Brother MFC-J480DW: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Brother MFC-J480DW right for you?

The MFC-J480DW is a 2015 budget inkjet all-in-one with fax and duplex that sold in huge numbers at big-box stores. It uses the LC203 high-yield cartridges, which are still widely available including from third parties. A decade on, most problems are dried printheads from disuse and Windows 11 driver quirks. It was never fast, at around 12 pages a minute in mono.

Best for: Owners of an older home inkjet who print occasionally

Setting up the Brother MFC-J480DW

Install the Full Driver & Software Package for scanning; Windows Update's driver is print-only. Join 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi through the LCD wizard. If black is missing, run cleaning from the Ink menu up to three times, leaving a few hours between attempts.

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-J480DW uses the following consumables. Match the number exactly when you buy: the same printer family often uses several different cartridge numbers by region.

• LC201BK/C/M/Y ink (260 pages)
• LC203BK/C/M/Y high-yield ink (550 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