I have had the hardest time getting this printer to work. I installed Snow Leopard - and when I go to add new printer - no list is available under the default tab. I am using a USB connection between the printer and the computer.
When I go try and print something, says, no printer selected. I go to add printer - and there is no list in the right of available printer drivers. I went and downloaded the Apple Snow Leopard print drivers for Brother. Still, nothing is listed.
Please help - I bought this printer 6 months ago - I could not get it to print then - and now I cannot even get Brother (or any other) print driver in the list.
I have a Brother 2170W and I can print over USB just fine with the drivers that came on disk with Snow Leopard. Try to make sure the printer is turned on and connected correctly.
Does it show up in the System Profiler (Apple menu -> About This Mac -> "More Info" button)?
Under the USB section of the System Profile, if you don't see the device then there is something wrong with your USB connection or the printer isn't functioning correctly.
Hello, I bought the Brother HL2170-W back in August. I have yet to get it to print wirelessly!
I have contacted Brother and their assistance is useless.
I have followed the thread and I am at my wits end.
I have a HP Allin1 which prints wirelessly just fine. I did not have to create a new network or change the configuration of the 2 networks I do have (5.0 GHZ for the Mac and 2.4 for the iPod Touch).
Do I have to create another network just for this printer? Why?
(I have downloaded the BRAdmin light, did not use the CD-ROM that came with the printer. I have connected it to the laptop, the TimeCapsule / Airport, deleted the printer, added the printer, connected it to the back of the Time Capsule, reset to factory defaults, reset it for wireless by inserting a pen point in the back of the printer as indicated, I have used the CD-ROM, etc.)
The only way it can print is with a cable connecting it to the back of the Time Capsule.
I'm at the point of tossing the printer through the window.
Hello, I have been trying since August to get my Brother HL-2170W to work wirelessly. I followed the instructions provided by Brother. No success. I have followed the thread here and followed the various sets of instructions. NO luck.
I'm at my wits end.
I've downloaded BRAdmin, I have reset the printer, I was able to get the PIN code (once) but after entering it, the little "circle of death" kept on spinning for 60+ minutes without ever connecting. (I've put the printer as close to the Time Capsule as physically possible.)
I have turned the printer on and off multiple times, reset the printer multiple times, inserted a pen tip in the back of the printer multiple times according to the instructions. I have put the cable back, removed the cable, etc. Nothing seems to be working.
Jim
Hello, called Brother up for support. Though they were not able to get it working the instructions they provided did work: connect an ethernet cable printer to Time Capsule, reset printer to factory settings, print out pages, type in IP address, follow the prompts and enter the Time Capsule password! all worked after multiple tries (Brother support only allows the tech 2x to get it working before they refer you to Apple support! LOL).
I do have to turn on my other wireless printer 1st before turning on the Brother printer in order for the Brother to connect via IP to my network and print. Also printing is very slow
The response with the following information WORKED PERFECTLY! Thank you!
1. Open Airport Utility. Click "Manual Setup".
2. Select "Add wireless clients ..." from Base Station drop-down menu
3. In Wireless Setup Utility: Select "Allow client by PIN" and click "Continue"
4. Push HL-2170W's reset button(between Ethernet and USB ports) with pen or
paper clip for 3 seconds or so until yellow toner light flashes. The Brother will print a PIN number. (Yellow light will continue to flash as it searches for a network)
5. In Wireless Setup Utility enter PIN number and click "Continue"
6. After a minute or so Airport should recognize the Brother; press "Done"
7. Open "Print and Fax",and click "+" to add printer. HL-2170 will show in the Printer options and you should be good to go.
Thanks for the info Peter. Just one added point for folks in the same boat, i.e. cannot get their Brother 2170w to work with an Airport Express (N) or Airport Extreme: make sure the security is indeed set to WPA and not WEP. I could of sworn I had it set to WPA but the PIN authentication kept failing so I went back and re-checked everything. Sure enough, WEP was set as security mode and after I changed it to WPA2, the PIN auth worked fine.
Synopsis: The setup using an ethernet cable does not work. You must use the path via the SETUP wireless network thrown up by the printer.
Airport is turned on and encrypted in my Mac and the router.
I was connected to the router via Ethernet as well, but this was probably not necessary. The instructions below have me connecting and disconnecting the Ethernet cable at the computer. If you have a browser window open to your router via wireless, all this can probably be ignored.
The printer is connected to the router via ethernet. This does not seem to create a problem. It is the cable to the computer that confuses the software.
Get the newest driver from Brother, brxlaserX6_400.dmg, August 2010, or later.
[FYI, This is the CUPS 4.0.0 driver. Someone said they had no idea what CUPS was. According to Wikipedia: CUPS began life as "The Common UNIX Printing System". The name was shortened to just "CUPS" beginning with CUPS 1.4 due to legal concerns with the UNIX trademark. Google offers Apple and Wikipedia pages for more explanation.]
[FYI, as I type this, Apple is sending me a Brother printer software update.]
Install this driver. A page will open showing BrotherMLDrivers.mpkg. Double click this, and it will walk you through the install just as the original disk would.
[FYI, BrotherMLDrivers.mpkg includes 4 files:
Brother_MonochromeLaser, Brother_Common, Brother ICA and BrotherSTM6.
The original disk includes Util07 (BRAdmin Light & Install Utility), STM5 Status Monitor, and the CUPS 1.3 driver.)]
Remount the original disk. Click the Flash Player icon. Select HL-2170W, then language, then "Install Printer Driver" (we won't).
Choose "Wireless Network Users, then "step-by-step install".
Select "Without cable" and disconnect any Ethernet cable from the computer.
Follow instructions to print the network Configuration page.
If the Node Type is correct (I have NC-7400w) and Active, check the box and click Next.
A warning window is thrown up:
"Make a note of the current wireless network settings.
comm mode (Infrastructure/Ad-hoc)
Channel(1-14) (if applicable)
network name (SSID)
Authentication Method (Open system/shared key)
Encryption mode (None/WEP/Other)
Encryption key
Network name, authentication method and encryption mode and key are all that are relevant. All else is handled by the system.
Click Next.
You will be asked to change the network name to SETUP. I found that this network is seen by the Airport software. Select it.
The setup wizard should now find the printer.
Click Next, and it searches for networks.
All your neighborhood networks will be found.
No networks will be found, and an error window is thrown, if you don't disconnect that Ethernet cable.
Follow through to finish. I have powered the printer down and up, and it retains its connectivity.
Thank you very much for posting this! I literally spent 2 hours each on three separate days trying to get this to work wirelessly. Today I scrapped my Linksys Router, received my Airport Extreme from the UPS man, and finally got it going!
It should not matter which router you are using. I don't remember there being any particular problems but I've been using the Brother printer from both my laptop and my wife's over wireless without any problems (osx 10.6 and 10.5). I think I have a Linksys router (or maybe dlink) and it works fine.
I also could not find "Add wireless client..." from Base Station drop-down menu and I also felt like an idiot. I finally found the Base Station drop down menu on the top of the screen. I was looking in the utility. Now I see why another person added a "duh!" comment. I also feel like saying "duh!"
Now that I've found it, I'm still trying to follow the steps to get it to work.
Yes! Thanks so much... love this printer but totally NOT intuitive to set up. Luckily, your help saved me many hours of frustration. Worked like a charm once I reset the printer from its old settings (holding the GO button down while turning the printer on, waiting for all three lights to come on, releasing the button, then pressing it seven times). This reset the printer and re-activated the wireless settings. I was then able to print the PIN using your instructions and get it all set up through the Airport Utility. Thanks again!
ARRRRGH! I just updated the firmware on the Airport Extreme and now I've lost the ability to print! I tried following the same steps for PIN access and now, for some insane reason, it's not working! Can anyone offer a suggestion as to what I need to do to get this up-and-running again? The PIN process worked like a breeze las t time, so now I'm at a total loss. SO FRUSTRATING! Thanks in advance.
WindyPoint, have you had any issues with your printer once the firmware on your router was reset? I just lost connections to the printer and I was thinking that may be why... any ideas why the PIN process would not be working for me now... it worked so well before! Thanks for any help you can offer.
