HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw: wireless color jobs and single-pass scans review

The wireless M479 with fax and a single-pass scanner

The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw combines color printing, copying, color scanning and analog fax. HP's exact US page identifies W1A80A#BGJ and marks it discontinued. This review covers the documented 110–127-volt, 60-Hz configuration. A separately specified 220–240-volt version is different hardware, and the product is not dual voltage.

The fdw configuration includes USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band infrastructure Wi-Fi and genuine Wi-Fi Direct. Its original model column also confirms automatic print duplex and a 50-page dual-head document feeder for single-pass duplex scans. Those are separate capabilities: a wireless connection does not establish a scanner method, and an automatic duplex printer does not necessarily have a duplex scanner.

HP rates printing at up to 28 Letter pages per minute in black or color, separately 27 A4. Recommended monthly printing is 750–4,000 pages, distinct from the 50,000-page maximum duty cycle. Scanner pages and images per minute concern a different operation. These are original maker specifications, not measurements from this review.

Use the feeder for Legal originals and the glass for smaller work

The exact original specification gives an ADF range from 4 by 6 inches to 8.5 by 14 inches. Letter, Legal and A4 therefore have a confirmed feeder route. The fdw column explicitly identifies two scan heads capturing both sides in one pass, rather than requiring the paper to reverse for its second side. Color scanning is available independently of whether the resulting document is later printed in black or color.

The flatbed is a separate 216 by 297 mm route, suitable for Letter or A4 originals. Its size is not the Legal maximum of the feeder. For bound or fragile originals, check that the actual original fits the glass and follow the placement marks. A larger feeder specification does not enlarge the flatbed.

Computer scanning requires the actual compatible HP Scan installation on Windows or HP Easy Scan on macOS. The 2022 original guide says remote scanning is disabled by default and explains enabling scanning from a computer or mobile device. Verify that setting where required, confirm the computer connection and test a saved file. A successful print from a basic queue does not verify scanning.

Configure office delivery separately from nearby direct printing

Ethernet or supported 2.4/5-GHz infrastructure Wi-Fi can provide the office network. The installed computer scan routine can use that arrangement. Front-panel Scan to Email instead needs the correct SMTP server, port and authentication; a network-folder destination needs a working shared path and credentials. Those services need setup even after the printer has joined the network.

The original guide also limits its SharePoint scan route to compatible SharePoint installations and explicitly excludes SharePoint 365. If document delivery into a particular office service is essential, verify that exact destination rather than interpreting a general cloud icon as universal support.

AirPrint and Mopria are documented local-network print options. The guide separately supports compatible Apple devices using AirPrint over enabled Wi-Fi Direct without an office router. This direct route is listed here for printing, without importing the office's SMTP or shared-folder scan service. Mobile automatic duplex also remains unconfirmed because the guide warns that HP-driver duplex controls might not appear through AirPrint.

Count 300 print sheets and load special media deliberately

Standard ordinary-paper capacity is 300 sheets: 50 in the multipurpose feed and 250 in the main tray at the stated 75 g/m² basis. The 50-page scanner feeder is not another print input. The optional 550-sheet third tray is excluded from this included configuration.

The original paper table separately confirms Letter, Legal and A4 in the included print feeds and automatic duplexer. Use a compatible computer driver and approved media; ordinary duplex has its own 60–163 g/m² guidance. Broader special-stock input approvals are not blanket duplex approvals. Loading Legal in the main tray extends it approximately two inches forward.

For the guide's explicit Tray 1 envelope routine, load up to ten face up with the short postage end leading. Select the correct size, Envelope type and manual feed. Envelopes also have an approved main-tray entry in the paper table, but ordinary sheet capacity does not define an envelope stack, and no automatic envelope duplex is promised.

Telephone fax and private release have different requirements

Fax uses a suitable telephone connection. HP describes an analog fax device and recommends a dedicated analog line. Connect the fax port, configure its settings and test the intended line arrangement. Ethernet and Wi-Fi do not supply telephone fax service.

PIN-held print release requires a separate dedicated USB 2.0 storage device of at least 16 GB, setup and a compatible driver. That device is absent from the documented standard box. Default matching therefore excludes a PIN requirement, despite the presence of job-storage software and a rear host port.

For the Americas, the original supply table specifies 414A W2020A–W2023A or 414X W2020X–W2023X. Standard declared replacement yields are approximately 2,400 black or 2,100 color pages; higher-yield figures are approximately 7,500 black or 6,000 color. HP's black 414A declaration uses ISO/IEC 19798, and dynamic security can restrict non-HP chips. Remaining installed toner is unknown.

The closed body is approximately 16.4 by 18.6 by 15.7 inches, with much more space needed for service. Conflicting weights remain unconfirmed. The M479fdw fits an earlier color-office workflow when its actual software, network services, paper and fax arrangements are verified together.