Brother HL-2170W 23ppm Laser Printer with Wireless and Wired Network Interfaces
by BROTHER
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Our Price: $305.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $75.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Brother HL-2170W 23ppm Laser Printer with Wireless and Wired Network Interfaces
Customer Review: Automatic Wireless (one-push button) Method Did Not Work
Summary: 1 Stars
The Brother HL-2170W was returned for several reasons.
1. Brother advertises that this model supports the Secure Easy Setup for configuring the machine easily without a computer. That is why I purchased the printer. My access point for the machine is a Linksys WRT54GL router which also supports SES. I followed the Brother Quick Setup Guide for configuring the printer using the automatic wireless (one-push button) method. It is a 19 step procedure. After several unsuccessful attempts I reset the machine following the Brother instructions. I did this several times.
2. I decided to contact Brother Tech support. After a long wait I finally spoke to a tech (at an overseas location). After walking me through the same procedures I had just completed several times (which all failed to link up the wireless machine) I was told I needed to follow a different none wireless approach that would require that I contact Linksys Tech support to get five (5) critical security pieces of information from the Linksys router configuration. This information would then be used to manually configure the link between the Brother printer and the Linksys router via a network cable link not a wireless procedure.
3. On Jan 6, 2010 I received an email from Brother Problem Solutions giving me a ten (10) page manual procedure for linking the router and the printer.
4. In trying to print the procedure a protection fault occurred at address ox4ab2c37 with an exception code of oxc000000fd. My review is the short version of what steps I went through in trying to resolve this issue. Needless to say it was very time consumming.
The one-push button procedure is a 19 step procedure in the user guide. I am running Windows 7 Pro and nowhere is there a reference to Windows 7 compatibility. I did however download a Windows 7 driver from the Brother website. I was still unsuccessful in getting the printer and access point linked.
Expecting a novice user to have to use the alternative procedures recommended by Brother is something you need to evaluate before you purchase the HL-2701W. If you are skilled and experienced enough to handle the alternative procedures recommended by Brother good for you. But for the novice user that has the one button procedure fail then good luck.
This review isn't intended to be sour grapes but a heads up for you to evaluate before you purchase this model printer.
Customer Review: No longer dread printing tasks
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using this printer for home printing needs for over a year now. According to the online printer maintenance screens, we've printed a mere 880 pages (predominantly school assignments) and only received 2 errors (one time each - low toner and paper jam). When the toner error occurred, google results taught me how to override and continue using the toner cartridge. At page 685, when the toner error occurred, it was definitely NOT time for a new toner cartridge. Easily fixed.
When shopping for this printer, I wanted several things:
- no HP. I hate their software, their hardware, their errors, their annoying software, their tentacles in everything, their blasted software.
- no Canon. Our last experience with Canon was full of errors, until the cat knocked the printer off the shelf. Good riddance.
- Needs to work with Linux.
I really wasn't looking for a laser printer and this was my first. I purchased in a local store when I couldn't find good alternatives to the above mentioned brands. I've been very pleased. With the inkjets, I always had to fidget with them before Every Single Printing job... is it on? is it connected? what's the status window say? is the inkjet clogged? is there paper? is there a job hung-up from 2 months ago? is there ink? No More. With this printer, I've only had 2 network errors that were obvious. One time, I changed the network name so I needed to update the printer. Another time, we were having issues with router and I needed to restart the printer.
We only use this printer with Wireless network. It lives in a storage room in the house. We don't see it, hear it, or pay attention to it. Yet, it still behaves so nicely for us. It doesn't feel cheap like all the inkjets I've had. It's a sturdy cube with no dangling trays or paper holders of any sort. I love the clean lines of it. Inkjets tend to have a weird footprint.
The wireless network setup was bothersome, but it was completed in one evening. If I remember right, I had to plug into wired connection to configure the wireless. Once that was done, it was done. I haven't had to replug-in the wired again because I've been able to use the wireless and the printer web interface.
I have never regretted this purchase. I hope the prices keep dropping on color lasers, because when this printer finally kicks the bucket, that'll be my next purchase. No more inkjets!
Customer Review: Wow Called Brother to set up printer. They were fantastic. Update 7/10
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this printer yesterday, and when I started to read the instructions I was overwhelmed by the complexity of the wireless set up. I know others have said it is easy to set up the printer, but I wasn't 100 percent confident I could do the initial set up. I decided to once again read the instructions, but still decided I needed help from Brother. I own a MAC and HP computer
Today I called Brother and registered my printer. Within 15 minutes I had a person on the line that could help me.
I was shocked how complex a procedure it was to get my printer to work without a cable. Luckily the Brother representative I had was absolutely great. She took the time to walk me thru each step, and within 25 minutes I had the printer running on both my Mac and HP (Windows 7) computers.
She took her time, identified my IP address, and worked with me to setup the printer.
Brother was absolutely great. At this time I have to rate their customer service a 10 out of a 10.
The printer works great. Every time I turn it on and print something, the lights on my desk flicker. This machine must take up a great deal of power. The machine makes noise when it prints. It is somewhat loud. but after you print the machine gets a little quieter and you just hear a a humming noise that the printer is doing something. Eventually the printer gets completely quiet.
I highly recommend if you decide to hook up the printer do it during the daytime when Brother is open. This way they can help you if you have a problem.
A starter cartridge is included that will print 1000 copies. The machine also comes with a replaceable drum. I have no idea how long this will last.
FYI TN-330 Toner cartridge (1500 pages)
TN-360 Toner cartridge (2600 pages)
Approx. cartridge yield in accordance with ISO/IEC 19752
Brother must be reading these posts. Apparently they are aware of the toner issue with some printers. Last week I received a message on my voice mail that they were going to send me a replacement cartridge at no cost. I never called them. They had my number because I registered my product when I purchased it.
Today 7/7/10, a UPS truck arrived with my new cartridge.
Thank you Bother. This is great customer service.
Customer Review: Some install tips...please read.
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this printer and just had to have it.
I've been wanting to get a wireless printer for some time. I have a laptop, my daughter has a laptop, and I have a desktop. BUT, I could not print on anything beside the desktop. Unless I shared out the printer and left my PC on ALL THE TIME....I didn't want to do that. Also, the idea of just having to plug this into a socket and not running any CAT5 was great.
So I started looking around for a wireless printer. I checked HP's site, since I've had good luck with their products. Well, they did not have a laser printer with wireless. I just couldn't find one. And I wanted to stay away from inkjet technology. I wanted something that was FAST.
Well, I saw this printer on sale and thought it was perfect. So I went ahead and bought it.
First off, let me tell you, I've been playing with computers my whole life and have been working in the IT field for most of my adult life. I tried to set this up myself without reading directions. Folks, let me save you some time, scan the documentation and USE THE INSTALL DISC. If I had only used the disc, I could have saved myself 2 hours worth of time.
I attempted to just install it via a downloaded driver and the utility found on Brother's website. Forget it...just use the disc.
Very important, you have to plug the unit into your router, then run the CD. Once you get the printer on your LAN, you configure the wireless portion. Then once you have set up the wireless portion, REMOVE THE LAN CABLE. It's kind of weird, but it WILL NOT pick up an IP via wireless until you remove the LAN cable. Once you remove the cable, if you have setup the wireless correctly, it will be on the network.
Also, if you are confused as to what wireless setup you may have, go to your router via configuration page and check the settings. I use WEP, but wasn't sure if it was shared or open....I definitely have a key, but nothing seemed to work, until I verified that it was "open". Once I selected the correct settings and removed the lan cable, it showed up. I used a ping command to verify it was on the network. Once I saw the ping, I knew it was good.
So far, this is a great little printer. I have set it up on my wireless network. Anyways...thanks for reading my review. I hope that it helps
Take care!
Customer Review: Works great so far! Easy network installation without any cables needed!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been getting tired of my inkjet printers producing uneven print and streaks, and having the ink dry up fast, so I thought I'd give a laser printer a shot.
I have a wireless 802.11g home network I setup myself using WEP encryption (because some of my video game systems can't do better) and MAC filtering. My router is a Linksys WRT300N running in mixed mode. And beyond the game systems which use the wireless connection, I also have 3 computers scattered around the house. I figured it was time to get a dedicated wireless printer so that I wouldn't need to have one PC on all the time just to be able to print across my network.
The printer was larger than I remembered from the store models I had seen previously. Needs about the room of a flatbed scanner. Followed the instructions that came with the printer to easily install the toner cartridge/drum and adjust the paper tray.
Wireless installation:
I had a little trouble here due to confusing their instructions. First off, if you plan to install wirelessly without using any network cables (which I'd suspect many users with a home network setup would prefer to do) then be sure to download the PDF of their Network Users Guide. There's a link to it from their CD Utility(it's also referenced in the instructions)
Basically, whichever computer you're installing the print driver on first (I was using a Vista machine), will be the one you set up the printers wireless capabilities from. Following the instructions in the user guide, you will end up connecting your computer to the Printer's wireless network called "SETUP", and selecting your Brother 2170w printer. Then you will scan and find your network (note: if you have MAC filtering on, you will need to have entered the Printer's MAC Address into your router. The printer's MAC Address is listed on the Printer Network test sheet). Select the network that your all of your computers are on, type in your network key if applicable, and the printer will then reconfigure itself to connect to that network. Finally connect your computer back to it's normal network and install the print driver, and you should be set. For any additional computers on the network, you'll just need to install the print driver.
I was up and printing on each of my three network computers in about 30 minutes or so.