Adding Brother wireless printer to lan

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Level 1

4 points

Adding Brother wireless printer to lan

I'm having difficulty adding a wireless printer to a recently installed AirPort Extreme ...

MBP running OS11.x The difficulty seems to be that the router [temporarily] tethered to the printer [Brother 2270DW] will not assign an IP address to the printer's network card...can't seem to get past the printer's Apipa address [this is a necessary step to be able to access the printer's web based network configuration interface and so to set this up for wireless printing over the household lan]

the AE base station was simply added to the existing wireless network and as such, does not make the wps 'button' available. Is this the wrong setup for adding a wireless printer? or could it be a faulty router? [it's second hand, and I haven't tried using it before now]. Oh, and both the router and printer were restored to factory defaults before starting.

Posted on Apr 15, 2023 7:19 AM

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Answer 1

okthenslant Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 15, 2023 11:08 AM in response to Tesserax

Tesserax

Thanks ... really didn't expect such a quick response.

Misguided perhaps, but I had this used Extreme basestation that was collecting dust, and I thought to set it up as a dedicated print server. I added it to the existing network wirelessly ... simply as an addition to the existing and as such, the wps 'button' wasn't available. Setting it up as an extended network device would make the wps available, but would never find the wireless printer even though the router was tethered [ethernet] to the printer. Cancelling the add printer request would then cause Airport Utility to 'lose' the basestation altogether.

Shots of network and wireless config tabs are attached ::

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

152,278 points

Apr 15, 2023 9:19 AM in response to okthenslant

Was there a specific reason that you just didn't connect your wireless Brother printer to your existing wireless network ... and not use the AirPort Extreme at all?

How did you "add" this base station to your existing network? ... by wireless or by a wired (Ethernet) connection? How is it configured exactly? Screenshots of the AirPort Utility's Network & Wireless tabs would be helpful.

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Answer 3

Tesserax

Level 10

152,278 points

Apr 15, 2023 1:12 PM in response to okthenslant

Ok, unlike the AirPort Express, the AirPort Extreme cannot "join" an existing wireless network ... at least, not for anything useful, that is.

Apple removed the "join" option for the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule when version 6.x of the AirPort Utility was introduced with OS X Lion (10.7.3).

However, it can still be configured by using version 5.x of the utility … but, doing so the Extreme would have very limited functionality. Its Ethernet ports would be disabled, and at best, it would only be useful for sharing an external USB hard drive or printer.

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Answer 4

Tesserax

Level 10

152,278 points

Apr 15, 2023 1:48 PM in response to okthenslant

It would depend on what your networking requirements are.

The AirPort Extreme is a wireless Internet router. It was designed to work best with other Apple routers. Being that Apple abandoned its networking hardware back in 2018, they are certainly dated technology.

However, if it is still functional, you can still consider using it, selling it, donating it, or just giving it away.

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Answer 5

Tesserax

Level 10

152,278 points

Apr 15, 2023 2:26 PM in response to okthenslant

Thanks, but I have already replaced my old Apple networking hardware. I still do suggest that you give it away to someone who can't afford to purchase one ... regardless of the cost.

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