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Adding a Brother printer gets this Error: unable to communicate with the printer

Mac OS Ventura 13.6

Printer is Brother MFC-J6535DW

Wireless is a T-Mobile 5G-cell service


I used the printer panel connection wizard to connect to the wireless.


On my iMac:

I get to Add Printer.

My printer comes up as a Bonjour

Location (my phone #??) and Use fill in themselves.

Wireless is a T-Mobile 5G-cell service


If I choose to create the printer anyway, it fails again because it isn't communicating.

If my system sees it, why can't it communicate enough to install?

iMac (2017 – 2020)

Posted on Sep 30, 2023 4:27 PM

Reply
2 replies

Oct 4, 2023 1:36 PM in response to alma1090

Actually, the issue is the T-Mobile cell/ISP service. I am running it as a trial alongside my ADSL2+ Bonded service.


My findings so far:

The T-mobile speed is **usually ** significantly faster than the the DSL (Widely variable, have caught it very slow only a couple of times in the last 40ish days). I have been able to do complete OS installs in under an hour, instead of the hours involved with even just an update with DSL.


The T-Mobile router access is **only** through a phone app. There are no settings for security, port forwarding, wifi shutdown, nor any of the common router setting that I am used to having. The "Connected Devices" tab is nigh useless -- it frequently shows no devices found, when I have devices connected and using it --- and right now is is showing 5 iPhones (we have 2) and a couple of other devices I don't recognize --- with NO option to give the devices a name (like Gregs Phone).


My fix has been to use the DSL for routine use, and to switch over to T-mobile only for major bandwidth use.

Adding a Brother printer gets this Error: unable to communicate with the printer

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