How to Fix Brother Printer Offline Issue on Windows

Brother Printer offline may appear a nastier problem but can be resolved if deal with the right technique. Most of the time, the Brother printer is offline due to minor negligence like a printer not connected properly to the computer, printer not set as default, paper jam, etc. Sometimes, an outdated Windows 10 or troubled wireless connection also causes an offline error. Due to such hidden issues, the user may find it hard to guess the root cause of an offline problem, that’s why is a need for a thorough diagnosis and troubleshooting. If you are also the one facing the issue, this guide will help you understand why your Brother printer says offline in Windows 10 and how to bring the offline Brother Printer back online.

Why is My Brother Printer offline

There could be a lot of reasons that trigger Brother Printers to show offline errors on Windows 10. However, a few of them are the leading factors that should be diagnosed first while addressing the offline issue. Here they are.

• Your Windows 10 is missing an important update.
• Your Brother’s machine is not set as the default.
• The printer, router, and computer are disconnected or not communicating properly.
• Paper jam in the Brother printer.
• Pending print jobs in the queue.
• Wrong printer settings.
• Outdated printer drivers.

What to do When My Brother Printer is offline

When Brother printer shows offline, you need to follow a few basic steps. This will not only help you eliminate the offline error, but you can also save your Brother printer from getting into any other trouble. Here are some initial fixes worth trying to fix Brother printer offline issues.

• Make sure your printer is properly connected to the computer and WiFi router.
• Restart all the related devices to reset the printing environment.
• For wired connections, reverify that all the cables including USB and Ethernet are properly inserted in the socket. Also, no cables should be frayed or worn.
• For wireless connections, print the network configuration page to verify the IP address.
• Make sure your system is installed with the latest printer software update.

5 Steps to Fix Brother Printer Offline Issue

Sometimes, the offline error doesn’t resolve so quickly and it needs an advanced diagnosis. Here are the steps that will help you bring an offline Brother Printer back online. Make sure to not skip any step until your Brother printer shows an offline error.

Step 1. Make sure the Brother printer’s LCD screen shows no error

1. Turn on your printer and wait until the LCD screen illuminates.
2. Thoroughly check the LCD screen and ensure it doesn’t display any errors.
3. In case it does, jump straight to the step that addresses the displayed error. For example, if it shows “paper jam”, follow step 2 to fix it.
4. In case it doesn’t display any error, keep following the further steps.

Step 2. Check jammed paper 

1. Open the cartridge access door by following the steps in the user guide. The steps for opening the door may vary for different Brother printer models.
2. Remove any jammed paper from the printer.
3. Make sure to not leave any torn pieces of paper.
4. Make sure to never over stack the paper in the printer tray.
5. Always use genuine Brother printer components to avoid such issues.
6. If still your Brother Printer keeps going offline even after removing the jammed paper, move forward to the next step.

Step 3. Turn off Use Printer Offline in Windows 10

Sometimes, the Brother printer is offline due to some wrong settings. You may have unintentionally checked the Use Printer Offline setting. Follow the below steps.

1. Go to the Search bar on your Windows 10, type Control Panel, and hit Enter.
2. On the Control Panel window, click View Devices and Printers.
3. Hover the cursor over the Brother printer icon, right-click over it and click See What’s Printing in the drop-down.
4. Now a new screen will open, click the Printers tab.
5. Now verify that the Use printer offline option is unchecked in the drop-down.
6. To fix the problem you may check and check it again.

Step 4. Set Brother as the default printer

To set your Brother printer as a default device, you will need to go to the Control Panel and follow the steps given below.

1. Open the Run box. Use Windows + R as shortcut keys to open Run.
2. Type Control Panel and hit Enter.
3. On the Control Panel screen, go to the Hardware section and click View devices and Printers.
4. Now you can right-click on your Brother printer and click Set as default.

Step 5. Stop and restart the Print Spooler service on Windows

The queued print jobs in the printer program can push your Brother printer offline. To get it back online you can try to restart the Print Spooler services. Here’s how you can do it.

1. Open the Run box. Use Windows + R as shortcut keys to open Run.
2. Type services.msc and hit Enter.
3. On the Services window, see the Print Spooler.
4. Now you need to right-click on the Print Spooler and click stop.
5. On the address bar of Windows File Explorer, put C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printer and click Ok.
6. Open the Printer folder and clear all the files. It will clear the pending print jobs.
7. Now you can go back to the Settings window, open Print Spooler, right-click over it and click Start.
8. Now you have successfully resumed the Print Spooler services and the offline brother printer should resolve

Conclusion

No worries! If your printer is still troubling you with an offline error or gets paused in the middle of printing, we are here to help. Our Printer Fixing Error team is highly versatile, professional, and trained to handle Brother printer offline issues. You can call us on our toll-free number, Email us, or chat with our Brother Printer Support experts to get an immediate solution.

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