Home › Brother printers › Brother MFC-L5800DW series

Brother MFC-L5800DW series driver for Mac

Yes, the Brother MFC-L5800DW series 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 MFC-L5800DW series 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 brlaser-mfc-l5800dw

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

Copysudo gutenprint-add brlaser-mfc-l5800dw MyPrinter socket://192.168.1.50

Or without Terminal: System Settings → Printers & Scanners → Add → Use: Select Software… and pick “Brother MFC-L5800DW series” ending in “Apple Silicon”.

Why did my Brother MFC-L5800DW series 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 brlaser 6.2.8, compiled natively for Apple Silicon.

The Brother MFC-L5800DW series is a Brother laser without PCL or AirPrint, so it uses the bundled native arm64 brlaser driver rather than Gutenprint. Duplex, toner save and resolution are in the print dialog under Printer Features.

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 MFC-L5800DW series work on macOS 27, macOS 26 Tahoe and Apple Silicon?

Yes. This free package adds a native arm64 brlaser driver for the Brother MFC-L5800DW series. 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 MFC-L5800DW series driver?

No. The Brother MFC-L5800DW series is already supported by brlaser, 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 MFC-L5800DW series say “The printer software is not compatible with this device”?

Brother's Mac driver for the Brother MFC-L5800DW series 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 MFC-L2700DW series · Brother MFC-L2710DN series · Brother MFC-L2710DW series · Brother MFC-L2740DW series · Brother MFC-L2750DW series · Brother MFC-L2800DW

← Brother printers