for text only.
+ 0 likes
The "Brother HL-2170W" laser printer is an awesome printer.. This is my first laser printer. In my home I have a comination of 6 personal computing devices, and all of them use the "Brother HL-2170W" . It was very simple to set up. It prints up to 23 pages a minute (and it has, I've tried it) The best part of it is that, whatever piece of equiptment that I'm using I can print whenever and wherever I am. I can move the "Brother HL-2170W" printer anywhere in or outside my home, on my patio, in my garage, etc. all without any wires (except the power cord of course) well you get the picture.. The "Brother HL-2170W" a great value and it does exactly what it says it can do... two thumbs up!
+ 0 likes
I would definitely tell everyone who asked to buy this printer. Wi-Fi is easy to set up and the printer is very fast. It does come with a starter toner cartridge but what printer doesn't. Plus the replacement toner is reasonable and they carry it in the store.
+ 0 likes
I just purchased this printer. It took me longer to unpack and place than it did to set it up.
I am running a MacBook Pro w/Leopard. I loaded the CD, followed the instructions that came with it and I was literally printing wirelessly within 5 minutes!
Print quality is great and the printer is very quiet.
Be sure to follow the correct directions for the correct type of computer you use.
I am running a MacBook Pro w/Leopard. I loaded the CD, followed the instructions that came with it and I was literally printing wirelessly within 5 minutes!
Print quality is great and the printer is very quiet.
Be sure to follow the correct directions for the correct type of computer you use.
+ 0 likes
this printer is a good value, I use it for home use;so far there has been no problems with the printer it self.
My disappointment is with the manual it is poorly written and is confusing ,with a little help from brothers help desk which spoke american english and pleasant all issues were resolved dont be afraid to buy this product it delivers
My disappointment is with the manual it is poorly written and is confusing ,with a little help from brothers help desk which spoke american english and pleasant all issues were resolved dont be afraid to buy this product it delivers
+ 0 likes
Very affordable printer and outstanding performance. I'm running Mac OS 10.5.2. Wireless install took me about 10-15 minutes. Instructions were very simple. Just remember to turn on your Firewall after the setup. Printed over 500 pages about 3 hours right after installing. I'm no longer tied to a printer since I use a laptop and this can be placed anywhere within range of my network. My first Brother printer. Good print quality too.
+ 0 likes
Recently I bought a Brother All-In-One Inkjet and have been very happy with it. Since it had all the controls on the printer itself, I was able to set up the wireless connection quickly and without any problem. Plus, all the other features worked well. I needed a laser printer to replace my very old NEC. Based on my experience with the Brother Inkjet I decided to buy this Brother 2170W.
The Brother laser printer is very small, yet holds 250 pages which is far more than my old one. It wakes up in less than 10 seconds then prints pages lightening fast. The print quality is sharp and clear. I have the printer in my office and connected it directly to my PC with the USB cable. However, I also have a laptop about 10 feet away that I wanted to setup wireless to the laser printer. Well, that is where the problems began.
I tried for several hours to connect the laser printer to my laptop and never could get it right. I was able to connect wirelessly directly between the printer and laptop without
The Brother laser printer is very small, yet holds 250 pages which is far more than my old one. It wakes up in less than 10 seconds then prints pages lightening fast. The print quality is sharp and clear. I have the printer in my office and connected it directly to my PC with the USB cable. However, I also have a laptop about 10 feet away that I wanted to setup wireless to the laser printer. Well, that is where the problems began.
I tried for several hours to connect the laser printer to my laptop and never could get it right. I was able to connect wirelessly directly between the printer and laptop without
...
more
