Advice Required on Brother Printer Please

patthecat on 30/07/2025 - 12:55

Hello,

I’ve had a Brother HL-L2305W printer for a few years using eBay toner cartridges. I use it every couple of weeks or so mostly to print out kids homework.

It’s now not recognising the eBay cartridges. I presume there has been a firmware update that has disabled the cartridge. I’ve tried an unused cartridge and no joy. I didn’t keep the original toner so I can’t put that back on to check. I didn’t disable firmware updates and it was connected to wifi when printing.

I’m a little reluctant to buy a new brother toner for this machine (and I can’t find one anyway) just in case it’s the printer at fault, so I am looking into a new printer.

What do you guys suggest? Thinking of another brother but not connecting it to wifi so I guess it will need to have a USB?? We usually print from an iPad, MacBook or possibly a Chromebook. It’s really inconvenient for me to get to a printing place in town otherwise that would probably be easier.

Many thanks in advance.

Computing Brother Laser Printer Printer

Comments

  • jv on 30/07/2025 - 13:10
    +2

    mostly to print out kids homework.
    What do you guys suggest?

    ecotank

    • JimB on 30/07/2025 - 15:14

      How's the quality of the ecotank for text?

      The last inkjet I've owned was 20 years ago.

      • Cluster on 30/07/2025 - 15:41

        The main problem with inkjets is the paper: ink soaks into ordinary paper while toner is fused on top. Laser printed text will be sharper unless you buy higher GSM coated paper.

        Second problem is potential for clogged heads. Inkjets need regular use, and even then you might see lines appearing on your prints. Running a cleaning cycle using bottles of ink is a lot less painful than traditional very expensive cartridges.

        • JimB on 31/07/2025 - 12:34

          Thanks.

          Back in the day, the quality of inkjets were far inferior to laser.

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 31/07/2025 - 12:33

        Great.

        • JimB on 31/07/2025 - 12:34

          I'll have to check it out myself.

    • patthecat on 30/07/2025 - 15:33

      Thank you JV I’ve not hear of those before. I haven’t been on Ozbargain for a while and it’s good to see you still around.

      • jv on 30/07/2025 - 16:00
        +1

        my kids do a lot of printing for school and the ecotank has been a lifesaver…

        inks cost about $20-$30 a bottle (each colour), last for 2 refills and usually around 1-2 years between refills…

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 31/07/2025 - 12:34

      Wow, i agree with @jv 100%. ;)

  • jizmo on 30/07/2025 - 13:30
    +2

    I've had 2 or 3 Brother printers die on me over the years, enough to never buy them again. I had a Sumsung laser that just wouldn't die and ended up giving it away as it couldn't do multiple envelope printing.
    Right now, I'm using a HP laser A4 and an Epson A3 ink printer and both brands have been pretty reliable.
    If it was me, anything but a Brother and you should be good, and buy over replacement cartridge costs.

    • jv on 30/07/2025 - 13:36

      I've had a Brother HL-1210W since 2016 an it hasn't missed a beat.

    • jv on 30/07/2025 - 13:37

      I had a Sumsung laser that just wouldn't die

      Was it a Chinese fake?

    • garetz on 30/07/2025 - 14:22
      +1

      My samsung printer died after 10 years. It was a unit thats for sure.

  • Cluster on 30/07/2025 - 13:51
    +3

    I had a Brother colour laser printer and didn't want to keep paying for toner that cost more than the entire printer, so started using third party cartridges. They worked fine, until magenta started randomly dumping extraordinary amounts of toner onto almost every print. I replaced magenta with another third party cartridge, but the awful print quality continued.

    Finally I changed to an EPSON Ecotank and am enjoying printing thousands of pages on the original cartridges. The great thing is the reloads are just bottles of ink: No DRM, ever. Put whatever ink you want in there.

    • patthecat on 30/07/2025 - 17:09
      +1

      Thanks, am looking into the eco tanks. Just wondering which model you have, the reviews don’t seem that great in the cheaper models

      • Cluster on 30/07/2025 - 17:14
        +2

        ET-2811. They've $299 at Officeworks.

        The printer feels like it's really cheaply built. Quite flimsy, and there's no display on it. Set up is a bit fiddly, but once it's going I've printed thousands of shipping labels on it. Head clogged once leaving a line, but it unclogged itself after a few dozen more prints.

        Ink is very cheap (cheap compared to buying traditional cartridges). That's probably why the printer is expensive for its build quality. EPSON had to skimp somewhere.

        As I just print shipping labels I don't really care about print quality. Cost per page and reliability are #1.

        Looking at the OW reviews section, quite a few people are unhappy. Maybe get a more expensive model, but also bear in mind unhappy customers are far more likely to leave reviews than happy ones. I'm happy, and haven't left a review.

    • Kelvin on 02/08/2025 - 23:55

      Basically what happened is a bad toner dumped a whole lot of toner inside the printer..
      If you replace the toner and clean the toner out from inside the printer.. all should be well…

      I have exactly the same issues with the cyan.. on my brother multifunction.. L8690CDW.. it was almost going to throw it out..
      Replacing the toner.. didn't fix the printer… but cleaning the excess toner leached out by the faulty toner.. fixed it fine…
      Occasionally a few stray bits.. make it on some print outs..

  • foxmulder on 30/07/2025 - 15:48

    What's the reading of either drum or toner?

  • pinchies on 30/07/2025 - 18:50
    +1

    I've never had a problem with Brother printers and 3rd party inks or toners. I would say it is worth trying a new toner. Or try marketplace.

  • Cleothecat on 31/07/2025 - 08:41
    +2

    I have a Brother L2750DW. Same problem after an unwanted firmware upgrade. I have just ordered new after market cartridges (I have used aftermarket cartridges before with no problem). Supplier (ink Station) tells me that these are updated to allow for the upgrade. It might be wortth checking with your supplier to see if they have uopdated the cartridges to accomdate the upgrade.

    • whyisave on 08/08/2025 - 05:13

      I'm in the same situation, since last year.

      Brother printer got an "unwanted" firmware update, disabling my 3rd party cartridge.

      So, thanks for that InkStation advice.

      • Cleothecat on 08/08/2025 - 14:34
        +1

        new inkstation cartridge works fine.
        So I am good to go at least for a while!

  • reactor-au on 31/07/2025 - 08:46
    +3

    I declined the automatic update on the software and on the printer itself I haven't accidentally accepted the update so far. I should actually try block WAN access for it on my router.

  • skillet on 31/07/2025 - 10:29
    +2

    For Brothers get the 3rd party toners with updated IC chips. Confirm with sellers if unsure.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 31/07/2025 - 12:37

    We have 2 ecotanks. One is an et4750, which was destined for ewaste. All it needed was a rear paper thing. Another similar model came in about the same time. Still works great. My partner is a school teacher and does heaps of printing. We use better grade paper, so not mick bleeding.

  • Wacdam on 31/07/2025 - 15:49
    +1

    Buy a new after market cartridge from a good quality supplier that will guarantee it will work with the new firmware. Keep the old full cartridges that have stopped working. Once your new cartridges run out remove the chip and install them in the non working cartridge. I'm assuming you know the trick for your printer to reset the print counter so you can use all of the toner. Hopefully the firmware update hasn't disabled this also.

    • whyisave on 08/08/2025 - 05:14

      What's the trick for the counter reset ?

  • cfuse on 02/08/2025 - 23:05
    +1

    Someone really needs to take Brother to court over selling unmerchantable goods.

    • whyisave on 08/08/2025 - 05:14

      …or take to court, for underhanded firmware updates, even when you don't 'authorise' the firmware upgrades.

      • cfuse on 08/08/2025 - 08:31

        A broader right to repair law could take care of that.

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