Can't access shared network printer

[Ubele]

My wife's 2019 27" iMac has a Brother HL-L3270CDW printer attached via an Ethernet cable. It's shared to everyone on the network. Her Mac has Sequoia 15.5 installed. The printer used to be shared from her 2019 MacBook Air via Bonjour.

I have a 2021 16" MacBook Pro, also with Sequoia 15.5. When I try to print something to that printer, it says it prints, but the printer doesn't activate. On my MBP, the printer (named Brother HL-L3270CDW series) shows as being idle (orange). On the iMac, the printer (also named Brother HL-L3270CDW series) shows as being active (green). When I look at the details of the printer on my MBP, it says HL-L3270CDW series @ 2019 MacBook Air - Bonjour Shared.

I deleted the printer from the MacBook Air and from my MBP. I then tried to add it back, assuming it would be found on the iMac. The only choice is HL-L3270CDW series @ 2019 MacBook Air - Bonjour Shared. The Add button on my MBP is grayed out. I clicked on Use: Choose a Driver... It spun for a moment, but nothing changed. Any ideas as to what's going on?

 

[tenthousandthings]

My wife's 2019 27" iMac has a Brother HL-L3270CDW printer attached via an Ethernet cable. It's shared to everyone on the network. Her Mac has Sequoia 15.5 installed. The printer used to be shared from her 2019 MacBook Air via Bonjour.

I have a 2021 16" MacBook Pro, also with Sequoia 15.5. When I try to print something to that printer, it says it prints, but the printer doesn't activate. On my MBP, the printer (named Brother HL-L3270CDW series) shows as being idle (orange). On the iMac, the printer (also named Brother HL-L3270CDW series) shows as being active (green). When I look at the details of the printer on my MBP, it says HL-L3270CDW series @ 2019 MacBook Air - Bonjour Shared.

I deleted the printer from the MacBook Air and from my MBP. I then tried to add it back, assuming it would be found on the iMac. The only choice is HL-L3270CDW series @ 2019 MacBook Air - Bonjour Shared. The Add button on my MBP is grayed out. I clicked on Use: Choose a Driver... It spun for a moment, but nothing changed. Any ideas as to what's going on?

Am I understanding this correctly? The printer is connected directly to the iMac’s Ethernet port?

If so, then just connect the printer to the network directly, either via Ethernet (preferred, if you can) or WiFi.

That’s the expected approach these days. It has been at least a decade since I had a printer shared through a computer on our network. While I guess Bonjour probably still supports that configuration, it’s no longer common and I’ll guess increasingly difficult to troubleshoot.

 

[Brian33]

My wife's 2019 27" iMac has a Brother HL-L3270CDW printer attached via an Ethernet cable. It's shared to everyone on the network.

Am I understanding this correctly? The printer is connected directly to the iMac’s Ethernet port?

Yeah, I am a little confused, also. IF the printer has an Ethernet port, then the printer would normally be connected directly to a home router, or a network switch or hub. Normally the Ethernet ports on a Mac don't act like ones on a switch or hub, though (to my knowledge).

I assume in your current setup, the iMac uses WiFi for its local network access. So I guess you are trying to use its Ethernet port to "share" the local network to the printer? I think this might work if you turned on Internet Sharing for the iMac (and then I don't think you'd need printer sharing). I haven't used Internet Sharing myself so I'm not too sure if this is what it does.

A different approach would be to connect the printer to the iMac with a USB cable (that's how I do it). Then on the iMac, turn on Printer Sharing.

 

[Ubele]

Thanks for the responses! You’re both correct in your assumptions, but a little history is needed to explain my configuration: Years ago, I inherited an old HP laser printer from my work because they were replacing it with a new one. At the time (or so was my understanding), the only way to share it on my home network was to physically connect it to one Mac via Ethernet or USB, enable Printer Sharing, and then share it via Bonjour. It worked just fine. When the HP printer died, I replaced it with the Brother, and it still worked just fine. During all this, we moved from one house to another, and we changed our equipment configurations, and I honestly don’t remember what configuration worked when, and when it stopped working. So I’m not going to speculate and say, “It worked fine when…”

Tenthousandthings, before I saw your post, I checked to see if there was a macOS update for the MBA. There was. macOS 14 is the last version it supports, so I tried to install the latest version. (The update has been stuck on “One minute remaining…” since last night, but that’s another problem.) However, on my MBP, I now had two available printers to add: Brother HL-L3270CDW series @ 2019 MacBook Air - Bonjour and Brother HL-L32070 series @ iMac - Bonjour. After I saw your post, I disconnected the Ethernet cable between the iMac and the Brother printer, and I configured the printer for WiFi. (I don’t know why I didn’t think of trying this before, other than everything had been working fine for years with the previous configuration.) I shared the printer to everyone on the network. So now the iMac, the MBP, and our iPads and iPhone are all connected via WiFi, with no physical Ethernet connections. All devices can print to the Brother via WiFi… except for my MBP. I rebooted everything. On my MBP, no printer is installed, because I deleted the MBA Bonjour printer. When I go to add a printer, the MBA Bonjour option is now gone, but the iMac Bonjour option is still there. If I try to add that printer, I get “Error - cannot connect this printer at this time.” I Googled, but none of the suggested fixes apply, since they all assume I have a printer installed, and I need to delete it and reinstall it, or right-click on it and select “Reset printer configuration.”

What puzzles me is that the iMac and the MBP both have Sequoia 15.5 installed. When I disconnected the Ethernet cable between the iMac and the printer, and I configured the printer for WiFi, the iMac had no trouble finding it — but the MBP can’t. The workaround is easy: I send any document I need to print from my MBP to my wife’s iMac, and I print it from there. But I’ve been using computers since 1983, and I worked in IT support for years, so it’s a matter of principle: I want to figure this out! 😆

 

[chabig]

Printer sharing was never necessary with this machine. The printer always supported AirPrint, so anyone on the same wifi network can print natively.

It's a discontinued printer, though. I would recommend updating the firmware. No doubt there is something newer than what's currently installed. It's done through the printer's web admin page. See your user manual.

Downloads | HL-L3270CDW | United States | Brother

support.brother.com

 

[chabig]

However, on my MBP, I now had two available printers to add: Brother HL-L3270CDW series @ 2019 MacBook Air - Bonjour and Brother HL-L32070 series @ iMac - Bonjour. After I saw your post, I disconnected the Ethernet cable between the iMac and the Brother printer, and I configured the printer for WiFi. (I don’t know why I didn’t think of trying this before, other than everything had been working fine for years with the previous configuration.) I shared the printer to everyone on the network. So now the iMac, the MBP, and our iPads and iPhone are all connected via WiFi, with no physical Ethernet connections. All devices can print to the Brother via WiFi… except for my MBP. I rebooted everything. On my MBP, no printer is installed, because I deleted the MBA Bonjour printer. When I go to add a printer, the MBA Bonjour option is now gone, but the iMac Bonjour option is still there.

I think you might have multiple machines with printer sharing turned on. Printer sharing on the other machines is advertising the service, which just make it more confusing.Go to each machine and turn it off everywhere. Printer sharing isn't necessary because each machine can directly print over AirPrint. After you've turned it off everywhere, your MBP should only show one printer to add, and it will probably look like "Brother HL-L3270CDW Series".

 

[drrich2]

When I disconnected the Ethernet cable between the iMac and the printer, and I configured the printer for WiFi, the iMac had no trouble finding it — but the MBP can’t.

I don't think I can help but something gave me a lot of hassles with an old Brother printer used wirelessly, so I'll throw this in there anyway, on the wild chance it might be a factor.

I had a home network set up as many people do, with a 'main' wireless network and a guest wireless offering so I could give out a password for it to visitors that didn't let them access my main network. My computer had the passwords for both. Sometimes my Mac would use one or the other, and since in theory both worked the same, it didn't matter.

Until it did. It turned out that my old Brother printer, when used wirelessly on this network, needed the Mac to be on the main network; in other words, the Brother wasn't available via my guest network. And not knowing that...led to a lot of troubleshooting futility. Probably not your problem, but on the small chance it is, since one of your Macs can't find what the other computers do...

 

[Ubele]

Thanks for the follow-ups — I’ll troubleshoot this tomorrow and get back with the results.

 

[tenthousandthings]

Thanks for the responses! You’re both correct in your assumptions, but a little history is needed to explain my configuration: Years ago, I inherited an old HP laser printer from my work because they were replacing it with a new one. At the time (or so was my understanding), the only way to share it on my home network was to physically connect it to one Mac via Ethernet or USB, enable Printer Sharing, and then share it via Bonjour. It worked just fine. When the HP printer died, I replaced it with the Brother, and it still worked just fine. During all this, we moved from one house to another, and we changed our equipment configurations, and I honestly don’t remember what configuration worked when, and when it stopped working. So I’m not going to speculate and say, “It worked fine when…”

Tenthousandthings, before I saw your post, I checked to see if there was a macOS update for the MBA. There was. macOS 14 is the last version it supports, so I tried to install the latest version. (The update has been stuck on “One minute remaining…” since last night, but that’s another problem.) However, on my MBP, I now had two available printers to add: Brother HL-L3270CDW series @ 2019 MacBook Air - Bonjour and Brother HL-L32070 series @ iMac - Bonjour. After I saw your post, I disconnected the Ethernet cable between the iMac and the Brother printer, and I configured the printer for WiFi. (I don’t know why I didn’t think of trying this before, other than everything had been working fine for years with the previous configuration.) I shared the printer to everyone on the network. So now the iMac, the MBP, and our iPads and iPhone are all connected via WiFi, with no physical Ethernet connections. All devices can print to the Brother via WiFi… except for my MBP. I rebooted everything. On my MBP, no printer is installed, because I deleted the MBA Bonjour printer. When I go to add a printer, the MBA Bonjour option is now gone, but the iMac Bonjour option is still there. If I try to add that printer, I get “Error - cannot connect this printer at this time.” I Googled, but none of the suggested fixes apply, since they all assume I have a printer installed, and I need to delete it and reinstall it, or right-click on it and select “Reset printer configuration.”

What puzzles me is that the iMac and the MBP both have Sequoia 15.5 installed. When I disconnected the Ethernet cable between the iMac and the printer, and I configured the printer for WiFi, the iMac had no trouble finding it — but the MBP can’t. The workaround is easy: I send any document I need to print from my MBP to my wife’s iMac, and I print it from there. But I’ve been using computers since 1983, and I worked in IT support for years, so it’s a matter of principle: I want to figure this out! 😆

Heh-heh -- yes we feel your pain!

So the only remaining problem is the MBP? If the @chabig suggestion (above) of turning off printer sharing everywhere doesn't work, then try "resetting the printing system"

Solve printing problems on Mac

If you print a document from your Mac, but the document doesn’t appear at the printer, try these suggestions.

support.apple.com

Reset the printing system on your Mac to solve a problem

You can reset the printing system on your Mac if you can’t print and no other troubleshooting technique solves the problem.

support.apple.com

 

[Ubele]

I updated the printer firmware. I was able to cancel and redo the macOS 14 update on the MBA. Printer sharing is off for all three Macs (iMac, MBA, MBP). The iMac can print over WiFi to the printer. When I check the printer info on the iMac, it says it’s using driver version 3.

On the MBP and MBA, however, the only printer option to add is the Brother printer via Bonjour (but not with an @[computer name]). When I try to add the printer, it starts to configure, and then gives the “Unable to connect to the printer at this time” error. So I went to the Brother site to get the latest driver for macOS 14 and 15, and it says that I should use AirPrint. But how do I do that? And how is it that iMac has a printer driver? The iMac and MBP both have macOS 15, but one has the Intel processor, and the other has the M1. The iMac and the MBA both have the Intel processor, but one has macOS 15, and the other has macOS 14. Our iPads and iPhones can print via WiFi. I’m baffled. 😵‍💫

 

[tenthousandthings]

I updated the printer firmware. I was able to cancel and redo the macOS 14 update on the MBA. Printer sharing is off for all three Macs (iMac, MBA, MBP). The iMac can print over WiFi to the printer. When I check the printer info on the iMac, it says it’s using driver version 3.

On the MBP and MBA, however, the only printer option to add is the Brother printer via Bonjour (but not with an @[computer name]). When I try to add the printer, it starts to configure, and then gives the “Unable to connect to the printer at this time” error. So I went to the Brother site to get the latest driver for macOS 14 and 15, and it says that I should use AirPrint. But how do I do that? And how is it that iMac has a printer driver? The iMac and MBP both have macOS 15, but one has the Intel processor, and the other has the M1. The iMac and the MBA both have the Intel processor, but one has macOS 15, and the other has macOS 14. Our iPads and iPhones can print via WiFi. I’m baffled. 😵‍💫

Ugh — that printer is not on Apple’s list of printers that support AirPrint, so I don’t know how that squares with Brother telling you to use AirPrint…

About AirPrint

AirPrint is an Apple technology that helps you create full-quality printed output from your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro without the need to download or install drivers. It's built into most popular printers, including those listed here. AirPrint features include easy discovery...

support.apple.com

What is your network setup? Is there any way to hardwire the printer to the network? I think I would try doing that — move the printer (temporarily) to connect it to the WiFi router via Ethernet, and see if that somehow fixes it. Then disconnect the Ethernet and see if it now works over WiFi — sometimes if it’s an old device on a fancy new mesh network, there can be problems that require a direct connection to get the settings right.

If that fails, then maybe try reproducing the iMac’s experience — connect the laptops directly to the printer via Ethernet and see if you can print. Then disconnect and try via WiFi.

I don’t know. Good luck, that’s all I’ve got. I’ve been there.

 

[Ubele]

We live in a two-story home. The WiFi router is in the corner of a storage room in our basement. When we had the house built, we had several Ethernet ports installed because we were afraid we wouldn't get good WiFi coverage throughout the house. That turned out not to be the case: we pay for 200 Mbps AT&T FiOS and get 350 Mbps (they keep increasing the speed at no extra cost) in most of the house, so there was no need to get a mesh system or use the Ethernet ports. Anyway, I'll try what you suggest. If that doesn't work, I'll give up. My wife prints lots of recipes and other documents, whereas I rarely print anything, so it's easy enough for me to send documents to her computer for printing.

 

[Fishrrman]

I'm not an expert on printers.

I'd connect the printer directly to your ROUTER using ethernet.
MOVE the printer if you must.

Then, go to printers and scanners and (at first) remove all entries.

Then, try to "add a printer" and see what happens.

NO "printer sharing", anywhere.

Like ten thousand says above, "that's all I got"...

Hmmm... you posted reply 12 above as I posted this.
If the router is in the basement, do you have a WIRED connection upstairs that you could use to connect the printer directly to the router? I don't care what room it is upstairs, any one will do, so long as it's "a direct ethernet connection" to the router.

 

[Ubele]

Thanks, Fishrrman! Your post came in mere seconds after my last post. Fortunately, there's an Ethernet port in my wife's office (behind a heavy piece of furniture, naturally), so I'll try that.