Brother Printer Won’t Turn On (5 Fixes)

Brother has a highly rated lineup of high quality home office printers, but they are not without their issues. One such issue frequently reported by users is discovering their Brother Printer not turning on. Fortunately, there are a number of proven, quick fixes you can try.

If your Brother Printer won’t turn on, confirm the printer is not in Sleep Mode and inspect the power cable and outlet. If the problem persists, unplug the printer, and remove the paper tray. After 15 seconds, press and hold the power button while simultaneously plugging the printer back in.

Countless Brother Printer users have confirmed that these 3 simple steps solved the problem for them.

Step 1: Exit Sleep Mode

It is possible that Sleep Mode is the source of the problem.

Ultimately, depending on your Brother Printer model, after the machine has idled for a specified period of time, it will enter Sleep Mode.

When in Sleep Mode the display on the control panel will be completely blank, appearing as though your Brother Printer has no power. It is therefore always a good idea to press on the display LCD before attempting any other troubleshooting steps.

Brother Printer exit Sleep Mode

If the display lights up and shows the date and time, then you are in business! You can carry on using your printer as you normally would.

In the event the LCD display does not light up, then you have confirmed that your Brother Printer is not powered on. Advance to step 2.

Step 2: Inspect Power Cable And Power Source

If Sleep Mode is not the culprit, the next step is to inspect the power cable and power source.

First, closely examine the power cable. Are there any visible signs of damage?

Next, ensure that the power cable connection into the back of your Brother Printer and into the wall outlet is secure.

Printer power source

You should also connect the printer to your computer with the provided USB cord. If your computer does not detect the printer at all this may indicate the power supply is defective.

You should also connect the printer to your computer with the USB cord. If your computer does not detect the printer at all this may indicate the power supply is defective.

In the rare event that you have an extra power cable laying around, try swapping out the cords.

Making sure there is a secure power cable connection is meaningless if there is an issue with your power outlet. It is therefore also critical to quickly validate that your power source is working properly.

To test your power source, try plugging a different device into the same wall socket. If the device does not work or charge, try connecting your Brother Printer to a different working power source.

It is also important not to plug the printer into a surge protector or power strip.

Lastly, triple check that the printer power switch is turned to On. I know, I know – you didn’t come here to be asked “did you try turning it on?” Before advancing, humor me and quickly confirm that the power button is truly On.

Step 3: Restore Power

Ok, so we’ve confirmed that the printer is not in Sleep Mode and that the power cable and power outlet are firmly connected and in good working order.

Now it is time to initiate the power restoration process. There are three slightly different methods you can try to restore power to the printer.

If your Brother Printer has no power after you have attempted method 1, continue on to method 2 and then method 3.

Method 1

  1. First, remove the power cord from the outlet and wait 15 seconds.
  2. Next, press and hold the Power button down, and while you are still holding the power button down, simultaneously insert the power cord back into the outlet.
  3. Finally, continue to hold the Power button down until the printer has been powered on completely.
  4. If after 15 seconds nothing happens, try repeating these steps a total 3 times.

Method 2

  1. First, remove the power cord from the outlet and wait 15 seconds.
  2. Next, remove the paper tray
  3. Then, reconnect the power cord, and power the printer on.
  4. Lastly, when the machine has been powered on completely, insert the paper tray back into the machine.

Method 3

  1. First, remove the paper tray.
  2. Next, remove the power cord from the outlet and wait 15 seconds.
  3. Then, press and hold the Power button down, and while you are still holding the power button down, simultaneously insert the power cord back into the outlet.
  4. After about 10 seconds the display should light up with the message “Please put the paper tray firmly back in the machine.”
  5. Lastly, insert the paper tray back into the machine.

Step 4: Remove Power For 1 Hour

Another fix to try is an extremely simple one but it does require some time.

Remove the power cord from the back of the printer and wait at least 1 hour. Then reinstall the power cord and try to power the printer on.

You may be a bit surprised to learn that when you power down your printer, it doesn’t completely shut down. Instead the internal components enter a very low powered on state.

This means that the error that is causing your printer to not turn on can still persist even after you have fully removed the power source!

Disconnecting the power cable for at least 1 hour ensures that any remaining power is fully drained from your printer.

Step 5: Long Press The Power Button

Finally, if still your Brother Printer will not power on, try to ‘long press’ the power button.

Brother printer power button

While the printer is plugged in, press and hold the power button for at least 15 seconds.

Conclusion

If you attempt to print only to discover your printer won’t boot up, don’t panic! As it turns out, this is an extremely common problem with a handful of proven solutions:

  1. Confirm the printer is not in Sleep Mode
  2. Inspect the power cable and power outlet
  3. Initiate the power restoration process
  4. Remove power for 1 hour
  5. Long press the power button

Unfortunately, these troubleshooting steps may not solve the issue for everyone. If this is the case, you can use the Brother Printer manual look up for troubleshooting information.

Additionally, if you are still having issues despite attempting each of these troubleshooting steps, you can contact Brother’s Customer Service team at (877) 276-8437.

If all else fails, verify your Brother Printer warranty plan by using your printer serial number and consider replacing your printer.

I hope your found these Brother Printer troubleshooting steps helpful! If this post helped you turn your Brother Printer back on, or if you solved your issue some other way, be sure to leave me a comment below so that we can include it!

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