Brother HL-L5210DW: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Brother HL-L5210DW right for you?

The HL-L5210DW is the 2023 replacement for the HL-L5200DW, faster at 48 ppm and built around the TN-920 cartridge family that tops out at an 11,000-page XXL. The drum is rated for 75,000 pages, so most owners will never change it. Security features like TLS and the Brother Workhorse firmware lineage suit offices that need a managed device. The multipurpose tray grew to 100 sheets, which helps with envelopes and letterhead.

Best for: Busy small offices that want a fast, cheap-to-run mono printer

Setting up the Brother HL-L5210DW

Ethernet is the simplest path; otherwise use the LCD WLAN wizard or Brother Mobile Connect to pick a 2.4 GHz SSID. Install the Full Driver & Software Package on Windows for tray and duplex defaults; Macs and Chromebooks print driverless. Set a device admin password in the web interface during setup since the printer ships with printed defaults.

1. Unbox and prepare. Remove every piece of shipping tape and packing material, install the toner cartridge and drum unit, and load paper in the tray.
2. Join your Wi-Fi. Keep the printer close to the router for setup. Most printers only connect to the 2.4GHz band, so if your router broadcasts one merged network name you may need to split the bands temporarily. See our Wi-Fi guide if it will not join.
3. Install the setup app. Use Brother's official app rather than a driver you found on a search result — third-party driver sites are the most common source of printer malware.
4. Add the printer. On Windows 11: Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners › Add device. On macOS: System Settings › Printers & Scanners › Add Printer.
5. Print a test page and run a scan if this is an all-in-one, so you find any problem now rather than when you are in a hurry.

Ink, toner and supplies

The Brother HL-L5210DW uses the following consumables. Match the number exactly when you buy: the same printer family often uses several different cartridge numbers by region.

• TN-920 toner (3,000 pages)
• TN-920XL high-yield toner (6,000 pages)
• TN-920XXL super high-yield toner (11,000 pages)
• DR-920 drum unit (75,000 pages)

High-yield (XL) versions almost always cost less per page if you print regularly. On third-party ink and toner, read our honest assessment first, and note that some manufacturers push firmware that rejects non-original chips.

Full specifications