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MacVirgin2011

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 25, 2010
14
0
Hi

I got myself a Brother printer to use wirelessly with my MacAir.

I seem to have downloaded the correct driver from the Brother website but I am unable to set up the wireless connection. Obviously without the CD driver I am unable to bring up the (wireless) installation screens that are in the manual. Also it seems that my router doesn't support WPS or AOSS (if that means anything to anyone).

Any help greatly appreciated!
 

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,020
7,862
If you have a wireless router (like an Airport Express or Time Capsule), you can plug the printer into the USB port and access it wirelessly that way. That's how I connect to my (non-wireless) Lexmark printer.
 

ghostlyorb

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2010
920
0
Virginia, USA
Try connecting it via ethernet to a router or a hub... then assign the IP number to the computer. I have done it that way before for a company that hired me to do so!
 

Voondebah

macrumors member
Mar 28, 2010
75
1
I'm going to assume you don't have a USB cable handy? It is possible to setup the printer through a web browser!

When your printer comes out of the box and you plug it in, it creates it's own wireless network, likely called 'SETUP' or something similar. Use your mac to connect to this wireless setup network. If the network doesn't show up, you can try resetting the printer to factory defaults:
1) turn off printer
2) hold 'GO' button while turning on printer
3) keep holding Go untill all LED's light up; release after the Ready LED turns off.
4) Press Go six times - LED should light up to confirm reset and printer restarts

Once connected, you'll need to find the IP address of the printer. This should be the same as your gateway address now that you're connected. Open up a terminal window, and run:
Code:
netstat -nr | grep '^default'

It should return one line of code, similar to this:
Code:
default            69.161.238.1       UGSc           48        0     en1
The en1 at the end indicates this is the configuration for the wireless adapter. The ip address after default should be the ip address of the printer. Type this ip address into a browser and hit Go, and if I haven't mislead you, it will open up the web-based setup on the printer! Then you just need to change the printer's wifi configuration to match your own network.

If you try this, let me know if you have any problems. I haven't setup a brother wireless printer in a couple years, so I may have missed a step. :)
 
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MacVirgin2011

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 25, 2010
14
0
I'm going to assume you don't have a USB cable handy? It is possible to setup the printer through a web browser!

When your printer comes out of the box and you plug it in, it creates it's own wireless network, likely called 'SETUP' or something similar. Use your mac to connect to this wireless setup network. If the network doesn't show up, you can try resetting the printer to factory defaults:
1) turn off printer
2) hold 'GO' button while turning on printer
3) keep holding Go untill all LED's light up; release after the Ready LED turns off.
4) Press Go six times - LED should light up to confirm reset and printer restarts

Once connected, you'll need to find the IP address of the printer. This should be the same as your gateway address now that you're connected. Open up a terminal window, and run:
Code:
netstat -nr | grep '^default'

It should return one line of code, similar to this:
Code:
default            69.161.238.1       UGSc           48        0     en1
The en1 at the end indicates this is the configuration for the wireless adapter. The ip address after default should be the ip address of the printer. Type this ip address into a browser and hit Go, and if I haven't mislead you, it will open up the web-based setup on the printer! Then you just need to change the printer's wifi configuration to match your own network.

If you try this, let me know if you have any problems. I haven't setup a brother wireless printer in a couple years, so I may have missed a step. :)

Thanks for the great instructions.

I did what you instructed however my code came back with en0 at the end. The ip address that came back was the ip address of my router - not the printer.

I do have a usb cable but I cannot get into any set-up screens at all for the wireless.
 

Voondebah

macrumors member
Mar 28, 2010
75
1
Thanks for the great instructions.

I did what you instructed however my code came back with en0 at the end. The ip address that came back was the ip address of my router - not the printer.

I do have a usb cable but I cannot get into any set-up screens at all for the wireless.

I'm going to assume the en0 is because the macbook air doesnt have ethernet, so it the wifi gets assigned to en0 - no problem there.

Are you connecting to the wireless network created by the printer? Click on the wifi icon in the top right of your screen, and look for a network called 'SETUP' or similiar (it might have brother in the name). connect to this network. Make sure your network settings are set to automatic too. Then try the terminal command and see if you get something different.

I hoe i'm not misunderstanding what you've said - let me know if this helps.
 

MacVirgin2011

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 25, 2010
14
0
I'm going to assume the en0 is because the macbook air doesnt have ethernet, so it the wifi gets assigned to en0 - no problem there.

Are you connecting to the wireless network created by the printer? Click on the wifi icon in the top right of your screen, and look for a network called 'SETUP' or similiar (it might have brother in the name). connect to this network. Make sure your network settings are set to automatic too. Then try the terminal command and see if you get something different.

I hoe i'm not misunderstanding what you've said - let me know if this helps.

I clicked on the wifi icon and could see the SETUP option but before I could press on it, it disappeared! I'm at a complete loss!
 

jdechko

macrumors 601
Jul 1, 2004
4,230
325
I have the same printer, and had a few issues setting it up.

I tried several different methods but nothing worked. (I have a AEBS, MBP, Win PC and the HL2270DW).

In the end, I had to tether it to my PC to run the wireless setup. It does require a USB cable, but it worked. I'd assume that if you had a USB cable lying around, you could set it up using your mac. Just download the setup software from the website.

Otherwise, it's a fantastic printer. Wireless + Duplexing and I got it at a phenomenal price - only 89.99 from Amazon with free shipping!
 

pelegrino1930

macrumors newbie
Aug 13, 2011
1
0
Brother HL-2270WD

This is the way I did it

1. You need to use the original Brother CD for HL-2270WD (the downloaded stuff does not work???)
2. The following assumes your printer is already in the network and you want to install the drivers/printer in the Mac.
3. Insert the Brother CD labeled "Drivers & Utilities".
4. A window opens showing:
Start Here OSX.app Utilities (folder)
Documentation.app Brother Support.app
5. Click/open "Utilities (folder)".
6. Then click/launch "Wireless Device Setup Wizard.app"
7. Follow the screen instructions.
If the printed page says that the Wireless Node is inactive, print the page again (to wake-up the printer from sleep mode).
 

h00ligan

macrumors 68040
Apr 10, 2003
3,027
136
London
Once the printer is setup (I used a pc) there is no need to install a brother driver, os x will auto download the latest one when it's added from available printers.
 

craman

macrumors newbie
Dec 8, 2011
1
0
Connecting Air to Brother HL2270DW wirelessly

Either use the disk that came with the printer or go to the Brother driver/software download website and download "Wireless Setup Wizard for Macintosh"- it will connect your printer to any wireless access point, Airport or Time Capsule quickly and effortlessly

I tried doing the direct networking as I avoid the excess software disks that come with printers- but for a wireless printer read the instructions and follow them!

I initially had the wrong idea that I would print to a wireless printer directly though its wireless- but you have to connect the printer to your wireless access point by entering your Access Point's password into the printer, letting it connect to your router. Then you will see the printer in your local network.
 
Last edited:

heatopher

macrumors newbie
Apr 5, 2012
5
0
Hallo. To revive this thread a bit, does anyone know of a solution to this issue? It looks like the original poster drifted out of the conversation in despair. I tried installing this printer yesterday, and got it to work fine on my old and creaky XP PC. However, the supplied CD just doesn't work with the latest version of Mac OSX on my Air, and so I had to download drivers and other software here

It clearly doesn't quite work. The computer can actually see the status of the printer (ie what its IP address is on the network), but when I send a document to print it comes up with an error message that the printer is offline. But then as soon as I connect them by USB, it prints. That means it's not a major tragedy, but of course I'd prefer to avoid having another wire trailing around the place. I was wondering if it's not working because I installed the thing on the Windows PC first, but surely that shoudn't be relevant, should it?!?!?

Finally, I was wondering about this post, which noone responded to, and which is rather dense (that is to say, I don't really understand what they're getting at):

Try connecting it via ethernet to a router or a hub... then assign the IP number to the computer. I have done it that way before for a company that hired me to do so!

As it happens, I have an ethernet cable that I can use to connect it directly to the router, but what does he/she mean by "assign the IP number to the computer"? Where? How?

Well, any help much appreciated! All the best,

H
 

philosopherdog

macrumors 6502a
Dec 29, 2008
733
515
Those printers are brilliant but a bitch to set up. Definitely use the USB plug in method. I can't recall how I did it now, but just do a search and you'll find the method. I have mine working both under Lion and bootcamp windows 7 64 on many differ machines in the house. I'm sorry I don't have the instructions handy, but you can find them easily enough.
 

heatopher

macrumors newbie
Apr 5, 2012
5
0
Hi. Thanks for replying. Sorry, I didn't see that.

Well, I'll have another try at setting up it up properly on the wireless at some point. I guess I might have to reset everything first, eh.

But for the time being, since it does work with the USB cable, I'll just leave it for a truly idle moment (now is not that moment :~)

All the best,

H
 

jjaimemiranda

macrumors newbie
May 1, 2012
2
0
Your reccommendation please

I need a wireless printer to work with my Air - most of printing needs, say 90% of time, will bee from Air. Basically for home use, so a small, monochrome printer would do. Double-side printing is a plus. I bought an HP P1102w three months ago and I am giving up on it. Can't get it work OS Lion 10.7.

Looking for alternatives I found Brother HL-2270DW. To avoid same misfortune as with HP, decided to check Mac users's satisfaction with this Brother. So happy to end up in this re-freshed thread, which is recent.

So, shall I go a buy this Brother HL-2270DW? Please advice.

I know you know how annoying and time consuming is when simple things that should work do not do so. So I am not prepare to waste time in getting it to work. Done that with HP.

Jaime
PS. At home I also have a desktop with Windows Vista (Business) and my wife a laptop with Windows XP. Ideally, for 100% user satisfaction, I would want the printer to work wirelessly with these three machines.
 

jacob-07

macrumors regular
May 14, 2011
182
0
I've had my brother printer for a little more then a year now and I am very satisfied with it. Installation on the air was a breeze.

I need a wireless printer to work with my Air - most of printing needs, say 90% of time, will bee from Air. Basically for home use, so a small, monochrome printer would do. Double-side printing is a plus. I bought an HP P1102w three months ago and I am giving up on it. Can't get it work OS Lion 10.7.

Looking for alternatives I found Brother HL-2270DW. To avoid same misfortune as with HP, decided to check Mac users's satisfaction with this Brother. So happy to end up in this re-freshed thread, which is recent.

So, shall I go a buy this Brother HL-2270DW? Please advice.

I know you know how annoying and time consuming is when simple things that should work do not do so. So I am not prepare to waste time in getting it to work. Done that with HP.

Jaime
PS. At home I also have a desktop with Windows Vista (Business) and my wife a laptop with Windows XP. Ideally, for 100% user satisfaction, I would want the printer to work wirelessly with these three machines.
 

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,961
13,939
So, shall I go a buy this Brother HL-2270DW? Please advice.

I know you know how annoying and time consuming is when simple things that should work do not do so. So I am not prepare to waste time in getting it to work. Done that with HP.

Jaime
PS. At home I also have a desktop with Windows Vista (Business) and my wife a laptop with Windows XP. Ideally, for 100% user satisfaction, I would want the printer to work wirelessly with these three machines.

For what it's worth, it has one of the highest and most numerous reviews on newegg and amazon.

I have this printer, picked it up on sale at Staples for $95. My gf prints to it from her Windows 7 Dell laptop just fine. I print to it from my MBA just fine. Note that neither of us had to download or install any special software to print. On both the computer automagically found the right driver using the regular OS-level printer setup wizard.

Once everything is set up, things can easily be tweaked using the printers web terminal.

Two things you should know:
- For initial setup, you have to connect the printer by either USB or Ethernet to set up the wireless (tell it your SSID, passphrase, etc.) This has to be done using a utility that I downloaded from the Brother website. Might also be on the CD. This was a standalone utility though, and I have since deleted it. It is not related to actually printing. Just follow the directions in the manual.
- The initial toner cartridge is small, the one that comes with the printer. Less than 1000 pages. You'll want to pick up a replacement cartridge pretty soon.
 

bluespark

macrumors 68040
Jul 11, 2009
3,088
3,990
Chicago
Just got this printer but haven't yet set it up. Quick question: If I do the USB method, can I then set up the other Macs on our home network wirelessly? Or does it require that each computer be set up by USB first? (The latter would be difficult, given that a couple of our Mac setups aren't particularly portable.)
 

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,961
13,939
The only thing the setup via USB does is it has you tell the printer how to connect to your wireless network (name and passphrase). From there, any computer can see it as long as it's connected to the same network.
 

navycoat

macrumors newbie
Jun 27, 2012
2
0
Hi,

I've been racking my brain for two days trying to figure this out.

I have a MacBook Air running OSX 10.7.4 and I just purchased the Brother HL-2270DW to set up wirelessly.

Since the drivers on the CD were outdated (told me this when I popped the CD into my SuperDrive), I went to Brother's website and downloaded the new drivers. There was also a 10.7 update that I updated but couldn't get it to do anything. I followed the instructions for system updates and when it did them, I did see it downloading something new for Brother so that was hopeful. I "felt" the drivers were properly loaded with the 10.7 upgrade.

I follow the set up prompts for the wireless portion and entered in the SSID, password, etc. When it tells me to unplug the USB after the setup, the printer immediately goes offline. I plug it back and it works. Basically, the printer only seems to work hardwired in. The wireless part is not working.

Before you call me crazy (which is how I feel right now), I must have tried this 10 times before dragging out my old Windows 7 laptop and popped in the install CD and like magic, the printer worked wirelessly in a matter of minutes! I borrowed my roommates MacBook Pro, popped in the CD, and voila! the Brother printer worked wirelessly again. As soon as I unplug the USB cable as instructed, the printer still stays in their printer list as online and ready to print. I sent several test pages on both the Windows 7 and MacBook Pro machines and both worked great and wirelessly.

Back to my MacBook air with OSX 10.7.4... what in the world am I doing wrong? I know I can use it wired and also make it "wireless" using my Airport Express router (which by the way, the new one is AWESOME with Airplay!).

However, at this point, I've lost so many hours of my life troubleshooting and testing this that I want to make it work like it's supposed to.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!

THANK YOU!!
 

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,961
13,939
I plug it back and it works. Basically, the printer only seems to work hardwired in. The wireless part is not working.

After disconnecting the USB, you need to go back into System Preferences > Print & Scan > "+" to add a new printer, and it should be able to find and install the printer pretty easily from there.

OSX treats the "Brother HL2270DW over USB" and the "Brother HL2270DW over WiFi" as two different printers essentially.
 

navycoat

macrumors newbie
Jun 27, 2012
2
0
After disconnecting the USB, you need to go back into System Preferences > Print & Scan > "+" to add a new printer, and it should be able to find and install the printer pretty easily from there.

OSX treats the "Brother HL2270DW over USB" and the "Brother HL2270DW over WiFi" as two different printers essentially.

Wow! You were absolutely right! I was so close to the solution yet so far away. I had temporarily given up and just hard wired into my new AirPort Express.

When I went and hit the "+" there it was, a second HL-2270DW on Bonjour! I added that "wi fi" version of the printer and then unplugged the USB from the AirPort Express and printer and it FINALLY worked WIRELESSLY!

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I can't tell you how many times I reloaded the drivers and re-did the set up wizard. I really appreciate your help!
 

Speed38

macrumors 6502
Nov 5, 2011
286
124
WDC Metro area
Hi,

I've been racking my brain for two days trying to figure this out.

I have a MacBook Air running OSX 10.7.4 and I just purchased the Brother HL-2270DW to set up wirelessly.

Since the drivers on the CD were outdated (told me this when I popped the CD into my SuperDrive), I went to Brother's website and downloaded the new drivers. There was also a 10.7 update that I updated but couldn't get it to do anything. I followed the instructions for system updates and when it did them, I did see it downloading something new for Brother so that was hopeful. I "felt" the drivers were properly loaded with the 10.7 upgrade.

I follow the set up prompts for the wireless portion and entered in the SSID, password, etc. When it tells me to unplug the USB after the setup, the printer immediately goes offline. I plug it back and it works. Basically, the printer only seems to work hardwired in. The wireless part is not working.

Before you call me crazy (which is how I feel right now), I must have tried this 10 times before dragging out my old Windows 7 laptop and popped in the install CD and like magic, the printer worked wirelessly in a matter of minutes! I borrowed my roommates MacBook Pro, popped in the CD, and voila! the Brother printer worked wirelessly again. As soon as I unplug the USB cable as instructed, the printer still stays in their printer list as online and ready to print. I sent several test pages on both the Windows 7 and MacBook Pro machines and both worked great and wirelessly.

Back to my MacBook air with OSX 10.7.4... what in the world am I doing wrong? I know I can use it wired and also make it "wireless" using my Airport Express router (which by the way, the new one is AWESOME with Airplay!).

However, at this point, I've lost so many hours of my life troubleshooting and testing this that I want to make it work like it's supposed to.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!

THANK YOU!!

I first purchased this printer about a year or so ago. I wanted to print wirelessly from my iMac, my wife's iMac, and from the MB Air in the kitchen.

When I popped in the Brother CD and followed the instructions to set it up for wireless printing by temporarily connecting my iMac to the printer with a USB cable then disconnecting that USB cable at the end of the setup process, it worked flawlessly.

Last week, however, the printer would not accept print jobs from any of the printers on the LAN. Print/Scan panes from Sys Prefs on all three computers return: The printer is not connected.

I downloaded the latest Wizard from Brother: brxWLANwizard and ran it repeatedly w/o success.

Latest twist is then when I go run the Brother Wireless Device Setup Wizard, which worked just fine when I originally set up this printer a year or two ago, it now puts me in a circular hell.

At the very last step in the Wizard, it notes: You have completed the wireless network setup; please click next to continue installing drivers and software.

Click next, another window appears with: Choose the device you want to install; if your device does not appear in the list, please configure the wireless settings from the setup button.

The window was blank. Clicking on the Setup button restarts the Wizard all over again.

In desperation, I reset the printer according to instructions and tried the Wizard once again. Once again, I was sent to circular hell.

I did print out a status page and here's what I got, just in case anyone sees something amiss there.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1597869/Printer test sheet.pdf

This is really a major PITA!! I have spent all afternoon and can't get it working again.
 

Speed38

macrumors 6502
Nov 5, 2011
286
124
WDC Metro area
After disconnecting the USB, you need to go back into System Preferences > Print & Scan > "+" to add a new printer, and it should be able to find and install the printer pretty easily from there.

OSX treats the "Brother HL2270DW over USB" and the "Brother HL2270DW over WiFi" as two different printers essentially.

After going through the Install Wizard and disconnecting the USB and going to Print and Scan, when I click + an Add Printer window opens, but it is blank.

The latest twist is then when I go run the Brother Wireless Device Setup Wizard, which worked just fine when I originally set up this printer a year or two ago, it now puts me in a circular hell.

At the very last step in the Wizard, it notes: You have completed the wireless network setup; please click next to continue installing drivers and software.

Click next, another window appears with: Choose the device you want to install; if your device does not appear in the list, please configure the wireless settings from the setup button.

The window was blank. Clicking on the Setup button restarts the Wizard all over again.

I reset the printer according instructions and tried the Wizard once again. Once again, I was sent to circular hell.

I did print out a status page and here's what I got, just in case anyone sees something amiss there.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1597869/Printer test sheet.pdf

I also hit the Printer Go button five times quickly and it prints a WLAN report which says: Connection OK. This report is printed after I have removed the USB cable.
 
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