Brother Printers Troubleshooting | FAQs & Troubleshooting

Brother printer comes up with various unique features as well as advanced technology. Moreover, due to its user-friendly interface, most of the users prefer the device. But there often comes minor technical difficulties that often trouble the users. 

Some of the most common Brother printer errors include printer going to offline state, printer driver error, certain internal glitches, printer connection issues, printer not responding, printer paper jam, etc. 

If you ever experience any of these issues with your Brother device, then check out the undermentioned Brother printers troubleshooting measures to get rid of them. 

Troubleshooting Measures to the Common Brother Printer Errors

Here are the common troubleshooting measures that can be implemented for most of the Brother printer errors. Apply these measures and resolve the error on your own.

Method 1: Uninstall the Third-party Security Software

Third-party software tends to create various technical complications within the device. Therefore, if you have third-party security software installed on your device, then it can prevent the Brother printer from functioning properly. 

To avoid such occasions, it is necessary that you uninstall that third-party security software. 

  • Proceed to tap on the “Start” icon to initiate the menu. Head over to the “Settings” and look for the “Apps and Features” icon.
  • After accessing the “Apps and Features” section, a list will appear where all the installed devices and drivers are enlisted. 
  • From the appeared menu, proceed to choose the application that belongs to the third-party source.
  • Proceed to tap on it and hit the “Uninstall” icon. Confirm your action by tapping on the “Yes” button.

Once the process is over, reboot the device to allow the new changes to take effect. 

Method 2: Run the Printer Troubleshooter

The Printer Troubleshooter is a built-in utility that is offered by the Windows Operating System. In order to run this utility, you can follow the instructions that are mentioned in the below section. 

  • Press the Windows logo key along with the I. This will initiate the “Settings” window.
  • After you access the Settings window, scroll down to locate the “Update and Security”.
  • Under this section, go to the left menu and hit the “Troubleshoot” icon.
  • Initiate the “Printer” menu and tap on the “Run the Troubleshooter” option.

As soon as you execute this instruction, the Printer Troubleshooter begins to scan the entire device in order to recognize the internal error. 

Once the troubleshooter determines the problem, it will start to repair them. Once done, it will show a result that comes up on the screen.

Method 3: Be sure that the Printer is Set to Default Device

If the Brother printer is not set as the default device, then the occurrence of such error is quite common. Therefore, follow the instructions:

  • Go to the Cortana search box and write “Default Printer” inside it. Hit the “Change Default Printer” icon in order to initiate the menu.
  • This window involves “Let Windows manage my default printer” option. You can uncheck the option if required.
  • Invoke the “Control Panel” and initiate the “Devices and Printers” section.
  • Proceed to tap on the “Brother printer” and be sure that the “Set as Default Printer” button is checked.
  • Save the action by clicking on the “Yes” button twice. 

Method 4: Configure the Brother Printer

Most of the users get stuck with the Brother printer errors due to incorrect configuration. Therefore, it is mandatory to configure the printer in the correct manner. 

In order to proceed with this task, follow the undermentioned steps:

Step 1 

Initiate the ‘Control Panel” window and head over to the “Device and Printers”: After accessing this section, make an attempt to find out the Brother printer from the available menu list. Once the Brother printer is located, right tap on it and hit the “Properties” button.

Step 2 

Once the “Printer Properties” window appears on the display screen, click on the “Port” tab and check whether the accurate port is chosen. If not then, select the right “Port” from the appeared menu and hit the “Apply” button.

After making these adjustments, restart the device and review whether the Brother printer problems get removed.

Method 5: Update the Printer Driver

Running an outdated version of the printer driver for a long time can create severe problems. Moreover, this can hamper the printer performance as well as cause poor printing outputs. In fact, due to this reason, the printer fails to connect to the computer wirelessly. 

In order to get rid of this situation, it is recommended to update the printer driver to its latest version. For performing this task, you need to apply the below-cited instructions properly.

  • Press the combination of the Windows logo and R key to invoke the Run window. Inside the dialogue box, write the following command and hit the Enter button. “Devmgmt.msc”. From the top search result, choose the “Device Manager” and invoke the window.
  • Here, you will find all the drivers that are installed on your device. Proceed to tap on the Printer Driver and select the option “Search automatically for updated driver software”. 
  • Once the latest printer driver version appears on the screen, you will be prompted to confirm. Simply hit the “Update Driver” button and follow the on-screen instructions. 
  • Wait unless the driver installation process gets over. When done, reboot the device in order to check whether the “Brother printers troubleshooting wireless” error message still pops up on the screen or not.

Method 6: Disable the Windows Firewall

Disabling the Windows firewall can be a reliable way that can provide you with the desired result. In order to do the task, carry out the undermentioned steps.

  • Go to the “Control Panel” window and try to locate the “System and Security link”.
  • Once the link is located, tap on it and scroll through the available options. 
  • Now, tap on the “Windows Firewall” and choose the “Turn Windows Firewall on or off” option that is located on the left side of the screen.
  • Thereafter, hit the bubble icon next to the “Turn Off Windows Firewall”.
  • Press the “Apply” button as well as the “Yes” button to save the changes.

After disabling the Firewall on the Windows-based device, review whether the Brother printer error has been removed or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How to Override a Brother Ink Cartridge?

Power on the Brother device and take out the top printer lid. Locate the toner access door and open the door. Head over to the “Printer access Reset Menu” and hit the “Clear/Back” icon. 

Scroll through the printer’s toner cartridge reset options by using the arrow keys. Afterwards, push the “1” button to reset the ink cartridges. Further, hit the “Clear/Back” button in order to override the Brother ink cartridge.

  • How to Reset a Brother Printer?

Navigate to the “Initial Setup” page by utilizing the Up or Down arrow key and hit the “OK” button. Afterwards, go to the “Reset” section and hit the “Factory Reset” icon by using the Up or Down arrow key. In the next step, tap on the “Restart” button by using the Up arrow key.

  • How to Get Back a Printer Online?

Proceed to tap on the “Start” icon that is present on the button left of the screen. Now, head over to the “Control Panel” and initiate the “Devices and Printers” menu. In the next screen, try to tap on your Printer from the available printer list and choose the option stated: “See What’s Printing”. From the appeared menu, stick to the remaining instructions in order to get back the printer online. 

  • How to Clear Print Queue?

Initiate the “Start” menu and enter “Command” inside the search field. From the result-oriented window, select “Command Prompt” and hit the “Run as Administrator” icon. This will invoke the Command Prompt with administrator privileges. 

Under the Command Prompt, write “net stop spooler” and hit the Enter button. Next, type “del%systemroot%\System32\spool\printers\* /Q” inside the Command Prompt.  

Afterwards, write the following command inside the similar Command Prompt window: “net start spooler”. Once the command is successfully executed, the print queue should be cleared automatically.