Brother Printer Not Showing Up… [How To Fix]

Is your Brother printer not showing up and you don’t know how to fix it? Well, don’t you worry because this article will guide you on how to fix this problem.

Table of Contents

Brother Printer Not Showing Up On Computer [Quick Fix]

If your Brother Printer won’t show up on your computer, then the most likely reason is that it isn’t installed or it wasn’t properly installed. This is also the same reason your Brother printer is not showing up in devices and printers.

Therefore to fix this problem, you will have to install the printer to fix the issue of your Brother Printer not showing up on pc.

To install your Brother Printer on your computer, simply follow the steps in this article. Also, if your Brother Printer is not showing up on mac, then you can also find the solution in the linked article above.

Furthermore, if your Brother Printer is not showing up on Windows 10, proper installation will fix the problem.

Brother Printer Not Showing Up As Scanner [Reasons]

If your Brother Printer is not showing up as a scanner, then it might be due to the following:

i. The connection is wrong.

ii. The scanner driver is not installed.

iii. Your firewall settings may be preventing it from showing up.

We have written an extensive article that will guide you on how to solve these issues. Just click here to read it.

Brother Printer Does Not Show Up On Network [How to Fix]

If your Brother Printer is not showing up on your network, then do the following to fix the problem:

1. Confirm that All Network Devices are Properly Connected

Follow the items below to confirm that all network devices are properly connected to fix the issue of your wireless Brother Printer not showing up on your network:

i. Power Off and Power on your Brother Printer

Carrying out this step will help to reset the printer’s inbuilt network card. When the network card is reset, the initial connections which were lost would be reestablished. This, in turn, will cause your Brother Printer to show up on your network.

ii. Confirm that the Network Interface of your Brother Machine is Enabled

Confirm that the network interface is enabled. If it is disabled, then you need to enable it to reset the printer’s network card.

How to Enable the Network Interface of Brother Printer

The steps below will guide you on how to enable the network interface of your Brother Printer:

Step 1: Press “Menu” or “Settings”. (Some models might skip this step).

Step 2: Select “All Settings”. (Some models might skip this step).

Step 3: Use the navigation Up and Down keys till you get to “Network”.

Step 4: Press “Network”.

Step 5:  Use the navigation Up and Down keys till you get to “WLAN” or “Wired LAN” depending on your model.

Step 6: Select “WLAN” or “Wired LAN”.

Step 7: Use the navigation Up and Down keys till you get to “WLAN Enable” or “Wired Enable”.

Step 8: Press “WLAN Enable” or “Wired Enable”.

Step 9: Press “On” to enable the network interface.

Step 10: Press “Stop/Exit” or the “Home” button.

iii. Confirm that the Network Between your Computer and your Access Point is Established

To confirm that the network between your computer and your access point is available and established, simply browse websites on your computer. Or carry out any task that requires the internet such as sending emails.

iv. Confirm that the Network’s Connection Cables and the Network Devices are Properly Connected (For Wired Connections Only)

If you are using a wired connection, the connection cables and the network devices may not be connected correctly. Hence, to confirm this, check your network hub or router’s Link LED to see if it is blinking or not.

– If it is blinking or it is turned on, then it means the connection is functioning properly. Therefore, move to the following item.

– If it is not blinking or turned off, then it means there is a problem with the connection. Therefore, try using another port or connection cable.

v. Turn off Your Switching Hub or Router and then Turn It On

Your switching hub or router may not operate normally if there were several IP address changes or a cable reconnection. Even if the IP address is currently correct these actions could still affect the device and might be responsible for your Brother laser printer not showing up on your network.

To fix this, simply turn off your switching hub or router and then turn it on. This action will cause the device to reset.

vi. Confirm that the Access point’s Security Settings doesn’t have Restrictions (For Wireless Connections Only)

The access point you intend to connect your computer or Brother Printer to might have access restrictions on its security settings. This could prevent any form of connection; therefore, do the following to confirm the settings:

i. Ensure that you configure your Brother Printer and your computer to operate on the same network name (SSID) as your access point or router.

ii. If the Privacy Separator is enabled, you should disable it.

iii. If your access point or router is functioning with MAC address filtering, then you have to configure the MAC computer printer’s address. Not doing this could be responsible for your Brother Printer not showing up on network MAC.

vii. Confirm that All Broadband Access Points and Routers’ Settings are Correct (For those networks with broadband)

You have to configure all broadband access points and broadband routers’ settings to fix the problem. This is necessary especially if you use more than two routers or access points that possess multiple LAN ports that are on the network.

2. Confirm that the Firewall Settings doesn’t have Restrictions

Your firewall software could be preventing a connection from being established. Therefore, you might have to change your computer’s firewall settings to block all incoming connections except the one you allow.

Or you could just disable the firewall temporarily so that the connection can be established. Then once the connection is established, you can then turn on the firewall again.

After doing all of the above to fix the problem of your Brother Printer not showing up on your network, you should try to re-install your printer driver again irrespective of whether the device is found or not.

This fix works for both Windows and Mac Users.

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 is not Responding [Solution]

Brother Printer Drum Light [Issues & Quick Fixes]

Brother Printer Drum Error [Solved]

Computer Won’t Recognize Brother Printer [Quick Fix]

Brother Printer Out of Memory [Solved]

Brother Printer Not Showing Up In Control Center 4 [Solutions]

If your Brother printer is not showing up in Control Center 4, use the following methods to fix the problem:

Clear all twunk, twain and .mtx Files in your Computer’s Temp Folder – Method 1

How to Clear twunk, twain and.mtx files in Computer’s Temp Folder

Follow the steps below to clear twunk, twain, and .mtx files in your computer’s Temp folder:

Step 1: Press the Windows Key + “R” on your keyboard. This will cause the Run program dialog to appear.

Step 2: Type into the search field “%temp%”.

Step 3: Click “OK” or press “Enter” on your keyboard. This action will cause the Temp folder to open up.

Step 4: Find and delete every file in the folder that has “twunk” or “twain” attached to their names as well as those with the “.mtx” extension.

Step 5: After deleting the files, restart the computer.

Step 6: Once your computer restarts, your Printer should show up in the control center.

In the unlikely event that this doesn’t work, try the next method…

Use CCleaner to Clean the Registry of Your Computer – Method 2

How to Use CCleaner to Clean your Computer’s Registry

Follow the steps below to learn how to use CCleaner to clean your computer’s registry:

Step 1: Go to this site to download CCleaner.

Step 2: Once the download is complete, install CCleaner.

Step 3: After installation, open CCleaner.

Step 4: Click on “Registry”.

Step 5: Click the checkboxes to checkmark all the listed items.

Step 6: Click “Scan for Issues”. Wait till the scan is completed.

Step 7: Confirm that all the issues that have been detected are check-marked; if they aren’t do so. Then click “Fix selected issues”.

Step 8: Click “Yes” to generate a registry backup. This will save the backup if CCleaner accidentally deletes important registry entries.

Step 9: A dialog will open, click “Fix All Selected Issues”.

Step 10: Click “Close” to close the dialog after you’ve fixed the issues.

This should get your Brother Printer to show on control center 4.

How to Use CCleaner to Clean your Computer and Registry.

How to Fix Brother Printer Not Showing Up On AirPrint

If your Brother Printer is not showing up in AirPrint, do the following to fix the problem:

1. Verify that your Apple Device Settings are Correct

If your Brother printer does not show up on iPhone or iPad, then you need to check if:

i. The Airplane Mode is on

If your device is on airplane mode, the airplane icon will be seen in your device’s status bar. Hence, you need to turn off airplane mode to get your device connected.

ii. The Wi-Fi is off

Your Brother Printer not showing up on AirPrint could be because your Wi-Fi is turned off. Therefore, to fix it, simply turn on the Wi-Fi.

2. Verify that your Brother Printer has an Established Connection to the Wireless Network

Establish a connection between your Brother Printer and your wireless network by doing the following:

i. Turn off the printer.

ii. Wait for some seconds before turning it again.

iii. Allow the printer to join your wireless network. Wait for about three minutes.

iv. If it connects to a network, verify that it is the same one your iPhone or iPad is connected to.

Do the following to verify if your Brother Printer and Apple device are on the same wireless Network:

i. Print out your printer’s Network Configuration Report.

Consult your Brother Printer manual to find out how to do so.

ii. After printing the report, look for the SSID on the report. This network name is the one your printer is currently connected to.

iii. On your Apple device tap the icon for settings and verify that the Wi-Fi is turned on.

iv. Tap “Wi-Fi”. After that, verify that the device’s SSID is the one your printer is on by checking the report you got earlier.

If it is not the same as that of your Apple device, then do the next step…

3. Verify that the Connection and Settings of your Router or Access Point are Correct

If your Brother Printer is not showing up on iPhone, then you need to verify that your router/access point’s connection and settings are correct by doing the following:

i. If your Brother Printer and Apple device aren’t on the same network, then you need to reconfigure the network connection.

Avoid the use of multiple wireless networks as this might cause either your printer or your Apple device to connect to another network without your knowledge.

ii. Turn off your router or access point’s settings that could block the connection. For example, you might have to turn off Privacy Separator and MAC computer address filtering functions.

If you don’t know the security function’s configuration, then we recommend that you consult your router manual or contact your wireless network administrator.

iii. Confirm that your router supports Bonjour communication. If the setting of the router is set to restrict or prevent Bonjour communication, then it might be the reason your Brother printer is not showing up on your iPad.

You should consult your router’s manual to confirm if the device supports Bonjour and how to change the setting if it does.

If your Brother Printer is still not showing up on AirPrint after all the above, then you should check if it can connect and print from another network computer. If it prints then you should contact Apple for further support.

Brother Printer Ink Not Showing Up On Paper [Reasons]

If your Brother Printer ink is not showing up on paper, it could be due to several reasons such as:

i. The ink cartridge’s level is low

ii. Your Brother Printer is not detecting the ink.

iii. Use of third-party ink.

iv. Blocked Nozzles or Print Head.

v. Use of wrong paper size.

vi. The driver setting of your Brother Printer is incorrect.

vii. The driver has been corrupted.

viii. Printer hardware problem.

To solve these issues, we recommend that you read this article. It has the solutions to all the problems we just listed.