cyclespeed Loc: Calgary, Alberta Canada

My MBP used to connect wirelessly to a Samsung ML 2165 when I was running my last OS. The Safari web browser was dated and no longer worked properly on some financial sites so I was forced to update the OS to Catalina 10.15.7
Now the printer no longer connects to the Mac. Samsung is now owned by HP and their site is of no use for finding an updated driver.

I have the last iteration prior to the OS update complete on my TimeMachine but that is hardly a convenient method of getting the printer to function.

I do a lot of printing of B&W photos for 2 people who can no longer get outdoors.
Do you know of a solution or is it yet another case of disposing of a perfectly good piece of equipment and keeping the consumer demand high to ensure the economy stays strong?
Please reply only if you have a solution to share.

Thank you

fetzler Loc: North West PA

The perfect solution is to go and purchase another printer and throw away the old one. While even PCs can have issues with printer drivers, Macs are notorious for creating issues. On my PC I have some 20 year old software that works just fine. An old computer running an old operating system may also be a solution.

I am sorry for your pain. Good Luck.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

HP does not own Samsung. But HP bought Samsung's PRINTER BUSINESS a few years ago. You can imagine how much HP wants to support hardware they didn't make!

The last four or five versions of MacOS support AirPrint-compatible printers. Apparently, from what I can find on the Apple Support Forum, the ML-2165 is not AirPrint-compatible.

The support life of various *Macs* varies. On average, it is somewhere between five and seven years. After that, the hardware might still work, but you can't get parts or service from Apple, and operating system updates may not work on it. A few years from now, Apple will abandon most Intel Macs completely, as they no longer sell computers with Intel chips in them. It will become economically infeasible to write operating system upgrades for Intel processors.

The same thing happens with *printer drivers.* The average support life of a printer is between three and seven years. The Samsung ML 2165 was released over a decade ago... New ones are no longer for sale.

My advice to you is to try a cable. You may find that a CUPS driver built into MacOS can connect that printer via USB. Also, try this web page link:

https://www.samsung-driver.org/2019/11/samsung-ml-2165-driver-for-mac.html

Obsolescence is a fact of life in the computer industry. Technology improves so rapidly, it is not economically feasible to support or repair the old stuff. The generic PC world tends to be better at it, because the WinTel vendors are often constrained by contractual requirements and big business accounts' demands to support 20-year old obsolete hardware. There, the trade-off is between progress and compatibility with the past. Apple does not play that game.

delder Loc: Maryland

Agree with platform preservation!
Not a MAC user BUT exactly the same issue with Wintel.
There are still laboratories chugging along with old XP machines for compatibility with legacy lab equipment.

I had buildings full of perfectly serviceable Communications Equipment that had a spec for a 286 and 2 Floppy drives 💾 to run the DOS program for updates.

Worked up until XP, then nothing.

Had to keep legacy XP machines running just for these systems.
You can maintain a legacy computer for your printer and Air-Gap to your Network connected Computer.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The "old computer running an old operating system" is not a solution, for the very problem the original poster noted: His financial institutions' sites are incompatible with the browsers that run on that old operating system. He might be able to print again, but would be locked out of his accounts, the very issue that caused him to upgrade his operating system in the first place.

Simply put, there comes a time when solving a problem with old hardware incompatibility with a new OS requires new hardware. We are no longer living in an age where you could buy a piece of "capital equipment," depreciate it in a straight line for ten years, and use it, "almost free," for the next decade.

Addendum: Virtualization may be a solution. With an Intel Mac and Parallels Desktop, an older version of MacOS or Windows could be installed and run the older system and older printer driver. Consulting Parallels may be a worthwhile adventure.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Here the old computer is just used for printing. Inconvenient indeed but may a quick fix. Another user mentioned the use of old computers in companies where new computers are unusable. This solution preserves the use valuable and quite serviceable equipment. When working in a company, I purchased high priced refurbished computers just to keep equipment and software working.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I keep my old computers around for those few times when I might need old software to revise an old document that cannot be edited on my current software (i.e.; PageMaker 6 running on Mac OS 9.2.2 on a PowerMac G4 from 1999, or FileMaker 5.5 running on Win XP SP3...) These are strictly sneaker net machines, with no Internet or even WiFi/Ethernet connectivity. Printing to PDF files on flash drives solves the printer compatibility issue for me. Of course, not one of our current printers is supported on those old systems, and the printers that were supported on them are long-gone.

One of the more bizarre things about my old employer was their use of FoxPro databases written in the early 1980s as mission-critical order entry tools for the early 2010s! They were always "burping and barfing up digital detritus," as the IT guy used to say. That was one of the first warning signs that the business was in trouble.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

My wife has to have her old XP machine next to her main PC so she can print. Her printer has no driver for even Win 7.

delder Loc: Maryland

This also solves for those wishing to continue with purchased versions of LR, etc.
The legacy computer is already paid for and can form a dedicated Photo Editor solution.

This in no way prevents you from purchasing a current State-of-the-Art computer for network/internet and faster processing.

Laramie Loc: Tempe

This page may have the drivers you need.
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/samsung-ml-2165-laser-printer-series/17156968