Brother printer offline problem

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I had a similar problem with my Brother MFC-5890CN printer connected to my home network. It would show its status as Offline. Sometimes it would print after a VERY long delay (20 minutes or longer) but usually I simply got printer errors.

My network consists of WinXP and Win7 Dell laptops both with wireless connections, WinVista HP and Win7 Dell desktops both with wired connections along with a Cisco-Linksys router and the Brother network printer described above.

I tried a few of the simpler solutions given in the forum postings, located a Microsoft FixIt tool for network printer problems, and even tried the built-in troubleshooting tool. Nothing solved my problem.

The problem seems to have begun when I attempted to fix a problem with slow internet access. I took some steps to identify better DNS Servers than the "Obtain DNS server address automatically" default that I was using and entered those DNS Server IP addresses in the TCP/IPv4 settings for the network interface cards for the various computers in the home (both wired and wireless).

My solution was to:
1) Use the default of "Obtain DNS server address automatically" for the network interface card TCP/IPv4 settings
2) Go into the Device Manager and under Imaging, delete all copies of the Brother printer. I happened to have four of them (that could be a contributor to my problem). While deleting those devices, I also uninstalled the printer driver.
3) Remove all copies of the Brother printer and faxes from Devices and Printers
4) Restart the PC
5) Then, reinstall the Brother printer software and follow the instructions to restart the PC.

In summary, I put everything back to the state I had before I began changing the IP addresses of the DNS Servers including a clean installation of the printer software. I don't yet know what was really causing the problem, but everything is working now.
 
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Since creating the previous posting, I have put my earlier DNS server settings back into the router and that had no negative impact on my ability to print over the network. The routers settings I have now are the IP addresses of two good DNS servers and the address of my router on my home network. Everything continues to work just fine.

I suspect that the problem was my entering of DNS server IP addresses for the TCP/IPv4 settings of the network interface adaptor in each individual PC. I know that those settings alone cause a print job to be delayed by about two minutes. Earlier, I had also left out the address of my router from the router DNS server IP addresses, so I suspect that my computer could not locate the printer on my home network. The multiple imaging device entries under Device Manager was likely also causing some trouble since the PC might not know which of the four imaging devices it should use.
 
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For Brother MFC 8460 N and HL 4040DN computers, they both went offline on 8/28/14, coincidentally with some Windows security updates (Windows 7). I resolved the issue by tweaking the configuration of the ports. Highlight the icon in the device window, right click, click Printer Properties, be sure the IP address appears in the Printer Name or IP field (get it from printing out your properties from the printer menu). If this doesn't resolve it, then change the Protocol from LPR to RAW. I only needed to make the change on one of our network computers, so it solves it for W7 32 bit and 64 bit OS. Good luck.
 
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This is exactly what happened to us! Windows did their update two days ago and I haven't been able to print since. I just tried your fix, but it didn't work. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers, rebooted everything. Nothing is working.
 
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I've found a quick fix is just to restart the router. I've been told that for security purposes the ip address changes often with wireless printers and if your not constantly connected to the network your computer doesn't update with the changes. When you restart your router the IP address syncs with your computer and your back on the network again.

I also don't really understand what I just wrote but it seems legit!
 
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My problem is similar... I am on Windows 7, so the hotfix referenced above is not for me. I have a static IP assigned to the printer. After a period of inactivity, the printer shows as OFFLINE. I have to power cycle the printer, then the document prints without a problem. The thing is, it defeats the point of having a wireless printer if I have to get up and walk to the device before I can print anything.

Any new advice on this?
 
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I spoke too soon the other day. The hotfix did not solve all the problems. After a few hours went by, the printer went offline again. The only difference now, is if we cycle the printer off /on it will print the waiting job. I am still working on a fix. The brother tech team was NO HELP!
 
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I have a Brother DCP-J4110DW printer. It has both a sleep mode and an Auto Power Down ' feature' which operates about an hour after the machine goes to sleep.. I had the same problem of it going offline until I discovered the Auto Power Down was set to 'On'. Changed it to 'Off', the machine goes to sleep but does not go offline, ie it wakes up and prints even after a week of inactivity.

On my printer the Auto Power Down is accessed via the touch panel on the printer. I had to find this in the Advanced Users Guide.
 
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I have exactly the same problem. Windows 8.1 x64. Tried the Hotfix. Did all the updates. Doesn't work. It's a pain. And most complaints on the Net seem to be with Brother printers (mine is a Brother color printer DCP-9010CN - connected by LAN cable to the home router).



 
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To repeat, I don't think the problem requires a Hotfix, just change a setting on the printer. My Brother DCP-J4110DW has an Auto Power Down setting which automatically turns the printer off about an hour after the standby has timed out. Just check the manual for the reference, (mine was in the Advanced User Manual), and if it's there change the setting to Off - so that it is always on albeit in standby.
 
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No it does not. I have the same problem. You press the power button, you return to your form, you ask the document to restart....nothing.
 
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Hi all,

I did try all kinds of solutions from all of the answers but unsuccessful. Finally, my husband (networking engineer) found a very useful solution which is so tricky.

The only way is if your printer is not listed over the network, uninstall the driver then re-install the driver. Important step: when re-install the driver, DON'T plug the Ethernet cable to the printer, only plug it to the router. When you see the option, USB cable, Ethernet (wired), and wireless option, choose Ethernet and click Next. Because the Ethernet cable hasn't plugged to the printer, the network can't find your printer IP address. Now, Plug the Ethernet cable to your printer and try again. The network will find your printer. Make sure you use the Ethernet cable which has same color pattern at both ends. The cross cable is similar to the Ethernet cable but it has different color pattern at both ends.

This solution will solve all kinds of problems of your printer regarding to print, fax, scan, etc...
 
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This totally worked for me, nice one! Thanks!
 
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I just solved problem of a Brother wireless printer being offline for two Windows 7 computers. I had previously reinstalled the printer on both to get around various problems. When I set up the port the prompt was to enter the IP address or printer name. I opted for the IP address - wrong choice!! This time when I entered the Netbios name instead for my Brother printer it all worked (after a reboot) and the printer showed as ready and did indeed print. I had already gone through the whole rigmarole of assigning static addresses etc, etc. You can find the Netbios name for the printer in listing for devices attached to the router. Easy fix in the end. Is that another Microsoft shortcoming?
 
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Hi,
My problem is also same.My wireless DCP-375CW claims to be offline out of the blue. We have not changed anything and only 2 months ago connected it to a second Sony laptop and it was working fine. Have tried to reset by running through the instruction booklet guide but stii offline. What will i do now????
 
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I have a Brother MFC-J67100W and I just, by coincidence, got it go back online!
1. From Control Panel go to Hardware and Sound, then to Printers.
2. Click on the printer you want to use to open up the queue.
3. Right click on anything other than the job itself (I happened to right click on "owner".)
4. Finally, there was a box where I could uncheck "use printer offline". I unchecked it, and the printer spit out the job!!!

Before that, I'd been right-clicking on the printer in step 2, and nothing was working.
I hope this solves your problem. It's so frustrating when stuff just stops working.
 
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I have an Epson XP 315 wireless printer and exactly the same problems as other posts. Printer continually throws up print errors, says it is offline and there are communication problems but if I check the printer status it says it is online. It has been doing this since I changed broadband provider although the correct router settings are installed. Really want to throw it out the window...........!
 
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Okay, so after battling this problem for some time I've figured out how to fix it, but I'm not sure that its a universal fix. I use Windows 10 pro so I will explain that method. Go to Settings > Devices, then "Remove" your offline printer. Next, power down your router, wait a few seconds, then restart it. Once the router gets back online your printer should pop into the "Add a Printer or Scanner" section, go ahead and add it.

Okay, so now you've got your printer back, but how do you keep it? First you'll need to go into the printer's network settings > TCP/IP > Booth Method, then select Static. This will ensure that your printer always boots up with the same static IP address. Second you'll need to access your router settings (192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 usually) and Bind your Printer's MAC and IP address. This will keep the router from reassigning a new IP to the printer. These two steps solved the problem for me, no more "offline" status for my printer.

Hope this helps
 
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I switched to a new wireless internet provider and got my Brother printer online. However, I couldn't print. Looking in "Devices and Printers" on my laptop, it said my printer was "offline". What worked for me was to "Add a Printer" (still in the Devices and Printers folder on my laptop). Then my laptop recognized the printer and it worked. Hope this helps people with a similar problem!

 
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I had Brothers MFC490-CW. wireless printer.

I like to post the solution for this problem. It happened twice to me. Somehow, the IP address of the printer gets changed. To resolve this issue, you need to go to printer and print a report of network configuration. This will give you IP address such as
xx.x.x.x . Then you need to go to Printer properties for your printer and check if the IP address for TCP/IP port is same as the one from network configuration report from your printer. If not, use add port tab to add TCP/IP port with correct ip address and it will put printer status back to "ready" from 'Offline" hope this works for you too.
 
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