(6 Easy Ways) – How to Fix Brother Printer in Error State?

Causes why brother printer in error state

Here are the reasons for the Brother printer in error state.

• BIOS is a very common reason to show errors in printers
• This error could be a warning of any virus or malware attack on the system
• When the driver for the printer gets corrupted, the printer shows errors.
• A printer connected through the internet requires high speed, lower speed, or disconnection could also be a reason for this error.
• If the printer is connected through wires or USBs, connectivity issues could also be a reason.
• Check if there is any paper stuck in the printer.
• The low or empty ink cartridge can also cause the printer’s error state.

These situations bring the printer into an error state. The printer displays an‘ error state’ message on its display screen in this case.

Troubleshooting brother printer

Before going into technical solutions, try troubleshooting the problem in simple ways. Here is what you can do:

• If the internet is slow, it causes the printer in an error state so check if the wifi is connected and the inter speed is good.
• Then check if the brother printer is plugged in right. For that, unplug it and then plug again and check if it resolves the issue.
• Cheap or incompatible ink could damage the printer. You can verify if the ink or toner is the reason 3for the printer being in an error state. Always use good quality or original ink for the printer to keep the flow smooth.
• When there is very little ink left in the cartridge, the printer could cause issues. Check if the ink cartridge requires to refill.

Don’t get worried if the issue still persists even after these simple troubleshooting methods. They do not guarantee results but are just used as immediate steps to do when you face the issue.

How to fix brother printer in error state

Here’s how to fix the Brother printer in error state.

Method 1: Check the online or offline status

When the printer stays disconnected for a long duration, it goes into offline mode. If it is in offline mode, the printer would not print until turned online. To turn it back online, follow the below-listed steps:

1. Open the control penal in your windows 10 by clicking on the Windows button and clicking on ‘control penal’.

2. Click on the ‘Hardware and sound’. Then click on ‘View Devices and Printers’.

3. Then from the list of options, right click on your printer’s name and select ‘Set as default’ for that.

4. Then right click again and click on ‘See what’s printing’.

5. From the screen appearing in front of you, click on ‘Printer’ from the top left corner.
6. There you will see a tick next to ‘Pause printing’ and ‘Use printer offline’. Untick both these options.

7. Restart your printer and see if the error message is gone and the printer is printing again.

If the printer went into an error state due to being offline, these steps will resolve the issue. If the issue still persists, then there are other methods you can try.

Method 2: Restart printer’s spooler service

The printing jobs sent by the computer to the printer are managed by spooler service. Restarting that will help to flush the stuck printing jobs and clear the queue, which could be a possible reason behind the printer being in an error state. The method to restart the printer spooler is listed below:

1. Type ‘cmd’ in the search box.

2. Right click on the screen and click on the ‘Run as administrator’ option.

3. Select ‘yes’ and allow user account control.
4. Then type “net stop spooler” and press ‘Enter’.
5. This will stop the spooler from operating and display the message ‘The print spooler service was stopped successfully’.
6. After that, wait a few moments and type ‘net start spooler’ and press ‘Enter’.
7. That will restart the printer spooler and display the message ‘the printer spooler service was started successfully’ on the screen.
8. Close the ‘cmd’.

Restart the computer and printer once and try taking out a test print Restarting the printer spooler will resolve the issue. If the issue persists, move to the next solution method.

Method 3: Delete stuck Printer Spooler files and restart

Unfinished printing jobs stuck in the printer spooler is a very big reason for the printer to be in an error state. Follow these steps to remove all files from the printer spooler and restart it:

1. Navigate to this address and delete all the files inside it: C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers.
2. If you can’t navigate to this folder, open the run box by pressing ‘Windows key + r’ on the keyboard and then write down the path C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers and Choose ‘OK’.

3. Click on ‘Continue’, and then delete all the files in the folder.

4. Close that and try navigating C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Drivers\W32X86 and then delete all files from there and close the folder.

After all the files from the printer spooler have been deleted, you will have to restart the print spooler service. To do so, perform the following steps:

1. In Windows 10 search box, search for ‘Services’.

2. OR press ‘Windows + r’ and type ‘services.msc’.

3. Look for ‘Print Spooler’ and right click on it. Click on the ‘Restart’ option.

4. Wait for the spooler to restart, then restart your system and printer as well.
5. Try taking out a test print to check if the problem is solved. If not, move onto the next method.

Method 4: Enable PnP detection

For Windows 10, try to enable the Legacy Plug and Play detection. For that, shut down and restart your computer and follow the given directions:

1. Type ‘device manager’ on the search bar. Or open it by typing ‘devmgmt.msc’ and click on ‘OK’.

2. Once the device manager opens, click on ‘View’ at the top and then select ‘Show hidden devices’.

3. Look for ‘Port (COM & LPT)’ click on it.
4. Then click on ECP Printer Port (LPT1). Open its ‘Properties’.
5. Besides the General tab, find and click on ‘Port settings’.
6. Click on Use any interrupt assigned to the port.
7. Then click on ‘Enable Legacy Plug and Play detection’.
8. Click ‘OK’ to save the changes.

Restart the printer and take out a test print. Try out the next method if the issue doesn’t resolve.

Method 5: Update Printer drivers

Outdated printer drivers can also lead to an error state. You must make sure that the brother printer’s drivers are up to date. To update your printers’ drivers from the computer, you can attempt two methods; Let your computer find the best suited drivers online or download the drivers from Brother’s site and install them manually. Let’s learn both techniques below:

To install the driver automatically

1. Open the Windows 10 run box and type ‘devmgmt.msc’ and then click ‘OK’.

2. Click on the ‘Device manager’ and tap ‘OK’.
3. Then find and click on ‘Show hidden devices’. Click on that and look for ‘Print Queue’ to expand it.

4. Right click on the brother’s printer name and look for the option of update driver.
5. Then select automatically search for updated drivers and verify the automatic search starts.
6. Wait till Windows is searching for the drivers online. Once it is found, follow the instructions appearing on the screen to finish the installation.

To manually install drivers

1. Form your browser, open the ‘Brother support and download’ web page.
2. Go to ‘Search by product category page’.
3. Search from the product series for your product. Then click on the printer’s model number.
4. After clicking on the model number, look for the OS of your system from the list and click ‘OK’.
5. Then click on ‘Full drivers & software package’. After that, scroll down and hit the ‘Agree to EULA and download’ button.
6. After the downloading is complete, follow the instruction available on the ‘How to install’ page and install drivers successfully.

If this also doesn’t resolve the issue, move on to the next and final solution.

Method 6: Remove and reinstall the printer

When you have done everything possible to resolve the error state issue but are still not able to do so, it’s time to delete the printer setup and reinstall it. Although this is the last recommended thing to do, you might have to adopt this method if nothing else is working. Let’s have a look at how can you remove, reinstall and run the brother printer’s setup on your system.

How to remove brother printer from your system

1. Open ‘Settings’ and click on ‘Devices’. Then select ‘Printer and scanner’.

2. Look for the brother’s printer and click on ‘Remove device’.

3. Confirm by clicking on ‘Yes’ to permanently remove the brother’s printer from your system.

Reinstall printer

1. Open Window’s search box by clicking ‘Windows key + Q’ and type ‘Printer’.
2. Click on ‘Printer and Scanners’ and select ‘Add printer or scanner’.
3. Find your printer, click on it and then select ‘Add device’.
4. Follow the instructions appearing on the screen to successfully install the device.

Related Article

• How to Fix Brother Printer Offline Windows 10
• What Is the Brother Printer Default Password
• How to Set up Brother Printer to WIFI
• How to Reset Brother Toner
• Why is my Brother printer not connecting to Wifi
• How to Install Brother Printer Without CD

Conclusion

Before opting for any solution to remove the printer from the error state, first, analyze the reason behind the error. Only then you can directly move to the relevant recovery method and save time.