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Brother printers are designed to provide reliable printing for home, office, and everyday business use. However, a Brother printer may sometimes stop printing because of connection problems, an empty ink or toner supply, paper issues, incorrect printer settings, outdated drivers, or a stuck print queue. A printer can also appear connected to the computer while still being unable to process a print job.
If your Brother printer is not printing, you can usually identify the problem by checking the printer's physical condition, connection, computer settings, and software. Brother's troubleshooting guidance recommends checking the printer's power and error status, connection, default printer selection, print queue, and driver settings.
Check the Brother Printer Power and Status
Start by checking whether the Brother printer is powered on. Make sure the power cable is securely connected and the printer responds when you press a button or wake it from sleep mode.
Look at the printer display or indicator lights for an error message. A paper jam, empty ink or toner supply, cover-open condition, or another printer error can prevent printing.
Clear any error shown on the printer before trying to print again. Brother specifically recommends resolving displayed errors before continuing with other printing troubleshooting steps.
Check the Paper and Ink or Toner
Make sure the paper tray contains the correct paper and that the sheets are loaded properly. Paper that is curled, stuck together, or incorrectly positioned can prevent the printer from feeding the page.
For an inkjet Brother printer, check the ink levels and make sure the cartridges are installed correctly. For a laser printer, check the toner supply and make sure the toner cartridge and drum assembly are installed properly.
If the printer reports that ink or toner is empty, replace the appropriate supply before attempting another print job.
Check the Printer Connection
A connection problem is one of the common reasons a Brother printer may not print.
If you use a USB connection, make sure the cable is securely connected to both the printer and computer. Brother recommends connecting the printer directly to the computer rather than through a USB hub when troubleshooting USB printing problems.
If your Brother printer uses WiFi, confirm that the printer is connected to the correct wireless network. Your computer should also be connected to the appropriate network.
For a wired network connection, check that the Ethernet cable is securely connected between the printer and network equipment.
Restart the Brother Printer and Computer
A temporary communication problem can sometimes prevent a print job from being processed.
Turn off the Brother printer and wait briefly. Restart the computer as well. After the computer has fully started, turn the Brother printer back on and allow it to become ready.
Try printing a small document again.
Brother includes restarting the printer and computer among its troubleshooting recommendations for certain connection problems.
Check Whether the Brother Printer Is Offline
A Brother printer may stop printing when Windows or macOS shows it as offline or paused.
On Windows, open the printer settings and locate your Brother printer. Make sure the correct printer is selected and that Windows is not using an offline printer state.
For Windows systems that provide the print queue controls, open the Brother printer's queue and check whether the printer is paused or offline.
Brother's troubleshooting documentation recommends checking the printer status and removing an offline or paused state when applicable.
Clear the Brother Printer Print Queue
A stuck print job can prevent newer documents from printing.
On Windows, open Settings and go to Bluetooth & devices, then Printers & scanners. Select your Brother printer and open its print queue. Cancel documents that are stuck in the queue.
After clearing the queue, send a new test document to the printer.
Brother specifically recommends deleting pending printer jobs when troubleshooting an offline or paused Brother printer.
If a document refuses to cancel, restart the computer and printer and check the queue again.
Set Brother Printer as the Default Printer
Your computer may be sending the print job to another printer instead of the Brother machine.
Open your computer's printer settings and locate the Brother printer. Make sure you select the correct Brother printer when printing from your application.
On supported Windows configurations, Brother recommends making the Brother machine the default printer when it is the printer you normally use.
If several copies of the same Brother printer appear, check which one is connected and remove obsolete printer entries if necessary.
Check the Print Settings in Your Application
Sometimes the printer itself is working correctly, but the application is using incorrect print settings.
Open the document you want to print and select Print. Check the selected printer and make sure your Brother printer is chosen.
Review the paper size, paper type, orientation, and print settings. If the application is configured for another printer, change the selected printer to your Brother machine.
You can also try printing from another application. If a document prints successfully from another program, the problem may be related to the original application's settings rather than the Brother printer.
Fix Brother Printer Not Printing Over WiFi
If your Brother printer is connected through WiFi but does not print, first confirm that the printer and computer are connected to the same wireless network.
Check the printer's network status or print a network configuration report if your model provides that option. Brother recommends checking the printer's network information when troubleshooting wireless printing problems.
Restart the printer and router if the wireless connection appears unstable. Then check whether the printer becomes available again.
For some Brother models, the manufacturer's Network Connection Repair Tool can help restore wireless printing by locating and updating the printer's IP address in the printer driver.
Fix Brother Printer Not Printing Through USB
If your Brother printer is connected through USB, check both ends of the cable.
Disconnect the USB cable and reconnect it securely. If possible, connect the printer directly to the computer instead of using a USB hub.
You can also try another USB port or a compatible USB cable if the computer does not recognize the printer.
Brother's USB troubleshooting guidance recommends checking the printer status, physical connection, driver settings, application settings, and restarting the printer and computer.
Update or Reinstall the Brother Printer Driver
An outdated or damaged printer driver can prevent the computer from communicating correctly with the Brother printer.
Check whether a newer Brother printer driver is available for your exact model and operating system. Download the appropriate driver package and install it.
If updating the driver does not solve the problem, uninstalling the existing Brother printer software and reinstalling the current driver may help.
Brother's USB troubleshooting documentation includes reinstalling the printer driver as a troubleshooting option when other connection checks do not resolve the printing problem.
Remove and Add the Brother Printer Again
If the computer recognizes the printer incorrectly, removing the existing printer entry and adding it again can refresh the connection.
Open the printer settings on your computer and remove the Brother printer. Restart the computer if necessary.
Then add the Brother printer again using the appropriate USB or wireless connection method.
For a network printer, make sure the printer is connected to the correct WiFi or wired network before adding it again.
Check Brother Printer Driver Settings
The printer driver determines how the computer communicates with the Brother machine. Incorrect driver settings can cause printing problems even when the printer appears connected.
Open the printer properties or settings and confirm that the correct Brother model is selected.
If you have recently installed a new printer driver, verify that the new driver corresponds to the exact Brother printer model.
If multiple Brother printer drivers are installed, the computer may be sending documents to an older or incorrect printer entry.
Try Printing a Test Page
After making changes, print a test page or a simple document.
A successful test print indicates that the printer is communicating with the computer correctly. If the test page does not print, continue checking the connection, printer status, driver, and error messages.
If your Brother printer has its own internal printing or report functions, you can also use those to determine whether the printer itself can produce a page independently of the computer.
This can help separate a printer hardware problem from a computer or software problem.
Brother Printer Prints Blank Pages
If the Brother printer feeds paper but produces blank pages, the problem may involve ink, toner, cartridge installation, print settings, or print quality.
For an inkjet model, check the ink levels and perform the appropriate print-head cleaning or maintenance procedure available for your model.
For a laser model, check the toner cartridge and drum assembly.
If the printer's internal test or maintenance page also comes out blank, the issue may be associated with the printer's consumables or printing mechanism rather than the computer.
Brother Printer Prints Slowly or Stops During Printing
If the printer starts printing but becomes slow or stops, check whether the print job contains large images or complex graphics.
Try printing a simple text document. If simple documents print normally while large files do not, the problem may involve the document, application, driver, or communication connection.
For a network printer, an unstable wireless connection can also interrupt or delay printing.
Restarting the printer and computer and checking the network connection can help determine whether the problem is temporary.
Check for Brother Printer Error Messages
If the printer displays an error, identify the message before changing other settings.
Errors related to paper, ink, toner, covers, cartridges, or network connections may prevent normal printing. Brother recommends clearing displayed printer errors before continuing with other troubleshooting steps.
Use the troubleshooting information for your exact Brother model because error messages and recovery procedures can vary between machines.
When the Brother Printer Still Does Not Print
If your Brother printer still does not print after checking the power, paper, ink or toner, connection, print queue, printer settings, and driver, the problem may require model-specific troubleshooting.
Check whether the printer can perform internal operations independently of the computer. If it cannot print an internal report or test page, the problem may be within the printer itself.
If internal printing works but computer documents do not, focus on the connection, driver, operating-system settings, and print application.
Brother provides model-specific FAQs, manuals, drivers, and troubleshooting information because available functions and procedures differ between printer models.
Final Thoughts
When a Brother printer is not printing, start with the basics: make sure the printer is powered on, clear any displayed error, check paper and ink or toner, and confirm the connection to the computer. Brother's troubleshooting guidance also recommends checking the selected printer, clearing stuck print jobs, and verifying the printer driver and connection.
For WiFi printing, verify that the printer and computer are connected to the correct network. For USB printing, check the cable and connect the printer directly to the computer when possible. If these steps do not resolve the issue, updating or reinstalling the Brother printer driver and adding the printer again can help restore communication.
Following these troubleshooting steps can resolve many common Brother printer problems and help get the printer back to normal operation.