Brother Printer Not Printing? A 6-Step Checklist + Default Password Fix

I'm a quality compliance manager at a commercial printing equipment distributor. I review roughly 200 devices a year before they reach customers. In 2024 I rejected about 12% of first deliveries for configuration issues rather than hardware failures — which is a long-winded way of saying: most "broken" printers aren't broken.

This checklist is for anyone with a Brother printer that won't print, or who's staring at a password prompt with no idea what to type. It's also for the specific situation where you have printer paper but no envelopes, and a deadline closing in. Six steps, about four minutes. If you're mid-crisis, this is the fast path.

Step 1: Verify the Obvious (Actually Verify It)

You didn't come here for "is it plugged in." But look, I've rejected more than one "broken" Brother that was simply out of paper or sitting in sleep mode with a dark screen. The printer assumes you checked the basics. So check them, deliberately, once:

• Power light on, and the screen awake. If it's dark, touch the screen or press a button. Brother printers are aggressive about sleep mode — a sleeping printer looks off.
• Paper seated against the guides, not loosely stacked. Misaligned paper causes "jam" errors that aren't actually jams; it's just the feed roller detecting resistance.
• Toner or ink level above empty. A status that reads "low" can stop a job before you see a warning.
• Any error code displayed. Write it down and search the exact code before you do anything else. It's faster than guessing.

That's 45 seconds. If the printer is genuinely powered, fed, and error-free, move to Step 2.

Step 2: Check Whether the Computer and Printer Are Actually Speaking

Most "Brother printer not printing" cases I see aren't the printer's fault. The connection is dead, but the printer looks healthy because it's on. Don't assume the connection just because the device has power.

If it's USB, swap the cable — cheap, takes 10 seconds. If it's on Wi-Fi or an office network, print a network configuration page. On most Brother models, hold the Go button for about three seconds, or go to Menu → Print Reports → Network Config. Look at the IP address. If it's 0.0.0.0 or 169.254.x.x, the printer isn't on the network, full stop.

Then ping it from your computer. Open a command prompt and type ping [printer IP]. Replies mean they're connected. Timeouts mean the problem is upstream of the printer — router, cable, or wireless signal.

The conventional wisdom says to restart the computer first. My experience, from inspecting more than 200 units, says the printer's network link is what actually drops. The computer is rarely the culprit. I don't have hard data on industry-wide failure distributions; I'm just telling you what we see on the service bench.

Step 3: Clear the Print Queue (This Fixes More Than You Think)

A stuck job is basically a roadblock for every document behind it. Windows will hold a corrupt print job in the queue forever, and the printer will sit there "waiting for data" when it's actually waiting for nothing.

Open the queue (right-click the printer in Settings or Control Panel → "See what's printing"). Cancel everything. If one document refuses to cancel, restart the Print Spooler service. On macOS, delete the printer in System Settings and re-add it — that resets the queue faster than trying to outlive a stubborn job.

Then send a test page. If it prints, you're done. If not, proceed.

Step 4: The Default Password Problem

If you're trying to log into your Brother printer's web management page (type the printer's IP into a browser) or using Brother's configuration software, you're going to hit a password prompt. Here's the thing: Brother's defaults have changed across generations, and a lot of the advice online is outdated.

• Newer models: initpass is the default admin password.
• Older models: access, or in some cases blank.
• Some firmware versions make you create a password on first login over HTTPS. If you skipped that prompt, you'll get "incorrect password" later and have no idea why.

I assumed for a long time that all Brother models used the same default. Didn't verify. Turned out the password changed depending on manufacturing date. That cost me a while on a batch of demo units.

One caution: don't spam guesses. After several failed attempts, some Brother models lock out the login for minutes at a time. If you're locked out and none of the defaults work, a factory reset is the reliable path — but it will also wipe your network settings. Print the network configuration page from Step 2 before you do that, or you'll be reconnecting in the dark.

Also, security-wise: if you get in, change the password. Per FTC data security guidance (ftc.gov), default credentials on any internet-connected office device are a known entry point. A printer with factory credentials is essentially a door left open on your network.

Step 5: Restart in the Right Order

I knew I should wait 60 seconds between power cycles when restarting a network printer setup. But I was rushing through forty demo units and thought, honestly, "what are the odds it makes a difference?" Well — half of them came back up without a network lease. The ones I'd waited on were fine. That was the afternoon I learned the order matters.

The sequence is: router → printer → computer. Power everything down, then bring up the router first, wait 60 seconds, then the printer, wait 60 seconds, then the computer. The wait isn't tech superstition. Devices need time to clear their network stack and re-request an IP address without colliding. If you're using an HP Smart Tank printer or an HP app setup, the same sequence applies — it's brand-agnostic.

Step 6: Reset the Network Settings

If a proper restart doesn't fix it, reset the printer's network stack. On most Brother models: Menu → Network → Network Reset. On some models, you can hold down the Stop or Cancel button for about five seconds. The exact path varies by generation — check the manual rather than trusting my memory, because I've seen enough model variation to stop quoting it from memory.

After the reset:

1. Reconnect the printer to your Wi-Fi using the printer's own setup wizard or Brother iPrint&Scan.
2. Reinstall the driver if the computer doesn't auto-detect it.
3. Send a test page. If it prints, you're done.

If you're doing this on an HP Smart Tank printer, it's the same idea: HP Smart app → Printer Settings → Restore or Reset. The logic doesn't change between brands.

Bonus: How to Make an Envelope out of Printer Paper

You have a printer that prints, a sheet of paper, and no envelopes. The invoice needs to go out today. You can spend half an hour driving to a store, or you can fold one. It's not going to win an award for professionalism, but it'll get the pages where they need to go.

According to USPS (pe.usps.com/businessmail101), a letter must be between 3.5" × 5" and 6.125" × 11.5", and no thicker than 0.25". The envelope you're about to make fits those dimensions.

1. Place the sheet vertically (portrait).
2. Fold the left edge in about an inch, and the right edge in about an inch. Now the paper is roughly 6.5 inches wide. The fold runs the full height of the sheet — that's what seals the sides of the envelope later.
3. Fold the bottom edge up about 4.5 inches. This creates the front pocket. The open edge at the top is the envelope opening.
4. Insert what you're mailing into the pocket. It fits a folded check, a small card, or a letter folded to size.
5. Fold the top edge of the remaining paper down. The crease lands about 2 inches below the top of the sheet, and the folded flap overlaps the pocket by about 2 inches.
6. Seal the flap with a small piece of tape.

Final size is about 6.5" × 4.5" — comfortably inside USPS letter limits. As of January 2025, a one-ounce First-Class letter costs $0.73 (Source: usps.com/stamps). Rates generally change in January and July, so verify current pricing before you rely on it.

When should you use this? For a quick invoice, a signed page that couldn't wait, an urgent note to a client. When should you not? Anything going to a formal recipient or a serious payer. A hand-folded envelope reads as what it is.

Common Mistakes That Turn a Fix Into a New Problem

• Skipping the network config printout before a factory reset. Once the reset wipes the network settings, you need the old IP address to know what to reconnect to.
• Not waiting between power cycles. The 60-second rule isn't a suggestion; it's the time a device needs to actually release and re-request its network lease.
• Guessing the default password repeatedly. A lockout timer just adds minutes of staring at a screen. Try initpass, try access, then factory reset — in that order.
• For the envelope: overstuffing or over-folding. If the thickness goes past 0.25", USPS reclassifies it from a letter to a large envelope, and the price roughly doubles. Keep it flat and rectangular.

Run the checklist top to bottom. It's not glamorous, but it resolves most Brother printer issues without a support call. And if you're mid-deadline and this doesn't get you there? Pay for certainty. Whether that's a service visit, a loaner device, or just a trip to FedEx — the money spent on a guaranteed resolution is almost always cheaper than the cost of missing the deadline. I've made that calculation with a $400 rush order when the alternative was missing a $15,000 delivery. I'd make it again.