DS-940DW Duplex and Wireless Compact Mobile Document Scanner

The Brother DS-940DW is a great little scanner for anyone who needs something portable and easy to use. It’s lightweight, compact, and fits easily in a bag, making it perfect for traveling or small workspaces. The duplex scanning feature is super handy since it scans both sides of a document at once, and the wireless connectivity means no fumbling with cords—you can scan straight to your phone or computer. The built-in battery is a big plus, letting you use it anywhere without needing to be plugged in. It handles receipts, documents, and even photos really well, with sharp and clear results. The only downsides are that you have to feed pages in manually, and the initial setup can take a little patience. Overall, it’s a solid choice for light scanning needs and super convenient for anyone on the move.

This scanner does not just act as an ad-hoc wifi (Wireless Direct) connection. It can truly connect to your wifi router (Infrastructure mode) and let every device in the same wifi network control it (if you know how to set it up). Most people gave this product one star because they couldn't figure out how to set up the Infrastructure mode wife connection. You can't blame them because it is very complicated to do so and it's a shame that Brother makes this great product but does not give a clear instruction. Here's how you do it. First, connect this scanner to a laptop/desktop with the included USB cable to charge it until the battery signal turn from orange to stable green (not just flashing green, ~2 hour). Second, remove the scanner from the USB connection. Install Brother's iPrint&Scan in Windows PC or iOS and connect the scanner using the Wireless Direct through Brother's wifi network using Brother's Direct Wifi network (Direct-xxxx-xxxxx_BRxxxx and the second password printed on the bottom (Pass:xxxxxxxx)). Once it is connected in iPrint&Scan through Wifi Direct, tap Machine setting in the App and it will bring you to a webpage-based interface in a standard web browser (Microsoft Edge or iOS Safari) that allows you to set up the scanner as an infrastructure mode. You can also do Machine setting in another app/software called Brother Utilities instead of using the iPrint&Scan. In the webpage interface, you need to login (using either the default password "initpass" or the first password printed on the bottom of the scanner (Pwd:xxxxxxxx). Once you login, you can change the password or leave as it is. After you login, go to "Network". Under "Network", select "Wireless". On the left side, you should see "Wireless (Setup Wizard)". Click "Wireless (Setup Wizard)" and start Wizard and follow a step-by-step installation wizard to connect the scanner to your home or office wifi network (your home or office wifi router). It only supports 2.4G wifi so connect to your home 2.4G but not the 5G wifi and you have to input the password or security key of your home wifi network. Once the scanner is connect to your home wifi network, every laptop or smartphone device in your home wifi network can control the scanner wirelessly. If you laptop has Windows Firewall, you may have to set exception to allow your laptop find the scanner (or you can input the scanner's direct IP address to help the PC laptop find the scanner). I hope this helps everyone who bought this scanner. I almost returned this scanner because I couldn't figure out how to set up the Infrastructure mode wife connection. Once I figured it out, this scanner works like a charm and it is so versatile.

I am going to be brief since I have already spent an entire day to make it work as it is intended to do. Over the years, I owned and maintained numerous Brother MFC units so I am very familiar with the software and the settings. It does not hold charge. It must be connected to computer all the times to charge. Yes, true; no charging from USB chargers. Makes it useless as "portable" scanner. Starting the scan from the device gives error in both USB connected to computer and Wi-Fi mode. It is not possible to start the scan from the device, period. Long page option to scan long receipts fail, stopping at 14.7" limit for both narrow and wide options. Supposed to feed/scan up to 72" long. Couldn't locate any info on microSD card size and does not come one even with a token few GB card, I bought a 128GB since it is not considered unusual for many years. Good luck with that. After not being able to have the card read, I searched on Brother Support site with no info on the card. Bottom line; it is not designed to do what it says it is supposed to do - works as a compact portable scanner. If it scan using the START button over the wi-fi, I would keep it but, it does not. If it could be charged via an external USB power source, I'd save the scans to microSD (even though it can be only 32GB), I would keep it, but it does not. Do NOT buy this inferior crap.

I bought this for 2 reasons. One is that I have a brother printer/scanner that has worked well for many years. Very happy with that. The other is that I wanted a truly standalone scanner. This review is solely for that aspect. It does work, but it is limited with many minor issues that ought to have been addressed in the design. 1. You cannot charge this from a USB charger. It HAS to be connected to a PC. Seriously, you say? Look it up, there are threads on this subject. Ridiculous is the phrase most often used. 2. It will not scan multiple pages to a single file. 3. It does not allow any flexibility in file naming 4. The included quick start guide is useless. 5. The full online manual for this product barely mentions SDCARD mode 6. It lacks any explanation as to the basics of feeding it, or what the Start/Stop button and indicator are for 7. No category selection (of document type, such as important, receipt, etc). In addressing these, somewhat: 1. It seems, by reports of others, that it will do a lot of pages on a single charge. Plus there are some funky workarounds with devices that fool the device into thinking it is connected to a PC. 2. Disappointing. 3. Really disappointing. 4. Seems common these days. 5. Very disappointing. 6a. You will have to charge it up using a PC. The battery light will become solid green. Shut down, disconnect. 6b. Open the cover. 6c. Make sure slider switch on side is changed to sdcard. 6d. Press power. Wait until everything stops flashing. 6e. Present paper to the feeder. The plastic slider should probably be all the way to the right for most uses. 6f. Scanner will grab the paper 6g. After a few seconds it will scan it. Things to not do: Don't touch the start/stop button. Whatever it is for, it has not needed for this use. Pressing it seems to result in it reporting a paper jam later on. 7. Disappointing. One would have thought that this would be standard. Doesn't have to be complicated, just enough to separate basic kinds (receipts vs statements etc) from each other. High points: Once you figure it out, it works well enough. It is fast, and does both sides of the page (thankfully into the same file). It could have been way better for just a tiny bit more consideration. --- And why don't I want to use the s/w? Because s/w in general cannot get anything right. For example, I accidentally pasted something incorrectly above. When I tried to remove it, using cut operation, I got the million-mile-an-hour scrolling that made it impossible to select the range properly. Oh, come on, this isn't the 1980s. When is this going to be fixed.

Overall I really like the operation and convenience of the DS-940DW and I am keeping it. On Windows 10/11 the Brother iPrint&Scan app (v11.0.3.4) works well. I have used the Brother Utilities app (v2.0.7237.27636) successfully with other Brother products that I previously purchased. I was able to update my DS-940DW firmware to v1.61 using the Brother Firmware Update Tool available on support.brother.com. (Maybe your problems are caused by old firmware?) In this review, I want to cover the scan-to-microSD card feature, which I do successfully use, but on which there seems to be very little information published. First, the microSD card must be inserted into the DS-940DW upside down (i.e., gold teeth up). Attempting to force the card in the wrong way-up may damage the card. Insertion and removal may be performed safely while the DS-940DW is powered-on. Second, the microSD card must be 2 to 32GB in size and formatted with the FAT32 file system. Larger microSD cards do not work because they must be formatted using exFAT or NTFS. The DS-940DW apparently cannot read these formats, resulting in a fast-flashing card light when the microSD is inserted. Unfortunately, Amazon recommends the Sandisk 128GB microSD card for purchase with the DS-940DW, which may result in many customers believing the microSD scanning feature does not work. Third, a folder named "Brother" is automatically created on the microSD card to store all of the scanned document files. The file names are based on the serial number of the scanner, date, time, and an incrementing number. I use the Color, PDF, and 2side settings by default. Unfortunately, the microSD scanning does not create PDFs with searchable text, as PDFs created using the Brother iPrint&Scan utility can be configured to be. Finally, the microSD mode scanning will begin automatically when a page is inserted into the DS-940DW. There is no need to press the START/STOP button for each page. I really like and use the microSD mode scanning feature; I hope this information helps other DS-940DW owners find value with it as well.

I ordered a different model at first and it did not come with the micro sd card feature. Brother does not advertise well and their instructions are terrible. I look at a lot of websites to see what people who have bought the product are saying. The instruction did not say to fast press the on/off button to turn it on and did not say you have to press and hold the on/off button for 6 seconds and then let go to turn it off. Almost returned it because the lights were flashing and slow to respond when turning on and off. After figuring out that on and off procedure, the scanner worked flawlessly. I like the double sided scan feature and you do not need a computer if you are saving to the SD card. I bought this brand and model because on a government computer, you cannot just hook up any hardware and put in any software without getting approval from the IT department which usually do not allow anything they do not know about. You would think being part of the largest organization in the State that you would have the best of everything. The exact opposite is true. I have antique hardware and am using Microsoft 2013 which was a recent upgrade from Microsoft 2003. The lazerjet printer looks like it belongs in a museum. This scanner solved my problem. It plugs in and becomes an external drive. It scans 14 pages in 40 seconds or less. It can scan in the jpeg or pdf format. It takes up very little space on your desk and is very quiet. You can scan and save through Wi Fi, SD card, or USB cable. The utilities software is alright, not the greatest and like all other brands, they allow you a sample of the PDF software but want you to buy the full version. They make like it comes with the full version of the software but then it begs you to buy it. The only thing is that you cannot scan a page in a book. The page you are scanning has to pass through the scanner, unlike a scanner bed which will allow you to scan an open book. Not unless you rip out the page and pass it through the scanner. I use this scanner everyday at work and it is holding up very well. Legal documents, maps, timesheets, can be scanned and sent through your computer saving you a trip from your remote office to your main office saving you time, money, and gas. Especially with the price of gas today, you will be happy you purchased this scanner. Do not forget to buy the hard case to protect your scanner. I take my scanner where ever I go.

For scanning documents from customers in Cafés or their homes - it's SUPERB. Scanning via cable gives you the most control of quality via their software Port / however it does NOT allow for Duplex (*double sided in one pass ) --- for Duplex scanning- use the WiFi option . I'm using the app on my phone 📱 to connect to the scanner. You CAN connect to scanner .... you set up as if the network IS the scanner ip .... also - the scanner WiFi defaults to "metered WiFi " on your phone. - switch it over to UN-metered so it doesn't time out - and connects easier. You can turn on or off the function of DUPLEX or choose color/ b&w / jpg or pdf. From there - I email the doc to me - you can also upload to cloud apps on your phone /// the mini SD card slot - didn't work on mine. Because scanner could not pick up the memory card. It acted as if no card was inserted.

This will not charge the battery if the included cable is plugged into a wall charger with a USB port, it will only charge the battery if it is plugged into a USB port on a computer. The included software is huge, it is almost 500mb and that does not include the PDF, OCR or business card add-ons. In comparison, a portable Canon R10 scanner has the scanner software embedded into it and it shows up when it is plugged in ("Capture On Touch lite"). It also seems to be more sturdy. It was not particularly easy to set up the wireless part, and I have yet to test whether or not it will connect to the laptop directly, away from the home wifi network. It will scan to my phone wirelessly. The app is large like the PC software. Scan settings can't be changed on Android and it appears to output a JPG. I purchased it because it is wireless and I do not want to be constantly plugging into the laptop USB port. It may also can a longer document, like 2 letter pages taped together. Being able to scan to an Android phone/tablet is also a plus. Edited to add after some actual use: It does not take long for the battery indicator to move from solid green (fully charged) to orange (not fully charged). There is no way to know what the battery state of charge actually is. It will connect directly to the laptop, but it will not set up this way if initial setup is done while the laptop is connected to a known WiFi network. I have had to input the device WiFi password each time when connecting directly, the laptop will not remember it when connecting directly, for some reason. In comparison, the laptop will connect to the phone hotspot without issue My laptop will not connect to this scanner while connected to another WiFi network- a phone hotspot for example. I have to disconnect from the phone in order for the scanner to connect. This may be a WiFi/ older laptop issue. It has a proprietary USB/charging cable. Better bring it along in case the battery dies. Looks like a USB 3.0 Micro B. I do not know if a USB 2.0 Micro B will plug into it and either charge or transfer data. It does connect to my phone and tablet through the iPrint and Scan app, and I can save the file to the phone. It works and the scans are good. The lack of a more exact battery indicator (on the device or through software) and the odd USB cable are certainly misses.