Wireless printing issues

[Dekema2]

The issues I'm having with setting up my new wireless printer (Brother HL-L234DW) are complex to the point where I might not be able to wirelessly print where I am. Specifically I am in a college dorm and don't yet have access to a USB A-B cord (but will most likely end up buying one soon), and though it's not advertised or in network policy I don't think personal wireless printers can work on the network here. I may be wrong and that's why I'm asking for information/advice.

The printer itself can connect to WiFi, my computer can as well, but when connecting to the printer to set it up (drivers, network, etc.) it will connect but then fail to maintain it as a printer. It also won't show up in the "Add Printer" list. Plus, it tells me pressing a button on my router will help connect, but that's 99% impossible given this is a public network.

I had to add my printer through an IP address to attempt to print. When I did this, it connected and operated, but only spat out blank paper. That was very interesting because it obviously got a command from the MBP, but didn't print any data on the media.

Also, AirPrint is enabled with this printer but my 5s doesn't recognize it and just says no AirPrint printers found.

I want to get rockin and rollin with this thing but can't figure out how. Any ideas????

Thank you!

Edit: here is the window to "choose the printer" after connecting the printer via the computer to the network, then disconnecting the USB. Supposedly after this you can install drivers:

Edit 2: talked with a friend in dorm who also has a wireless printer and likely confirmed my suspicions that this printer would be a "server" on the school infrastructure whereas his printer uses an ad-hoc setup. If that's true, I am still perturbed as to how I was able to connect via the printer IP and dispense paper.

 

[Dekema2]

Now working!!!

Somehow I've actually got it to work. What I did was added the printer in the IP tab of the Add Printer pane and from there I selected the driver I previously installed from the Brother website. This maybe against school policy so I will check with them, but in the interim if you have a printer and can't connect to your network, try and find the IP, have the driver only installed on your computer and select it from the "Use" dropdown.

 

[dupuytren]

Hey Dekema2
Thanks for your post. I bought the same printer (Brother HL-L2340DW) just a couple of days ago as the reviews on Amazon were good.
But I have spent the entire weekend trying to sort out the damn wireless function -thanks to you and a couple of YouTube videos, you have pointed me to the right direction.

My setup: I have Mac computers at home and wifi network over Airport Extreme.

I installed the driver as instructed but the same message keeps coming up (cannot communicate with printer etc), even though the printer says it is Connected. I will give step by step instructions for any of you who are noobs like me...

This is what you should do:
1. Check your router's IP address.
Go to System Preferences > Network > Advanced > TCP/IP > write down your router and wifi IP address (Mine was 10.0.1.xxx).

2. Next, you want to set a Static IP address on your printer. This bit took me a long time to figure out, but you Have to do it on your Printer.
a. Press the Up/Down (or +/-) button until you see Network.
Press Ok.
b. WLAN>Press OK>TCP/IP>Press OK>Boot Method>Static>Press OK to set it as static.
c. Go back to TCP/IP>Press OK>Press down to IP address>Set the correct IP address....as you can see the IP address above for my net work is 10.0.1.xxx - so you MUST set the numbers similar to this config, so I changed mine to 10.0.1.96 (it will appear as 010.000.001.096 on the printer). N.B. Before I did this, my printer's IP address was 169.254.012.034 which is way off from the configuration and therefore didnt work! When you set you IP address please ensure this doesn't clash with other IP addresses your devices might have which is why I set the last 2-digits in the 90s.
d. Press Ok to set you IP address, again write the static IP address for your printer somewhere

3. If you haven't already done this, go back to Brother's website and download the Driver (not the full package which is what I downloaded initially) and make sure you got the right country (not sure if this matters).

4.Now, go to : System Preferences>Printers&Scanners>Add Printer (the + sign at the bottom) > Press IP in the top left > In Address: Type the IP address of your printer, in my case it is 10.0.1.96
Name: Brother HL-L2340
automatically the software/driver should appear - select Brother HL-L2340D CUPS, then press Add.

5. Print an empty google page and see if this works! It worked for me!!!
So glad I don't have to return this printer back but I wish someone explained it step by step to me, cannot find this info anywhere else!

 

[broadbean]

Setting up AirPrint is relatively easy in a home Wi-Fi network, but it's really chatty, which is why it's not a good idea in a larger network. If you have access to ethernet, you could try running your own Wi-Fi router, which is sort of like connecting your home Wi-Fi router to broadband.

Mind you, while AirPrint setup is easy (at home), that doesn't mean it's always reliable.

 

[dupuytren]

Hey Dekema2
Thanks for your post. I bought the same printer (Brother HL-L2340DW) just a couple of days ago as the reviews on Amazon were good.
But I have spent the entire weekend trying to sort out the damn wireless function -thanks to you and a couple of YouTube videos, you have pointed me to the right direction.

My setup: I have Mac computers at home and wifi network over Airport Extreme.

I installed the driver as instructed but the same message keeps coming up (cannot communicate with printer etc), even though the printer says it is Connected. I will give step by step instructions for any of you who are noobs like me...

This is what you should do:
1. Check your router's IP address.
Go to System Preferences > Network > Advanced > TCP/IP > write down your router and wifi IP address (Mine was 10.0.1.xxx).

2. Next, you want to set a Static IP address on your printer. This bit took me a long time to figure out, but you Have to do it on your Printer.
a. Press the Up/Down (or +/-) button until you see Network.
Press Ok.
b. WLAN>Press OK>TCP/IP>Press OK>Boot Method>Static>Press OK to set it as static.
c. Go back to TCP/IP>Press OK>Press down to IP address>Set the correct IP address....as you can see the IP address above for my net work is 10.0.1.xxx - so you MUST set the numbers similar to this config, so I changed mine to 10.0.1.96 (it will appear as 010.000.001.096 on the printer). N.B. Before I did this, my printer's IP address was 169.254.012.034 which is way off from the configuration and therefore didnt work! When you set you IP address please ensure this doesn't clash with other IP addresses your devices might have which is why I set the last 2-digits in the 90s.
d. Press Ok to set you IP address, again write the static IP address for your printer somewhere

3. If you haven't already done this, go back to Brother's website and download the Driver (not the full package which is what I downloaded initially) and make sure you got the right country (not sure if this matters).

4.Now, go to : System Preferences>Printers&Scanners>Add Printer (the + sign at the bottom) > Press IP in the top left > In Address: Type the IP address of your printer, in my case it is 10.0.1.96
Name: Brother HL-L2340
automatically the software/driver should appear - select Brother HL-L2340D CUPS, then press Add.

5. Print an empty google page and see if this works! It worked for me!!!
So glad I don't have to return this printer back but I wish someone explained it step by step to me, cannot find this info anywhere else!

Updated: Sadly, approximately a week of this working, this setup is no longer working for me. I cannot print anything wirelessly despite having not changed the set up at all. Only works if I connect the printer to my Mac using the USB cable. Did an IP check of the printer and it remains within the same IP domain (10.0.1.x) as the Macs I have at home. Anyone has got any suggestions how I can make this printer print wirelessly?!!

 

[dupuytren]

Further update in case anyone is facing similar problems:
I think the wireless printing is related to my home network.
I have a modem/router combo (BT home hub 5) issues by my ISP which I use with my Airport Extreme Base station - I was not able to disable the modem function of the BT home hub so the AE was running in double NAT mode (I couldn't put it on Bridge Mode as I need NAT for Sonos).
In any case I decided to buy a BT open reach modem off an auction site to overcome the double NAT issue. I still kept the wireless settings on the printer as described above with a fixed IP address and it appears that fixing the NAT issue has also solved my wireless printing problem! Hope this helps someone out there

 

[Dekema2]

Hey Dekema2
Thanks for your post. I bought the same printer (Brother HL-L2340DW) just a couple of days ago as the reviews on Amazon were good.
But I have spent the entire weekend trying to sort out the damn wireless function -thanks to you and a couple of YouTube videos, you have pointed me to the right direction.

My setup: I have Mac computers at home and wifi network over Airport Extreme.

I installed the driver as instructed but the same message keeps coming up (cannot communicate with printer etc), even though the printer says it is Connected. I will give step by step instructions for any of you who are noobs like me...

This is what you should do:
1. Check your router's IP address.
Go to System Preferences > Network > Advanced > TCP/IP > write down your router and wifi IP address (Mine was 10.0.1.xxx).

2. Next, you want to set a Static IP address on your printer. This bit took me a long time to figure out, but you Have to do it on your Printer.
a. Press the Up/Down (or +/-) button until you see Network.
Press Ok.
b. WLAN>Press OK>TCP/IP>Press OK>Boot Method>Static>Press OK to set it as static.
c. Go back to TCP/IP>Press OK>Press down to IP address>Set the correct IP address....as you can see the IP address above for my net work is 10.0.1.xxx - so you MUST set the numbers similar to this config, so I changed mine to 10.0.1.96 (it will appear as 010.000.001.096 on the printer). N.B. Before I did this, my printer's IP address was 169.254.012.034 which is way off from the configuration and therefore didnt work! When you set you IP address please ensure this doesn't clash with other IP addresses your devices might have which is why I set the last 2-digits in the 90s.
d. Press Ok to set you IP address, again write the static IP address for your printer somewhere

3. If you haven't already done this, go back to Brother's website and download the Driver (not the full package which is what I downloaded initially) and make sure you got the right country (not sure if this matters).

4.Now, go to : System Preferences>Printers&Scanners>Add Printer (the + sign at the bottom) > Press IP in the top left > In Address: Type the IP address of your printer, in my case it is 10.0.1.96
Name: Brother HL-L2340
automatically the software/driver should appear - select Brother HL-L2340D CUPS, then press Add.

5. Print an empty google page and see if this works! It worked for me!!!
So glad I don't have to return this printer back but I wish someone explained it step by step to me, cannot find this info anywhere else!

That is a lot of under-the-hood tinkering you had to do. I'm glad I could help out.

 

[reszelo22]

THIS SOLVED MY TORTURE OF MONTHS!!!

Looks difficult for the first sight but 3 minutes and it is working now!

Thank you!

Hey Dekema2
Thanks for your post. I bought the same printer (Brother HL-L2340DW) just a couple of days ago as the reviews on Amazon were good.
But I have spent the entire weekend trying to sort out the damn wireless function -thanks to you and a couple of YouTube videos, you have pointed me to the right direction.

My setup: I have Mac computers at home and wifi network over Airport Extreme.

I installed the driver as instructed but the same message keeps coming up (cannot communicate with printer etc), even though the printer says it is Connected. I will give step by step instructions for any of you who are noobs like me...

This is what you should do:
1. Check your router's IP address.
Go to System Preferences > Network > Advanced > TCP/IP > write down your router and wifi IP address (Mine was 10.0.1.xxx).

2. Next, you want to set a Static IP address on your printer. This bit took me a long time to figure out, but you Have to do it on your Printer.
a. Press the Up/Down (or +/-) button until you see Network.
Press Ok.
b. WLAN>Press OK>TCP/IP>Press OK>Boot Method>Static>Press OK to set it as static.
c. Go back to TCP/IP>Press OK>Press down to IP address>Set the correct IP address....as you can see the IP address above for my net work is 10.0.1.xxx - so you MUST set the numbers similar to this config, so I changed mine to 10.0.1.96 (it will appear as 010.000.001.096 on the printer). N.B. Before I did this, my printer's IP address was 169.254.012.034 which is way off from the configuration and therefore didnt work! When you set you IP address please ensure this doesn't clash with other IP addresses your devices might have which is why I set the last 2-digits in the 90s.
d. Press Ok to set you IP address, again write the static IP address for your printer somewhere

3. If you haven't already done this, go back to Brother's website and download the Driver (not the full package which is what I downloaded initially) and make sure you got the right country (not sure if this matters).

4.Now, go to : System Preferences>Printers&Scanners>Add Printer (the + sign at the bottom) > Press IP in the top left > In Address: Type the IP address of your printer, in my case it is 10.0.1.96
Name: Brother HL-L2340
automatically the software/driver should appear - select Brother HL-L2340D CUPS, then press Add.

5. Print an empty google page and see if this works! It worked for me!!!
So glad I don't have to return this printer back but I wish someone explained it step by step to me, cannot find this info anywhere else!