Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

Don't believe the doubters

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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.

15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 56 days ago at

Expensive toner

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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

15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 57 days ago at

Setup a snap - Excellent printer value

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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.

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18 price(s) | 59 days ago at

Rock solid printing solution

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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.

15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 98 days ago at

AdHoc network installation

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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.

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18 price(s) | 122 days ago at

beware of the wireless network settings

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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.

15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 125 days ago at

Thanks for all the comments!!!!

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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.

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18 price(s) | 127 days ago at

Great Printer, Just follow directions on setup.

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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

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going through the router. However, doing it this way I could not be on the internet and printer at the same time. Also, the connection would keep dropping. Try as I may, I could not connect the printer through the router like my other Brother Inkjet. I am convinced that I am simply doing some little something wrong. Therefore, I can not blame the printer for something that is my fault. Since I do have the printer wired to the other printer in the office and that printer is connected to the router, then I can still access the laser printer through the other computer.

I am still giving the Brother 2170W printer high marks because, except for the connection problems, it is an excellent printer.

UPDATE: I was trying to setup the printer wirelessly, without plugging the cable in. Bad idea! I finally decided to wire the printer to the router as recommended in the manual. After setting it up I unplugged the wired connection and now the printer works wirelessly from both of my computers. The whole thing took less than 3 minutes. Lesson for today: Read the manual and do what it Recommends.

It would benefit most people to have a laser printer in addition to their inkjet printer. And this is why. Keep track of just how many documents and letters you print that do not require color. If you print more than ten percent in black and white then you can save a lot of money on ink by using a laser printer. Here are some figures to consider. The cost of toner (ink) for a laser printer is higher than inkjet, but a laser can print many more pages. The cost per page on a laser printer can be as low as 3 cents. Whereas, the cost of ink for an inkjet can be 11 cents or more per page, and that cost can be ten times more for photos. Therefore, if you only print a few things that do not require color then you may only save ten to twenty percent on ink. However, if you do a lot of black and white printing then you could save fifty to seventy percent on ink using a laser printer. And if you decide to buy a laser, then this Brother is one of the best because of the speed and print quality.

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15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 152 days ago at

Great printer, easy setup

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

I love this printer. I did not experience any of the setup problems described in some of the reviews. I have an older wireless router that is not "one-push" capable, and I am not a techie. I just followed the instructions on the CD, used the recommended setup method (which is to connect it with a cable to the wireless router when setting it up and then disconnect it before installing the printer driver on the individual computers), and everything worked the first time on both my desktop and laptop computers, which both connect wirelessly to my home network. The speed and quality of the printer are very good too and it does not take up too much space and fits neatly under a low shelf on my desk. I am very please with this purchase.

going through the router. However, doing it this way I could not be on the internet and printer at the same time. Also, the connection would keep dropping. Try as I may, I could not connect the printer through the router like my other Brother Inkjet. I am convinced that I am simply doing some little something wrong. Therefore, I can not blame the printer for something that is my fault. Since I do have the printer wired to the other printer in the office and that printer is connected to the router, then I can still access the laser printer through the other computer.

I am still giving the Brother 2170W printer high marks because, except for the connection problems, it is an excellent printer.

UPDATE: I was trying to setup the printer wirelessly, without plugging the cable in. Bad idea! I finally decided to wire the printer to the router as recommended in the manual. After setting it up I unplugged the wired connection and now the printer works wirelessly from both of my computers. The whole thing took less than 3 minutes. Lesson for today: Read the manual and do what it Recommends.

It would benefit most people to have a laser printer in addition to their inkjet printer. And this is why. Keep track of just how many documents and letters you print that do not require color. If you print more than ten percent in black and white then you can save a lot of money on ink by using a laser printer. Here are some figures to consider. The cost of toner (ink) for a laser printer is higher than inkjet, but a laser can print many more pages. The cost per page on a laser printer can be as low as 3 cents. Whereas, the cost of ink for an inkjet can be 11 cents or more per page, and that cost can be ten times more for photos. Therefore, if you only print a few things that do not require color then you may only save ten to twenty percent on ink. However, if you do a lot of black and white printing then you could save fifty to seventy percent on ink using a laser printer. And if you decide to buy a laser, then this Brother is one of the best because of the speed and print quality.

15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 160 days ago at

Good price...easy wireless setup

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

Very good price for a very good printer...I was looking into their previous version (2070N) when I came across the wireless version, and opted for this one instead for a little more.

As for the wireless setup, it is VERY simple, and if you ARE a computer guy, you shouldn't even have to use the included CD for the install. I didn't use the included cd, these are the steps I took to install the drivers and setup the wireless function of the printer...

1. Make sure your printer is ready to be powered up, which means install the drum/toner, paper, etc.
2. Make sure DHCP is turned on and your using it on your router to assign IP addresses.
3. Plug in a Ethernet cable from your router to the printer.
4. Turn on the printer.
5. Your router should have assigned the printer an IP Address...to check which IP address it has been assigned you can open up your router's web interface and check the DHCP leased IP addresses and find the one for the printer.
6. Download printer drivers from here:
http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public/us/us/en/dlf/download_top.html?reg=us&c=us&lang=en&prod=hl2170w_all
Extract

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15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 176 days ago at

excellent wireless printer, terrible wireless setup

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

Being a computer GUY, I never pay attention to negative reviews about wireless setup, but this was the WORST wireless install I have ever had:(
It took me 8 hours to get this thing going, but it works great. Issue is, the printer has 2 mac addresses, one for the wireless adapter and one for the ethernet. NOWHERE in the setup/users manual does Brother tell you this. If you are not computer savvy, BEWARE OF THIS PRINTER. You should set the ip address to a static address in the network configuration for both your router/access point AND the network configuration for the printer. If you don't do this, you wont have any way to access the settings if something should go wrong on the install. Calling Brother's customer service won't do you much good. I am still waiting for a call back from the HEAD TECH GUY:( It is a little loud, but I can live with that considering that I paid $130 for it delivered. This is a great wireless printer for a home network. We have 6 computers at home and were constantly

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15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 177 days ago at

Easy Wireless Setup

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

I have read several reviews on this site and others complaining about the setup and I wanted to set the record straight.

This was the easiest wireless printer I have ever setup. I had zero problems and everything worked on the 1st try. If you are capable of reading the manual and following instructions then you will have no problems.

I am very happy with my purchase. Cheap price, fast startup time, low noise, and I love being able to place this in any room of my home.

Don't let the other negative comments stop you from buying this printer.

15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 180 days ago at

Great Performance, Wireless easy to setup

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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 it's just a cost-saving

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15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 187 days ago at

Low price, easy setup, good performance!

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

I've been buying Brother laser printers for several years now - first the HL-1240, and then the HL-1440. Both were used in my home network via the Windows printer sharing function, which means that the computer to which the printer is attached must be up and running in order to print. The 1440 recently started malfunctioning, and rather than deal with its problems I decided to get something new that I could connect directly to the network.

I went looking for the HL-2070n, but these are no longer stocked in local stores, and I wanted a printer quick. Instead I found this model and the larger, more expensive HL-5250dn. After playing with both of them for a few minutes, I felt that the 5250 was too noisy and clunky sounding, and kind of big. It's probably a good printer, but I went instead for the quieter and less obtrusive HL-2170w.

The wireless capability is a nice feature, but not really important to me right now, since the printer sits only three feet from my Linksys WRT54G router and

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15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 190 days ago at

Brother HL-2170W -- The Bleeding Edge of Printers

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Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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,

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and they scheduled a pickup this Wednesday. But tomorrow I will cancel the HL-2170W return because I figured out how to get the HL-2170W hooked up and now it's running fine. Now every computer in the house--two wired desktops and two wireless notebooks--can print to it. We can move it anywhere. It prints fast with excellent print quality, and there is very little lag until printing. I look forward to reviewing future posts on this product. In this post I'll summarize my lessons learned and recommendations for those of you bold enough to be on the bleeding edge until Brother gets their act together on the HL-2170W installation materials.

First of all, my home network features a Linksys WRT54g router (offers wired/wireless combo), Motorola cable modem, 2 Cat-5 wired Desktop computers running Windows XP Pro, and two new windows notebook computers with built-in wireless g connectivity running Windows Vista Home Basic. The Linksys WRT54g router features the trademarked Secure Easy SetUp CD and installed in a snap, which included setting up the security features. My XP desktop computer functions as the host computer. Prior to installing the HL-2170W the purchase everyone in our household was using USB drives to plug into my desktop computer so they could print to an old HP color ink jet that was connected with a USB cable to my computer. The HL-2170W is our first network printer.

Here's how my HL-2170W install process got sidetracked and left me kicking myself. I looked at the HL-2170W manual and the cover said set up involves only two steps. So I was thinking Wow this is AWESOME, just like the Linksys router. So I proceeded to install the CD on my host computer and started breezing through the set-up screens and along the way made some big mistakes. When I got to the Setting Up Wireless window I selected the default Step-by-Step Install (Recommended) and clicked Next without any hesitation. This mistake was compounded in the Window pertaining to Authentication Method and Encryption Mode, where the HL-2170W default Encryption Mode is WEP (later found out my Linksys used the more advanced WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). Got to the end and noticed the HL-2170W was mapped on my network but not assigned an IP address. The HL-2170W emphasizes the trademarked Secure Easy Set-up in the HL-2170 product description and manual. But the install CD process alternatively recommends a process that makes it easy for you to commit an error and resort to more complicated procedures.

So this morning I thought about how I may have screwed up and decided to give it another try. I printed out instructions for resetting the internal HL-2170W internal print server, which is what you do to start over on Step 1. I uninstalled the printer driver from my computer. I made sure the standard Windows XP Firewall was turned off. I re-insatalled the HL-2170W set-up CD and got to the window to select the non-default Automatic Install (Advanced) to capitalize on the Linksys Secure Easy Setup approach. This is Page 26 of the manual, entitled Configuration Using the automatic wireless (one-push) method. Except this is actually a two-push method (push HL-2170W button in Step 9 for 1 second, then on Step 12 you'll need to push the Linksys Router for a second). Note: The Linksys WRT54g router push button is actually the Cisco Systems logo on the router. Don't be fooled into thinking your router does not have a push button.

Unfortunately, going through this process knocked the two notebooks off the previously configured wireless network (I do not know the cause), so I had to go through the process for re-adding them to the network.

Finally, I went to each computer to with the HL-2170W CD to install the printer driver only. At this point I was extremely patient and reading every detail to make sure I was selecting the right option and entering the correct information. Windows Vista seemed more tedious than Windows XP.

My recommendation for anyone considering purchasing the Brother HL-2170W printer is simple. Don't buy the HL-2170W at this time unless you have a Linksys Router with Secure Easy Setup equipped with the push button, or have computer networking expertise and many hours of spare time to figure it out. In my opinion, the key decision error made by Brother is providing an install CD that, by default, takes you down a path with land mines that require you know router settings and information that are not the listed defaults. Unbelievably, the simpler push button approach that worked for me is listed as the "Advanced" option in the setup process that is NOT RECOMMENDED by Brother. They steer you away from simplicity and into complexity. Brother will discover this over next few months and likely clarify their install manual and CD. In the interim, they may get hammered by many frustrated customers who are not saavy computer users, will make mistakes during setup, will not want to hassle with re-setting the server, and will return the product. Good luck. Right now I'm very satisfied and awarding four stars because my HL-2170W is working great.

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15 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

18 price(s) | 199 days ago at

Brother Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer

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