# Brother Printer not working **How to Fix an Unresponsive Brother Printer** Maybe you have a deadline and need to print your work as soon as possible. Or maybe you need a physical copy of some important documents. Whatever the reason, an unresponsive [Brother printer not working](https://www.quickohelp.com/brother-printer-not-working) customer service **1-888-570-1595** can be a major inconvenience and cause frustration. Before you go into panic mode, there are a few steps you can take to fix the problem. In this article, we'll go over some common reasons why your Brother printer may be unresponsive. In addition, we will give you tips on how to fix the problem depending on the device you are using. **Why is my Brother printer not responding?** The message "The Brother printer is not responding" is a common error among these printers. Like all printers, Brothers can stop working for a variety of reasons. This includes poor connectivity, outdated driver, and other technical issues. Let's take a closer look at some of the available fixes. **Check your connection** It may seem obvious, but before attempting more complicated troubleshooting, some basic checks are necessary. Start by making sure that the connection between your device and the printer is in its normal state. This will help you check the simpler reasons why your printer may be unresponsive. If you are using a USB printer, just try reconnecting the USB cable. If that fails, you can try plugging the USB into another port on your PC. Brother printers often fail to connect due to a faulty or broken USB port. For those using a wireless printer, it is essential that the device you are using and the printer are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. However, if your Wi-Fi connection is poor, it is worth considering to go elsewhere to fix the problem. **Change your default printer** Another way to fix Brother printer responsiveness issues is to update your default device. Your default printer is the one that is automatically used for your print jobs. Therefore, setting your Brother printer as the default device should help you get the job done. Here's what you'll need to do. **Update your printer driver** In some cases, your Brother printer may not respond because you do not have the latest driver version. Printer drivers are software programs that work as a "middleman" between your device and the printer in question. They convert data from your computer into a format your printer can understand and process. If the driver is outdated, it may prevent it from successfully doing its job. There are two ways to update your printer driver: manually and automatically. **To update a Brother printer manually:** Go to the Brother printer support site. Click on your country/region. When prompted, enter your printer's model number to locate the correct driver. Select "Download", then "Operating System". Locate the correct driver and download the file. Once the file is downloaded, double-click it and follow all the instructions that appear to complete the installation. To automatically update your Brother printer: Install Driver Easy on your computer. When the download is complete, open the file. Click "Scan Now". Driver Easy will scan your entire computer and notify you if any problems occur or if updates are needed. If it appears, select "Update", which is next to the reported Brother printer driver. Why does the Brother printer not print? When your printer starts working, it can be very difficult to get it back up and running, but if you know what's causing the problem, you can usually fix it easily. **Here are some possible causes why your Brother printer is not printing:** **The paper tray is empty –** Make sure there is paper in your printer. Also check your paper and make sure you have loaded it correctly in the tray. If you have paper in the printer and you still have a blank page, exit the print job, and then try to print again. **The toner cartridge is not installed correctly -** If the toner cartridge is not installed correctly or its seal has been broken, it may no longer be able to print correctly. Go ahead and install a new one if needed. **The tray is jammed – **Open the tray compartment and check if you have a problem with your USB cable or power cord. Test the USB cable by plugging it into another USB port on the computer. **Why does my Brother printer not print in color?** The most common reason for this problem is that your Brother printer does not have enough ink to fill the cartridges. Most printers have three or four separate cartridges, each containing a different color ink. Check that the ink cartridges are installed correctly and that they are not empty. If the ink cartridges are empty or incorrectly installed, the printer will not be able to print in color. Also try shaking the ink cartridge to get rid of any bubbles that may be inside. Your Brother printer may be printing blank pages due to air bubbles. Other times, you probably just need to change your printer settings. For some reason, the default settings of many printers are set to print everything in monochrome. **What can I do if my Brother printer does not print?** **1. Check the cable connections** If you find that your Brother printer is not printing, make sure the cable connections are secure. If a cable is loose or damaged, it may not transfer data to the printer. Next, check if the power cord is properly plugged into the wall or surge protector. Try turning the printer and computer off and then back on to see if they return to normal operation. If you are printing using a wireless or Bluetooth connection, make sure both devices are on the same network and preferably connected by an Ethernet cable. **2. Clear print queue** Expert tip: Some PC issues are hard to fix, especially when it comes to corrupt repositories or missing Windows files. If you are having difficulty correcting an error, your system may be partially damaged. We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that will scan your machine and identify the problem. Click here to download and start repairing. The print queue is a list of documents waiting to be printed. Each time you send a document to your Brother printer, it is added to the top of this list. The documents at the top of this list will be printed first. Clearing the print queue will remove any jobs that have not yet been printed and free up space in the queue to allow new jobs to be printed. **3. Disable Other Printers** If your Brother printer is not printing or responding to the computer, other printers on your network may be receiving print jobs. Disabling other printers will eliminate any clutter or confusion that may be causing this error. Once you have turned off all your printers, go ahead and restart your computer. Your printer should then work properly. You can also set the Brother printer as the default printer. **4. Update Printer Drivers** Press the Windows key, type Device Manager in the search bar and click Open. Locate and expand the Print Queues section, then right-click the Brother printer and select Update Driver Software. Click Search automatically for drivers. You can either follow the above steps manually or use a third-party tool. DriverFix can do this process automatically, saving you time and effort. It scans your device and offers you a list of devices that need to be updated. It replaces outdated drivers with newer ones from its constantly revised database. **5. Restart the print spooler** Press Windows + R keys simultaneously to open the Run command. Type services.msc then press Enter. Locate Print Spooler, right-click and select Restart. **6. Run the printer troubleshooter** Press the Windows key and select Settings. Click System, then select Troubleshoot. Select Other convenience stores. Navigate to the Printer section, then click the Run button.