How to Get My Brother Printer Online? (FIXED)

Ackley AddisAckley Addis
5 min read

Don’t worry if your Brother printer shows offline while printing; this guide will help you fix the issue step by step. Whether you’re new to printers and computers or just not a fan of technology, this guide will provide step-by-step instructions, showing you how to get my Brother printer online.

My uncle recently got a Brother printer and uses it to print worksheets for his grandkids. He sits with a cup of tea, clicks Print, and waits. Nothing happens. He clicks again, but still nothing. He thinks, “Maybe the printer is out of paper?” But the tray is full. On the screen, it said: Printer Offline.

He checked the cables; they were plugged in. He even turned the printer off and on (a classic move). It was still offline. He was about to give up, but he made a few small changes in the printer settings, and everything started working again. I am here to walk you through those simple fixes, one by one.

What Does Brother Printer Offline Actually Mean?

You need to understand what it means before learning how to get your Brother printer back online.

“Offline” means your printer isn’t communicating with your computer, often due to connectivity or setting issues, not hardware failure. It shows a problem you must fix before you can resume printing. The printer doesn’t receive or process new print jobs while staying offline, so it’s best to pause printing attempts until you resolve the issue.

How to Get My Brother Printer Online Again?

If your printer is offline, it can be caused by various issues, including network issues, driver problems, incorrect settings, or print queue errors. Let’s discuss some must-try fixes for the printer to go offline:

Solution 1: Fix Connectivity Problems

  1. Ensure the USB cable is properly attached to your computer and the printer.

  2. If using a network, check the wireless signal or Ethernet cable.

  3. Ensure the printer and your computer are on the same network.

  4. Move your printer closer to the wireless router to improve the connection signal.

Solution 2: Set Printer as Default

  1. Click the Windows icon on your PC and access the Settings menu.

  2. On the following screen, click on the Devices section.

wireless signal

  1. Now, choose Printers & Scanners.

  2. Find and select your Brother printer from the list.

  3. After that, click the Manage button.

  4. Open “Printer properties,” go to the Advanced tab, and modify the default printing settings as required.

  5. Then, right-click on your printer and choose “Set as default printer.”

Brother Printer Setup

  1. You can check that your printer appears as the default by looking for the green check icon in the Printers and Scanners list or by printing a test page to confirm.

Solution 3: Check Printer Status

  1. In Windows, search for “Printers & Scanners.”

  2. Right-click on your machine model from the list.

  3. Click See what’s printing from the context menu.

  4. If there’s a checkmark next to “Use Printer Offline,” uncheck the box.

Brother Machine Model

  1. Try printing a document to confirm whether you resolved the issue.

Solution 4: Clear Printer Queue

  1. Open the Windows settings by pressing Windows I.

  2. Go to Devices and then Printers & Scanners.

  3. Select your printer and click Open queue.

  4. Right-click on any pending print jobs and select Cancel.

  5. Confirm by clicking Yes.

  6. Repeat for all pending jobs.

  7. To clear the entire queue, click the ellipsis (…) and select Cancel all.

Clear Printer Queue

Solution 5: Restart Printer Spooler Service

  1. Open Services by typing services.msc in the Windows search bar.

Restart Printer Spooler Service

  1. Locate and stop the Print Spooler service.

  2. Now, go to the folder C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS and delete all files within it to clear pending print jobs.

  3. Restart the Printer Spooler service.

Printer Spooler service

Solution 6: Unpause or Resume Printing

  1. In the system tray, right-click the printer icon (usually found at the bottom-right corner of your screen) and select “See what’s printing.”

  2. If you see a print job that you want to pause, select it.

  3. Depending on your operating system and printer software, you might have options like Pause or Resume within the print queue.

  4. Click on it to start or stop the print job where it left off.

What to Do if Brother Printer Still Shows Offline?

If you’ve tried all the troubleshooting steps mentioned above and the printer is still offline, try the following steps:

  • Use the Diagnose or Troubleshoot button under Printers & Scanners in Settings.

  • Check for any physical problems, such as paper jams or low ink cartridges, and resolve them before proceeding.

  • Restart your router to see if that resolves any network problems.

  • Make sure your printer’s firmware runs the latest version, if available.

Conclusion

Bringing your Brother printer back online doesn’t have to be frustrating or complicated. With a few simple checks, like making sure it’s connected properly, setting it as the default printer, and restarting the right devices, you can solve the problem yourself, just like my uncle did. Bookmark this guide so you can use it again in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to Set a Brother printer as default on Mac?

Follow the steps listed below to set your printer as the default on Mac:

  1. Click on the Apple icon in the top left side of your screen and select “System Settings.”

  2. Click on “Printers & Scanners” in the sidebar.

  3. In the “Default printer” dropdown menu, choose the printer you want to use as your default.

  4. You can also control-click on a printer in the Printers & Scanners list and select “Set as default printer” from the shortcut menu.

Why Is My Brother Printer Showing Offline?

My Brother Printer is Showing Offline and it is plugged in, the computer cannot communicate with it for any reasons. how to fix it, want to know read following points:

  1. Turn off the printer, unplug it, and wait a few seconds. Plug it back in, and then turn it on.

  2. Ensure the USB or Ethernet cable is plugged securely into your device and printer.

  3. Restarting the computer can sometimes resolve communication issues between the computer and the printer.

  4. Ensure the printer isn’t set to “offline” in its settings.

  5. Verify that you’ve set it as the default printer.

How Do I Reset the Brother Printer?

If you want to reset your Brother printer’s memory, you can do it easily. In the beginning, hit the Go button for 4 seconds and allow the LED lights to flash up. Now, release the button and get ready to reset your printer’s memory. In the next step, you’ll have to minimize the print resolution of your printer or the complexity of the document.

Source: How to Get My Brother Printer Online

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Written by

Ackley Addis
Ackley Addis

Hey, I’m Ackley. I’m a web developer living in Bartlett, Tennessee. I am a fan of education, web development, and Technology. I’m also interested in painting and design. support.brother.com is an official website that offers printers and shares all the crucial info about its models. On the website, users can learn about the setup process of their printer and download the compatible driver and firmware for their printer on their device. It also helps Brother printer users get their hands on the various resources to eliminate any issues from their devices. If you are planning to buy a Brother printer setup or need any related information, then go to the website today.