Home › Brother printers › Brother HL-2170W

Brother HL-2170W driver for Mac

Yes, the Brother HL-2170W works on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 27, macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 15 Sequoia. Install this free, signed, native arm64 driver package and print again. No Rosetta, no Intel-only software from the printer maker, and no need to write or compile a driver yourself.

Install the Brother HL-2170W driver

1. Plug the printer into the Mac with a USB cable and switch it on.
2. Download the installer (.pkg) and open it. Click through, enter your Mac password. It is signed and notarized by Apple, so there are no security warnings.
3. Print something. The installer recognised the printer and set it up as the default.

Still not printing? Restart the Mac once and unplug / re-plug the printer. Then see below.

Wi-Fi, network, or not detected over USB

After installing, open Terminal (⌘+Space, type Terminal), paste this and press Enter:

Copysudo gutenprint-add brother-hl-2170w

For a network printer, add a name and the printer's address (lpinfo -v lists what macOS can see):

Copysudo gutenprint-add brother-hl-2170w MyPrinter socket://192.168.1.50

Or without Terminal: System Settings → Printers & Scanners → Add → Use: Select Software… and pick “Brother HL-2170W” ending in “Apple Silicon”.

Why did my Brother HL-2170W stop working?

Brother's own Mac driver for this printer was built for Intel Macs only. On Apple Silicon it ran through Rosetta until macOS 27, which no longer allows that, so System Settings now says “The printer software is not compatible with this device”. This package replaces it with Gutenprint 5.3.5, compiled natively for Apple Silicon.

Print quality and black & white: in the print dialog open Printer Features (Printer Options on macOS 27). Quality is under Resolution; for black & white set Color Model to Grayscale. Ink and toner levels can't be shown by open source drivers.

Questions

Does the Brother HL-2170W work on macOS 27, macOS 26 Tahoe and Apple Silicon?

Yes. This free package adds a native arm64 Gutenprint driver for the Brother HL-2170W. It runs on every Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 12 or later, including macOS 27, without Rosetta.

Do I need to write my own Brother HL-2170W driver?

No. The Brother HL-2170W is already supported by Gutenprint, an open source driver with years of tuning for this printer. Install the package; there is nothing to write, compile or patch.

Why does my Brother HL-2170W say “The printer software is not compatible with this device”?

Brother's Mac driver for the Brother HL-2170W is Intel-only and ran through Rosetta, which macOS 27 no longer allows. Install this package, restart the Mac once, then unplug and re-plug the printer.

Similar Brother models

Brother HL-1870N · Brother HL-2030 series · Brother HL-2060 · Brother HL-2130 series · Brother HL-2140 series · Brother HL-2150N · Brother HL-2220 series · Brother HL-2230 series · Brother HL-2240 series · Brother HL-2240D series · Brother HL-2250DN · Brother HL-2260

← Brother printers