Brother MFC-J870DW: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Brother MFC-J870DW right for you?

The MFC-J870DW was a 2013 home inkjet notable for NFC tap-to-print and a tray for printing directly onto printable CDs and DVDs. It has a touchscreen, fax, 20-sheet ADF and automatic duplex, and used the LC101 and LC103 cartridges. Many were sold in the UK under the same name with LC123 series ink. Surviving units mostly suffer from dried printheads and full ink absorbers.

Best for: Owners of an older home inkjet that still works

Setting up the Brother MFC-J870DW

Install the Full Driver & Software Package manually; Windows 11 will otherwise provide print-only support. Join Wi-Fi through the touchscreen wizard on a 2.4 GHz WPA2 network. If Web Connect services fail, the cloud integrations for this generation have largely been retired.

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-J870DW uses the following consumables. Match the number exactly when you buy: the same printer family often uses several different cartridge numbers by region.

• LC101BK/C/M/Y ink (300 pages)
• LC103BK/C/M/Y high-yield ink (600 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