Brother MFC-J1170DW: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Brother MFC-J1170DW right for you?

The MFC-J1170DW is the slightly better-equipped sibling of the MFC-J1010DW, sharing the same compact body, LC404 cartridges, 20-sheet ADF and automatic duplex. It is typically sold by office-supply chains at a small premium. Ink economy is the main weakness, since the LC404 set yields only about 750 pages. It is a reasonable choice for a student apartment or light home use.

Best for: Light home use where an inkjet with fax is needed

Setting up the Brother MFC-J1170DW

Set up through Brother Mobile Connect on a 2.4 GHz network; the LCD wireless wizard is the fallback. Windows users should install the Full Driver & Software Package for scanning and PC-Fax. AirPrint covers Apple printing and scanning without a download.

1. Unbox and prepare. Remove every piece of shipping tape and packing material, install the ink cartridges, 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 MFC-J1170DW uses the following consumables. Match the number exactly when you buy: the same printer family often uses several different cartridge numbers by region.

• LC404BK black ink (750 pages)
• LC404C/M/Y color ink (750 pages each)

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