Brother MFC-L5700DW: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Brother MFC-L5700DW right for you?

The MFC-L5700DW is the entry model of Brother's 2016 business laser all-in-one range, with a 42 ppm engine, legal-size flatbed, 50-sheet ADF and a 3.7-inch touchscreen. It uses the TN-850 cartridge with about 8,000 pages, which slashes cost per page versus the compact series. Many small businesses bought it for fax and scanning of legal documents. Its duty rating of 50,000 pages a month means it barely notices home-office volumes.

Best for: Small businesses that scan legal-size documents and print in volume

Setting up the Brother MFC-L5700DW

Connect Ethernet or use the touchscreen wireless wizard. Install the Full Driver & Software Package on Windows for ControlCenter4 and PC-Fax; Macs can scan with Image Capture. Configure scan-to-email and scan-to-network in the web interface rather than the panel.

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 MFC-L5700DW uses the following consumables. Match the number exactly when you buy: the same printer family often uses several different cartridge numbers by region.

• TN-820 toner (3,000 pages)
• TN-850 high-yield toner (8,000 pages)
• DR-820 drum unit (30,000 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