Brother MFC-J1205W: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Brother MFC-J1205W right for you?

The MFC-J1205W is Brother's under-100-dollar wireless inkjet, marketed as an INKvestment Tank model because it ships with enough LC404 ink for up to a year of light use. It prints, copies and scans from a flatbed but has no ADF, no fax and no automatic duplex. It is the printer people buy for a dorm room or occasional home use. Like all small inkjets it needs regular use to keep the printhead clear.

Best for: Students and occasional printers on a tight budget

Setting up the Brother MFC-J1205W

Brother Mobile Connect sets up Wi-Fi from a phone and is the easiest way to scan. Windows users can add it with the Full Driver & Software Package; Macs and iPads print and scan via AirPrint. Print a Print Quality Check sheet monthly to catch clogged nozzles early.

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-J1205W 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