“Why is my Brother printer not responding?” We will answer this question and also give practical solutions to all the reasons for this printer problem.
Table of Contents
Why is My Brother Printer Not Responding to My Computer? [Reasons & Solutions]
The following are the reasons why your Brother printer is not responding to your computer:
1. The USB Connection is not Secured
This problem is applicable if your printer is connected to your computer with a USB cable. This should be the first thing to consider when your Brother printer is not responding to a print command if you are using a USB connection.
To troubleshoot this problem, you would have to check the connection. Disconnect both ends of the USB from the computer and the printer and then reconnect it. Test the printer to see if it is now responding, if it is, then the problem has been solved. If it isn’t, go to the next solution.
2. The USB Cable is Defective
If disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable does not solve the problem, then the cable may be defective. Get a new cable and connect it. Test the printer to see if the problem has been solved.
Check out this printer USB cable below…
3. The USB Port is Faulty
If the problem persists, then the USB port on the computer or printer may be bad. Disconnect the cable from both the computer and the printer. Then, reconnect the cable to the machines, but this time, put the cable in different ports. This should solve the issue if a bad port was the reason for your Brother printer not responding error.
4. Outdated USB Driver
If your Brother printer still isn’t responding, then you may have an outdated USB driver. You can solve this problem by simply updating the USB driver.
How to Update Brother Printer USB Driver
You can update your Brother Printer USB driver on your system’s operating system with the following steps:
Windows
Step 1: Search for and open your computer’s device manager.
Step 2: Select “Universal Serial Bus Controller” from the options listed by double-clicking it.
Step 3: Now select your USB Driver by right-clicking on it. Then, click on “Update Driver”.
Step 4: Finally, choose “Search automatically for updated driver software”. Your system will search and automatically update the USB driver.
Mac
Step 1: Click on the Apple menu and then select “Software Update”.
Step 2: If your USB driver is outdated, there will be a prompt to update the driver. Select the options to install the driver.
Test run the printer.
If your Brother printer is not responding on Macbook, then this should solve it. If it doesn’t try the next solution.
5. Wi-Fi is not Connected
If your Brother wireless printer is not responding, then it may be a Wi-Fi problem. In this case, you need to check your Wi-Fi setting to fix the problem.
Most of the time, all you need to do to fix your Brother printer not responding over Wi-Fi issues is to disconnect the Wi-Fi from your printer. Wait for a few seconds and then reconnect the Wi-Fi to the machine.
If you have difficulty securing the connection, then you need to read this article to learn how to properly set up your Brother printer Wi-Fi.
6. Your PC isn’t Optimized
Your PC not being optimized could be the reason your printer still won’t respond.
How To Optimize your PC
You need to optimize your PC with the steps below:
Step 1: Use any good antivirus software to properly scan the PC.
Step 2: Cache, Temp files, and other clutter should appear, clean them all.
Step 3: Organize your system files by running an SFC scan.
Step 4: Ensure your primary memory is free so that the command will be properly processed.
You may check out this instructional video on how to optimize your PC.
7. The Printer Driver has Issues
In this case, you simply need to uninstall then reinstall your Brother printer’s driver on your PC to solve the problem.
How to Uninstall and Reinstall Brother Printer Driver
Do the following steps to uninstall and reinstall your Brother printer driver on your PC:
Windows
Step 1: Click on your “Start” button and then from “All apps”, select “Brother Utilities”.
Step 2: A pulldown list will appear, select your Brother printer model from this list.
Step 3: Next, from the navigation bar at the left, click on “Tools”, then click on “Uninstall”. If you are using a USB connection, then ensure that your PC and Brother printer is properly connected and that the printer is on.
Step 4: A dialogue box with instructions on how to complete the uninstall process will come up. Follow the instructions and then restart the PC after the drivers have been uninstalled. If your printer is connected to the PC via USB, then unplug the USB from the printer after the driver has been uninstalled.
Step 5: To reinstall the driver, go to the download section of the Brother official site and download the most current Driver and Software Package you can find for your model.
Mac
Step 1: Disconnect your UBS cable from the mac if you are using a USB connection.
Step 2: Log in to the system as an Administrator.
Step 3: From your Apple Menu, choose “System Preferences”.
Step 4: Next, click on the Print & Scan, Printer & Scanners, or Print & Fax icon.
Step 5: Choose your Brother printer from the listed machines. Then, click on the minus (-) button. Repeat this process for every installed Brother printer.
Step 6: Next, open the “Finder” bar, click on “Go”, then computer, then Macintosh HD, then Library, then Printers, and finally Brother. A Brother folder will come up, drag it to the trash bin.
Step 7: Empty your trash bin, and then reboot the system.
Step 8: To reinstall the driver, go to the download section of the Brother official site and download the most current Driver and Software Package you can find for your model.
All the solutions discussed will work for the following problems: Brother dcp printer not responding, Brother hl-3170cdw printer not responding, Brother MFC printer not responding, Brother MFC-9130cw printer not responding, Brother MFC-9330cdw printer not responding, and Brother hl 2270dw printer is not responding
To read more awesome articles, click any of the links below…
Brother Printer is not Printing [Reasons and Solutions]
Brother Printer Not Working [How to Fix]
Brother Printer Drum Light [Issues & Quick Fixes]
Brother Printer Drum Error [Solved]
Computer Won’t Recognize Brother Printer [Quick Fix]
How to Fix Brother Printer Touch Screen Not Responding
If your Brother Printer touch screen is not responding, do the steps below to fix this problem:
Step 1: Disconnect the printer’s power cord, then connect it back after at least 10 seconds.
Step 2: Once the printer comes back on, press different options on the screen to see if your touch screen is now responding.
Step 3: If your printer problem persists, then you may need to calibrate your touch screen. To do this, you will need a stylus. If you do not have a stylus, then a wooden or plastic object or even a pencil can be used. However, ensure that the object you use has a dull point.
If the object has a sharp point, it may end up scratching or damaging the screen.
How to Calibrate your Brother Printer Touch Screen
Do the following to calibrate your Brother printer’s touch screen:
i. Press FAX so that the LEDs get displayed on your touch panel.
ii. Press the home key and hold on to it for some seconds until the touch panel displays Serial #, Rom version, and Pages printed.
Some Brother printer’s LED may go off, do not get apprehensive when this happens. Simply keep pressing the key for the message to be displayed.
iii. You will find a blank rectangle below “3. Print Page” press and then hold this rectangle for 2 seconds.
iv. An alphabetical machine function or numerical chart will be displayed on the screen.
v. Press “*, 0, and #” on the touch panel’s number keys. “0 Maintenance” will be displayed on the LCD’s top left.
vi. Press 7 then 8. The touch panel will then display five white dots. The dots will be numbered 1 to 5.
vii. Use the tool you decided on to gently press the dot numbered 1. Ensure you don’t press the dot too hard. Also, ensure you press only the dot.
viii. If you press the numbered dot correctly, the dot and the number will disappear. Do the step for the remaining numbers. Ensure you do this process numerically.
ix. Once you have pressed all the dots, an “Error” or “OK” message will be displayed.
If “OK” is displayed, the “Maintenance” screen will come back automatically after a few seconds, and then the home screen will come up.
If the “Error” message is displayed then you will need to redo the procedure. The LCD will go back to the numbered dots automatically. Do the procedure properly this time to make sure you get the “OK” message afterward.
Note: If a minute passes without you pressing any dot, the LCD will automatically go into standby mode. When this happens, you will have to start from the beginning of the calibration process.
If you keep getting an “Error” message, then you need to reach Brother Customer Care for further assistance.
Step 4: You have completed the calibration process if you get the “OK” message. In this case, press different options on the screen to see if the screen touch is now responding. If it is, then the problem has been solved.
If the problem persists, then you may either contact Brother Support for further assistance, or you may get a new printer if you have had the current one for a while.
Check out this Brother MFCJ825DW printer below…
Brother Printer Not Responding to Ping [Why & Solutions]
Your Brother printer will not respond to ping if your print’s configuration is wrong. When you use the PING command, it will send TCP/IP information to your device. Once your device gets this data, it will send a reply; this will only happen if your print’s configuration is correct.
If it isn’t, then the configuration is incorrect. In this case, you can check the following to troubleshoot the problem:
i. IP Address
You will have this problem if the specified IP address does not match that of your device. Therefore, check the specified address and that of your device and ensure they match.
ii. Subnet Mask
Check the subnet mask you have specified and ensure it matches that of your device.
iii. Try a Power Cycle
If the problem persists despite the IP address and subnet mask being correct, then you may need to power cycle the device. This means you need to switch your device off then turn it back on.
