Customer Ratings & Reviews

Brother Work Smart Series MFC-J497DW Wireless All-In-One Inkjet Printer - Black my opinion it's an awsome product and i'm very happy with it.

From the moment I set it up, the ink cartridges were fiddly but I thought perhaps it was because they were the temp cartridges. I'd put them all in correctly, but the panel would show that one or the other "was not detected," leaving me to remove the offending cartridge and push it back in, close the door, and then see that the panel said that NONE of the ink cartridges were detected. This is my first Brother and now I can see why. And Best Buy says it's no longer returnable---I ordered it on Feb. 4th 2020, Delivered Feb. 5, 2020 and get this........no longer returnable as of February 20, 2020!!! That is unbelievable to me. As of 2/20/2020 it was working perfectly fine. I simply cannot believe Best Buy will not take it back. STAY AWAY.

Printer was purchased as a gift for grandson. Price was very reasonable and young lady at Best Buy was most helpful.

Overall I am very pleased with this printer. I did not give it 5 stars because in my opinion it is not made as well as the Canon printers that I have had in the past. I have had all 3 Canon printers that I have bought through the years break down on me so I decided to go with another brand. The only thing that bothered me with this printer was that out of the box it had a few scuffs and scratches on the finish. As far as the operation of the unit, it is printing faster and much better print quality than previous machines from other manufactures. The display is as some have commented a little small but I knew that from reading the specifications. Personally, I love the display! Instructions on it are easy to understand. It will walk you through everything you want to do. I have not tried the FAX yet but when you have the telephone line connected to the printer, the printer will also ring and the display shows that a telephone call is coming in. I assume that if you are receiving a fax, the display will show incoming fax. I love the control panel and the number keypad is awesome for setup and I assume making it very easy to send a fax. The setup instructions in the quick start guide could be better but they give you a site where you can watch videos which helps. Some reviews complain about paper jams. I found setup of the paper tray to be very unclear. I watched the videos and downloaded the entire operating manual and after some time figured it out. I have never had a paper jam even when using thin paper. It does two sided printing like a champ. I was worried because the paper loading tray seems incredibly cheaply made but have had no problems so I am completely happy so far. Other printers I have used had a drawer to insert CD's and print on them and this unit has nothing fancy like that. But I never used that feature on other printers. One must remember that this is a low price no bells and whistles printer which is what you get for the price paid. All that really matters is reliability and print quality and this machine gives you that along with a rather small footprint. I love it and recommend it as a good quality basic all in one printer.

This printer would switch to fax mode and stop communicating with my pc. I would not recommend. When it does work, it prints very slow.

I have an HP All-in-One that is beyond it’s useful life according to HP. And I don’t like the way HP tries to force you to buy their cartridges. I also have a Brother mono Laser printer that is beyond its useful life according to Brother, but still working great. After my iPad Pro purchase, I decided to buy a new all-in-one with these required features: AirPrint Duplex printing Document feeder for scanning or copying I tried looking online, but it was impossible to determine which models had these features, so I went into my nearby Best Buy Store. An associate helped me find this Brother model, which had all my required features with a great price on the machine and the ink. Given my great experience with my Brother mono laser printer, this seemed like a perfect choice. After reading some horror stories in reviews about how difficult it was to set up printers, I was pleased that AirPrint worked immediately with my Apple devices. It took me a couple of minutes to get it hooked up to my PCs. Instructions were great. As it happened, I had to hit the WiFi button on my router to get the PCs hooked in — so a 2 or 3 minute installation time. It would have been nice to have a SD and jump drive port instead of saving stuff to the cloud, but that’s not such a big deal. In short, this is perfect for a compact, inexpensive all in one.

I had been putting off buying a printer because typically home printers have so many issues. We originally decided on an HP but I’m not a fan of HP products. Their printers seem to be popular and they have the ink replacement program so that was the reason I was going with it. We went to the store to get it and started looking at the other printers available. This Brother printer was the second choice in case they were out of stock on the HP. W ran a test page at the store and it was much quieter and smoother than the HP printer. It doesn’t sound like it’s falling apart when it prints. It also isn’t shaped like a Star Wars fighter ship. We love this thing. It prints quietly, maintains its WiFi connection and we have yet to have a paper jam. We don’t use it for photo printing. It’s mostly for our son’s school work and important documents we need printed. I’ve tested every option except fax as we don’t have a home phone. Everything works perfectly. What’s so awesome is I can scan a document on my phone, edit it and print it out wirelesslY. No computer required. Copies are slightly lighter than the original but that’s not an issue for me. PersonallyI love the physical buttons versus touch screen functionality. I highly suggest this printer if you’re on the fence about it.

I needed ink for my HP5580, cost was $49, I seen this Brother Printer on sale for $49. I gained wireless connectivity, FAX and the price for ink is much cheaper, I can purchase high yield cartridges under the price of the HP. Setup was super easy as the software guides you through the setup and included pictures. Setting up the wireless was extremely easy using a the USB cable option but you will need to have a USB cable to complete the setup if you chose to use a USB A to B Cable. The Printer updated the firmware, updates the application without me making any guesses, simply allowing the Application to do everything. I download the Brother iPrint&Scan App for my phone and printed a picture.

I had bought an HP printer which just would not work with my PC. Kept hearing from HP that it was a Windows 10 compatibility issue. So I sent it back and went to Best Buy. I chose this Brother Printer and could not be happier. Got it home and had it set up and installed in about 5 minutes. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. I have used the printer a lot and it is very reliable. Even something as mundane as loading the paper is easy. Had a jam and the instructions which came up on the printer display walked me thru the clearing process. I also found that ink was not that expensive. For the price you are not going to beat this printer.

I seldom use my printer, but I still need a printer. The last two printers I had were Epson, and they produced very good, water-proof copies and prints. But because my usage was intermittent, I would often experience clogged ink cartridges. The extra large ink reservoirs offer the best value on ink costs, but I couldn't find any info on whether low usage would result in clogged lines. I considered Epson as well as Brother and Canon as replacements. While HP has about 40% of the market it also has a high rate of problems, so it was never a consideration for me. In the end I chose this Brother because it seemed more durable and ink cost is reasonable. Furthermore, Brother printers self clean if the printer isn't used often enough, so I don't worry over much about when was the last time I printed. This printer is EXTREMELY quiet, but it's not especially fast. Print quality seems fine. Ink is fast drying. Tested water resistance of a print made on inkjet paper a couple of weeks ago by running it briefly under the faucet then wiping it with a paper towel. Ink transferred to the paper towel, though the print was not smeared. I consider this quite acceptable. My previous printer lasted about 6 years and the average seems to be just over 4 years. Value can only be determined by time, but so far I am optimistic.

Had this for about a year now and it still works great. From what I remember it was easy to link up. I can print stuff from my phone to this unit which is super handy. It was not hard to link my phone or computer to it. With my last printer I always had problems with my computer not finding it but no problems with this one. Prints clear. We don’t print a lot so haven’t had to change ink yet but it’s running low finally. It does automatic updates on its own. Nice compact printer. It

Printer has fax feature along with scan and copy. Very quiet and fast. Excellent price at Best Buy. Easy to set up

I've been nothing but satisfied with this printer. Setup was straightforward across multiple Windows 7 and 10 machines, and I've had zero printing issues over a year of occasional use. My experience with this Brother printer has been superior to past frustration with HP and Epson printers. As someone that does not need to print regularly, it's not uncommon for me to go weeks or a month or so without printing. With past Epson and HP printers, this caused the ink and rollers to dry out leading to paper jams and the need to reprint something multiple times before getting an acceptable printout after the printer sat for awhile. This has been a non issue with this Brother printer, and I notice it does appear to automatically go through a systems check and head cleaning from time to time. I've also had no issues finding replacement black and color ink cartridges at my local Best Buy. At this point I'm expecting this printer will give me years of use without issue.

It was so easy to set up and connect to my network. No need to insert the included disc into any computer to configure the settings although it is nice to have that option. Just followed the printer’s on screen instructions to start it up and connect it to my network. Now I can print from any device in my network from anywhere in the house to this little but very good printer. I’ll use it for basic needs, mostly printing, and I don’t think I’ll ever use the fax feature. I’m very very pleased with this purchase. I’ve owned HP and others but this Brother is by far the easiest to configure wireless with no issues. Too many headaches with HP, I can’t find the printer many times and other brands are hard to find or loose wireless connection many times. I strongly recommend this printer for Home use.

This Brother Work Smart Series MFC-J497DW All-in-One prints/scans/copies wirelessly, with pretty decent quality, and you can print using black ink only, without having to replace the colored ink cartridges. I got it on sale for $60. This printer uses LC3011 Standard Ink (prints up to 100 pgs.) at $13 per cartridge and LC3013 High Yield Ink (prints up to 400 pgs.) at $23 per cartridge. The cost is phenomenal compared to Epson's higher priced Epson 126 printer ink. However, Epson's print quality seems slightly better than Brother's standard ink, but not enough to make much of a difference for my printing needs at this time (school papers). I haven't tried printing on Avery labels or heat transferable paper yet or using the high-yield ink yet. FYI: The color refills were not in-stock at Best Buy, just the LC3011/3013 Black ink. :-( Office Depot/Max may have them on the ground in their store. I wish I'd known this before I ran out of my colored ink cartridges. Set up was easy and didn't take too long using the step-by-step instructions provided in the box and following the prompts on my computer to set up the wireless feature. My printer is plugged directly into the wall and I can print wirelessly from my laptop from other rooms in the house. My router is, also, plugged in elsewhere in the house, but everything still functions seamlessly! You can plug your printer directly into your computer if/when you choose to. Brother Work Smart Series MFC-J497DW All-in-One comes with printed instructions, CD ROM (not needed to set up wireless connection; I didn't need to use it for wireless set up/connection/operation), telephone cord (only needed if setting up fax), and 4 brand new in the package ink cartridges (black, cyan, magenta, and yellow)! :-) I bought this to replace my Epson Workforce WF-3530 All-in-One printer due to higher cost of ink refills $60/4 pk. and it won't let you print using black ink only without having to have color refills in, too. Ugh! But, it does print in high quality and I got lots of printing out of it, otherwise. This Brother Work Smart Series MFC-J497DW All-in-One does allow you to print using black ink only without having to replace the color cartridges that are low or empty. I've had my Epson WF-3530 for 7 years now and it still works perfectly and with the same great quality, speed, and accuracy! I hope that my Brother Work Smart Series MFC-J497DW All-in-One Wireless printer lasts just as long and with decent quality! I give this 4 stars only because the print quality is slightly lacking and it prints slower than I'd like it to. If not, I still have my old faithful workhorse, Epson WF-3530!

Easy set up even with a Linux OS, either had the drivers or easily downloaded from the Brother website. I have copied, scanned and printer from this machine and it has been flawless. Works great over the wireless network and with a direct link the same great results. The ink consumption is fine (still using the starter ones) the print quality is great for text and photos are good especially when you consider the cost of this machine. A perfect home printer for light use so far, haven't put any great demands on it but I am sure the occasional heavy job will be no problem. The display screen is small for those with limited vision but it can be positioned as needed. The controls are simple and easy to use and the ADF is a real plus at this price range. The trays all fold into the machine when not in use so it takes up very little space. Very happy we went with this, my husband hated the last HP as you couldn't print if one of the 4 ink cartridges needed to be replaced even with a full black cartridge and black only test printing. He loves this machine and that is saying something with his critical reaction to most of the printers we have had. This is the 1st Brother so I would say we are sold on them for home use!!

Easy to set up and Brother customer service is tops. Has great printing options, easy to use. Had one problem with it and Brother shipped me a new one. I've always had Epson printers before but now, I'll stick with Brother.

Great printer. Bought 2, and both are working great. Its very easy to use. Quality is good and price is great! Replacement ink cartridges are not bad. Cheaper than most printers out there. Brother printers are very dependable and durable.

I bought this printer for use with my HP Chromebook and am not disappointed. Set up was quick and easy. The only problem I had was trying to figure out how to add it to my Google Cloud Print (which has nothing to do with the printer itself). Despite the learning curve of getting it added to Google Cloud Print, I was able to have this printer up and running within 15 minutes! It prints clearly and the printer doesn't take up much space. All in all this is a great printer for its price point if you're looking for something simple and easy to set up.

So far, I'm neither impressed or disappointed. Setup was a breeze, took maybe 10 minutes. Connected/set up with 2 Macs, recognized instantly. Print quality is so-so; text is not as razor-sharp as Epson printers I also trialed, but ink costs are very low, as well as initial equipment costs. ADF is slow to feed, but I can spare the extra 20 seconds for the low price. I would have preferred text output to be a bit sharper given previous experiences with Brother, but given the low cost, quick setup, and slim (seriously, it's tiny) profile, I'll consider it a worthwhile tradeoff.