Don't threaten me with a good time.
this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2025
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My Brother printer does not connect to my Linux computer over Ethernet on the same network no matter what I do. I have to physically connect PC to the printer for it to work. It also doesn't wirelessly work with it. I can only wirelessly talk to it through my phone using their app.
I hate printers. The moment someone offers a high quality, non-scummy, easy to use in every basic scenario printer compatible with Linux I will buy it and never stop buying it until something changes in those categories. Laser, inkjet, whatever. My use cases are hex maps and legal documents. If I could get a printer that made TCG quality cards in my house I'd buy that as well for a substantial price but that's because my childhood was saturated with card games and their animated shows. I digress.
Please make a good printer. Brother was supposed to be that but I've not had any success with their stuff for the past 6 or 7 years, even on windows.
After reading down a few comments...
My Brother printer does not connect to ~~my Linux~~ any computers over Ethernet on the same network no matter what I do.
FTFY
I mean... True. But my computer is Linux and my partner's computer is windows (for now 😈).
But like... What matters is the printer doesn't connect and therefore I'm upset. So framework come out with a printer.
Totally, not trying to criticise. I wanted to point it out so it doesn't scare any potential Linux newbies away. It's definitely a printer or network problem.
If you're reading this, Linux is easy. Jump over. It's great.
Tried to print to an office printer yesterday for the first time and it worked immediately. Ricoh IM3000C or some mix of those letters.
Really? My Brother MFP works fine on the network, and I'm on Linux. The phone does use the Brother print driver you have to download. But just for general computing use you ought not to be having any trouble with network printing so I'm curious.
Ya, I wish I could tell you what it is. Maybe I'm just not getting it - some simple step or something - or maybe I bought a weird model and it happens to be problematic everytime I've bought one (2 or 3 printers from them now).
I'd love to click print on my PC and hear the machine whirl up in the other room but right now I can only get that to happen if I have it directly connected to my PC.
Honestly sounds more like a network problem
Sure, but how. If the printer is plugged into a switch which my computer is plugged into, both going to the same router, why is there a network problem that could cause this?
all the cables are good? all the network configs are good? firewall maybe? does the switch not support a network feature that is required?
you didn't explicitly say it, so i have to ask: can the same computer running windows print over the network?
When I was on windows it could not print over the network. My partner who is still on windows can't either.
All the cables are good I've checked them myself.
Neither of our Firewalls should be set up to block it, although I admit I could have made a mistake here if the default config and one with minor tweaks would prevent it on both Linux and windows.
Network config is largely untouched although again I could have made a mistake here on Linux and windows.
The switch is ubiquity and so is the dream machine, I assume they're very capable.
Can you ping the IP of the printer from your PC? If not, is it part of the same subnet or are there VLAN shenanigans going on? If yes, did you try using the IP directly in Windows? I could imagine the switch blocking mDNS or something (which likely is the default discovery method).
If you can print from your phone, does that actually use the wifi network or does it connect using wifi direct (or some other mechanism)?
I can't, but my unifi gives me the same IP address that the printer says it has. I believe it's a part of the same subnet and there are no vlans as far as I'm aware.
I can try the IP on windows.
I'm not certain how I would check which wifi mechanism my phone is using.
I appreciate all the troubleshooting.
As 9blb says, this is a networking issue. Considering both your Linux and Windows machines cannot print over LAN or WAN, you should start at the switch.
Does the printer's port config match that of the Linux and Windows machines? For simplicity, they need to all be on the same VLAN and be access. For accessing machines within the same network, don't worry about routing traffic to the firewalls or dumping it to the router, that introduces needless complexity on a home network.
If that is true, then check the printer's network settings. The subnet and IP range need to match that of the Linux and Windows machines, allowing access over the same VLAN. While here, also check for duplicate IPs. If the IP range or subnet is wrong, your traffic will either drop at the switch or get dumped to the router/firewall depending on how you set the routes. If you have duplicated IPs, your network is gonna be confused on where to send the packets and kill whichever route it deems to be an imposter.
If that's all matching and you're still getting nowhere, double check your Linux and Windows machines to ensure you have the proper driver's installed.
Oh, you haven't installed the 2GB driver yet.
The last good HP printer was the 4P. Thank god I still have one that works.
Honestly, there's probably a bigger market for a working printer than for their laptops.
Holy crap yes! I’ve been asking for an open source printer for years! From what I understand, a significant portion of the challenge is paper routing and alignment. I imagine Framework is one of the few companies out there with the knowledge and willingness to do it.
I want someone to succeed at this endeavor, but what exactly about framework makes them uniquely qualified to tackle the task you highlighted? Do they have other products that accomplish routing and alignment of paper or other materials?
Not specifically, but notice the “and”. A lot of other companies could probably do it, but just don’t really have an incentive to try and compete with the likes of Brother or HP. Framework has been the most effective open-source companies at finding the resources to put together something as complicated as a smartphone.
Most other open-source companies just don’t have that skillset of resource acquisition. And some of the few others that pop in my head are maybe RPi Foundation or Pine64 and similar, but they would likely make a super budget-friendly/education model that wouldn’t be practical for heavy office use.
If anyone can make a real competitor that can handle daily heavy use, I’m struggling to think of someone else. Let me know if there’s an obvious choice, though.
pine64 would make a printer with no fucking software and tell the community to do it
Honestly, I’d take it. Printers are one of those rare consumer tech things where the software is much simpler than the hardware.
I bought a PineTime specifically because of that
I might not be a Kernel dev, but give me a protocol and I'll implement it.
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Took me a few reads to parse what the hell they're saying, but yeah, welcome to the party. HP has been treating their customers with utter contempt for over a decade now.
Spoiler alert: Yes, they do
Seriously. They must be new here.
I hope to see this printer in my lifetime.
I doubt they have the money to make a good printer. Might as well just use Brother.
Sadly they are participating in the genocide of Palestinians so that rules them out for a lot of people (very reasonably)
Link? Tho I could 100% see HP doing so.
There's been a question mark over Brother recently, with a number of people claiming that after firmware updates, Brother printers no longer play nice with third-party toner cartridges, and Brother refuting the claim.
I don't know where the truth lies, but it's worth looking into before buying a Brother printer or updating the firmware on your existing one.
That entire story is based on one 3 year old unverified Reddit post. I have that printer on the latest firmware and it accepts 3rd party toner just fine.
A brother laser printer is the best investment you can make in printers. Shit just works and you don't have to worry about the printer using half the ink to keep the nozzles clear like an ink jet.
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