HP Laserjet Enterprise M455dn Review: Conditional Buy (7.8/10)
A firmware update turned one buyer’s “built into the firmware” AirPrint purchase into a return-window emergency. That single story sits alongside a strong 4.4/5 average rating (10 reviews) and repeated praise for output quality—making the HP Laserjet Enterprise M455dn Desktop Laser Printer feel less like a simple “good or bad” product and more like a printer that’s brilliant at its core job, but risky if your workflow depends on specific network behaviors. Verdict: Conditional buy — 7.8/10.
Quick Verdict
The HP Laserjet Enterprise M455dn Desktop Laser Printer is a Conditional Yes: buy it for color quality, speed, and office-grade output; think twice if iOS AirPrint reliability (especially post-firmware-update) is mission-critical.
| What stands out | What users liked (source) | What users disliked (source) |
|---|---|---|
| Print quality | Best Buy reviewer gt cha said: “the quality of the print is excellent.” (Best Buy) |
Best Buy reviewer islandrogue said: “need reliable airprint and support? look elsewhere.” (Best Buy) |
| Speed | Best Buy reviewer gt cha said: “The speed of the print jobs is also very good.” (Best Buy) |
Best Buy reviewer islandrogue said AirPrint worked “only if the printer was actually on and not in standby.” (Best Buy) |
| Home-office usability | Best Buy reviewer nodak said it “installed seamlessly on our windows 10 machine.” (Best Buy) |
A SlonRekomenduet owner noted: “каждую 2-3 печать возникают ошибки подключения” (“every 2–3 prints connection errors occur”). (SlonRekomenduet) |
| Noise/footprint | Best Buy reviewer islandrogue said it’s “not too loud,” with a “fairly small footprint.” (Best Buy) |
Best Buy reviewer jeffrey said: “larger than i thought it would be.” (Best Buy) |
Claims vs Reality
HP markets the HP Laserjet Enterprise M455dn Desktop Laser Printer as an “entry-level enterprise-class” model with strong security and modern mobile printing options (HP official pages list Apple AirPrint, Mopria, and other mobile printing capability). Digging deeper into user reports, the printer’s core printing experience aligns with those claims—until workflow depends on the printer behaving predictably across sleep states or firmware updates.
Claim #1: Mobile printing (AirPrint) is built-in and dependable.
On paper, Apple AirPrint is presented as part of the feature set on HP’s official product listings and specs pages. In lived experience, Best Buy reviewer islandrogue framed AirPrint as a key buying reason: “this model… was well reviewed and had airprint built into the firmware.” (Best Buy) Initially, they got what they expected: “Airprint worked but only if the printer was actually on and not in standby.” (Best Buy) For a household where “about 50% of our printing needs are from iOS devices,” that limitation already meant extra friction.
The bigger gap emerged after a firmware update. The same reviewer wrote: “once the laser printer firmware was updated, airprint was no longer functional!” (Best Buy) That’s not a minor inconvenience for iOS-heavy users—it changes the printer from “enterprise laser output with mobile printing” into “laser only, mobile unreliable,” at least in that specific environment. They also described support interactions as unhelpful: “The agent could give me no timeline for a fix and suggested i just return the printer.” (Best Buy)
Claim #2: Easy to use, simple to manage.
HP emphasizes manageability and tools like FutureSmart and Web Jetadmin on its store/official pages. Yet one recurring pattern in owner feedback is that “management” can be the pain point rather than the perk. A SlonRekomenduet owner complained about software and web UI responsiveness: “отвратительный софт, очень медленный веб-сервер” (“awful software, very slow web server”). (SlonRekomenduet) That kind of complaint tends to land hardest on small offices and home-office users who don’t have an IT admin dedicated to printer care.
There’s also a firmware-related story outside of AirPrint: the same SlonRekomenduet page includes an owner report that after updating firmware, the printer “не печатал вообще ничего… просто игнорировал задачи” (“didn’t print anything at all… just ignored print jobs”) until a factory reset. (SlonRekomenduet) While that’s a single report in the provided data, it reinforces the theme: firmware changes can be high-impact.
Claim #3: Enterprise-ready performance and output.
Here, user feedback largely matches the positioning. Best Buy reviewer gt cha praised both output and throughput: “the quality of the print is excellent… The speed of the print jobs is also very good.” (Best Buy) Another reviewer, carl dameron, echoed that straightforwardly: “It’s a great printer. It has high quality and fast speed.” (Best Buy) Even the critical AirPrint review still conceded the fundamentals: “the printer prints fine,” and called the output “nice for the lowest tier enterprise hp laser printer.” (Best Buy)
Cross-Platform Consensus
The HP Laserjet Enterprise M455dn Desktop Laser Printer gets talked about like a serious work tool rather than a casual home gadget. A recurring pattern emerged across platforms: people who prioritize print output and speed feel validated, while people who prioritize frictionless connectivity (especially iOS/AirPrint behavior) can end up frustrated—sometimes intensely so.
Universally Praised
Print quality is the clearest consensus point. Best Buy reviewer gt cha didn’t hedge: “the quality of the print is excellent,” comparing it favorably to prior printers and saying it reminded them of an older high-quality Oki model that drew compliments. (Best Buy) For home-office professionals printing presentations, client-facing drafts, or color-heavy documents, that kind of “looks professional” outcome is exactly why they pay for an enterprise-class color laser.
Other Best Buy buyers reinforced the same idea with simpler language. Reviewer debi doodles called it “great printer,” adding: “Good quality for both black and white, and color copies.” (Best Buy) Reviewer matt framed the benefit for multi-user environments: “handles multiple print jobs from multiple users with ease.” (Best Buy) That matters most in small teams (or busy households) where the printer needs to stay consistent when several devices are hitting it at once.
Speed also lands as a practical win rather than a spec-sheet brag. Reviewer gt cha emphasized that “The speed of the print jobs is also very good,” and connected it to efficiency: “high quality… and something that works efficiently.” (Best Buy) Even when critical of other aspects, islandrogue still acknowledged the core output: “the printer prints fine… [and] is not too loud.” (Best Buy) In other words, if you mostly print from a PC over Ethernet/LAN, the “enterprise printer” story tends to hold up.
Common Complaints
Digging deeper into negative feedback, network behavior and software experience show up as the most disruptive issues. On Best Buy, islandrogue describes two separate pain points that compound: first, AirPrint not waking from sleep (“worked but only if the printer was actually on and not in standby”), and second, a firmware update that “Airprint was no longer functional!” (Best Buy) For iOS-centric households, that’s not a minor edge case—it undermines a primary purchase reason.
Support experience becomes part of the complaint narrative too. The same reviewer wrote: “The agent could give me no timeline for a fix and suggested i just return the printer… they refused to provide any of the past firmware.” (Best Buy) Whether or not others will hit the same issue, it illustrates the kind of risk buyers perceive when a feature is advertised but behavior changes after an update.
From SlonRekomenduet, owners add a different angle: not mobile printing, but stability and admin interface performance. One owner reported: “каждую 2-3 печать возникают ошибки подключения” (“every 2–3 prints connection errors occur”). (SlonRekomenduet) Another wrote that after a firmware update it “не печатал вообще ничего… пока не сделал factory reset” (“printed nothing… until a factory reset”). (SlonRekomenduet) These stories matter most for small offices that don’t have time for troubleshooting between print jobs.
Divisive Features
Size and physical presence split opinions. The product is described by one reviewer as having a “fairly small footprint,” (Best Buy, islandrogue) yet another buyer said it was “larger than i thought it would be.” (Best Buy, jeffrey) That contradiction likely reflects expectations: buyers upgrading from compact home inkjets may find it big, while buyers coming from older office lasers may find it manageable.
Connectivity expectations are similarly split. Some buyers are happy with “installed seamlessly” PC setups—nodak said it “installed seamlessly on our windows 10 machine.” (Best Buy) Meanwhile, iOS-centric users can interpret “AirPrint included” as “works like an AirPrint inkjet that wakes from sleep,” and islandrogue explicitly contrasted those behaviors: the inkjet “would wake from sleep to print from iOS,” but this model did not. (Best Buy)
Trust & Reliability
The strongest trust signals in the provided data come from verified-purchase style retailer feedback—particularly Best Buy’s rating summary (“4.4 out of 5 stars with 10 reviews”) and repeated references to print quality being a top “pro mentioned.” (Best Buy) That points to a base level of satisfaction among people who bought it through mainstream channels and used it for real work.
At the same time, digging deeper into user reports suggests reliability risk concentrates around firmware and network behaviors rather than mechanical print quality. Best Buy reviewer islandrogue described a sharp change after updating firmware: “once the laser printer firmware was updated, airprint was no longer functional!” (Best Buy) On SlonRekomenduet, an owner described a post-update scenario where it “ignored print jobs” until factory reset. (SlonRekomenduet) For long-term ownership, these are the stories that can make teams cautious about “update immediately” prompts.
Alternatives
Only a few competitors are explicitly mentioned in the provided data, mostly through review articles. In the Multipowers review, the author compared the HP Laserjet Enterprise M455dn Desktop Laser Printer against “Brother HL-L8360CDW” and “Canon Color imageCLASS MF644CDW,” saying the Brother offers wireless and larger paper capacity, while Canon adds scanning/copying as a better multifunction choice. (Multipowers.com) That same piece framed HP’s advantage as security and print quality, but noted it “falls behind slightly in versatility and connectivity.” (Multipowers.com)
For buyers who need wireless printing out of the box, those alternatives are positioned (in that source) as more connectivity-forward. For buyers who only need print-only output and want enterprise-oriented security features, the HP is portrayed as the better fit. (Multipowers.com)
Price & Value
Pricing in the provided data varies by channel, and the value story often depends on toner economics and up-front bundles. On Best Buy, the listed price shown is $659.99. (Best Buy) On eBay, a listing from the official HP store shows $539.00 (noting “save $120”). (eBay) That spread alone makes “where you buy” part of the value equation.
A recurring value argument from an actual buyer centers on included consumables. Best Buy reviewer gt cha said they chose it because “when i factored in the cost of the toner, it was the cheapest option,” explaining: “this printer contains the full toners, not the starter toners… it turned out to be cheaper overall.” (Best Buy) For budget-conscious small offices that print enough to burn through starter cartridges quickly, that’s a concrete reason the higher purchase price can still pencil out.
Resale and market pricing signals also show the model available as “certified refurbished” on eBay (Official HP store listing) at a discount compared to list pricing. (eBay) For buyers comfortable with refurbished hardware, that can shift the value equation—though none of the provided user quotes directly address refurbished reliability.
FAQ
Q: Does the HP Laserjet Enterprise M455dn support AirPrint reliably?
A: It supports AirPrint on paper, and one Best Buy buyer said “Airprint worked but only if the printer was actually on and not in standby.” After a firmware update, that same reviewer reported: “airprint was no longer functional!” (Best Buy) For iOS-heavy homes, this is a key risk.
Q: Is print quality actually “enterprise-level,” or is that marketing?
A: Buyer feedback strongly backs the print quality claim. Best Buy reviewer gt cha said “the quality of the print is excellent,” and debi doodles wrote it has “good quality for both black and white, and color copies.” (Best Buy) Even a critical reviewer said initial output was “nice.” (Best Buy)
Q: Is it loud or office-friendly?
A: Several buyers describe it as manageable for shared spaces. Best Buy reviewer islandrogue said it’s “not too loud,” and a SlonRekomenduet owner called it “очень тихий” (“very quiet”), though they also noted it can make some noise while printing. (Best Buy; SlonRekomenduet)
Q: Is setup straightforward for Windows and home offices?
A: Some owners found it easy. Best Buy reviewer nodak said it “installed seamlessly on our windows 10 machine,” and tnlm described it as “easy set up and very reliable.” (Best Buy) Others, especially those focused on network/mobile printing, reported more friction. (Best Buy)
Q: Should you update the firmware right away?
A: User stories conflict. Best Buy reviewer islandrogue updated firmware hoping to improve AirPrint, but reported it “was no longer functional” afterward and couldn’t roll back. A SlonRekomenduet owner reported the printer stopped printing until a factory reset after an update. (Best Buy; SlonRekomenduet)
Final Verdict
Buy the HP Laserjet Enterprise M455dn Desktop Laser Printer if you’re a small office or home-office user who cares most about “excellent” color output and fast, efficient print jobs—especially printing from Windows PCs or a LAN setup. Avoid it if your workflow depends on the printer waking reliably for iOS AirPrint, or if you can’t tolerate firmware-update surprises.
Pro tip from the community: Best Buy reviewer gt cha advised shoppers to “factor [toner costs] in,” noting this model “contains the full toners, not the starter toners,” which changed the total cost comparison in its favor. (Best Buy)
