Brother printers are prominent for their reliability and features that are easy to use. Even when the Brother printer prints perfectly, people sometimes experience a problem with it not scanning. Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who has this issue if your Brother Printer Not Scanning, or if it prints but cannot scan to a file, email, or PC. You may restore your scanner’s functionality by following this guide’s step-by-step instructions and common reasons.
Typical Causes of Your Brother Printer Not Scanning
Understanding the potential cause of the issue is beneficial before attempting to solve it:
- Problems with the printer and computer’s connectivity
- Scanner drivers that are outdated or absent
- Inaccurate printer setup or settings
- The scanning feature is being blocked by firewall or antivirus software.
- Brother ControlCenter software problems
Let’s examine each potential remedy in turn.
1. Connect Brother printer to computer.
A poor or interrupted connection is one of the most frequent causes of your Brother printer not scanning to your computer. The connection needs to be reliable whether you’re using Wi-Fi, a wired network, or a USB.
How to proceed:
- USB Connection: Verify that the connection is firmly attached to your computer and printer. If need, try a different USB port.
- Network Connection or Wi-Fi: Verify that your computer and printer are linked to the same network. If the connection is erratic, try restarting your router.
- By printing a network configuration report from the printer settings menu, you may verify the connection.
2. Give Your Devices a restart
This may seem simple, but many short-term issues, particularly those affecting scanner connectivity, may be fixed by restarting your computer and printer.
3. Reinstall or update the Brother printer drivers.
Your Brother printer may be able to print but not scan due to outdated or corrupted drivers. Only the scanner driver may be impacted because Brother utilizes separate drivers for printing and scanning.
Actions:
- Visit the official Brother website to find out how to fix it.
- Enter the model of your printer.
- Install the whole driver and software set after obtaining it.
- To comprehend the installation, observe the commands.
- After the update, be careful to restart your computer in order for the variations to take effect.
4. Make use of the Brother ControlCenter software
Direct scanning to a PC, email, or file is possible with the Brother ControlCenter program. The ControlCenter setup may be the source of your problems if your brother printer printing but not scanning to email or to files.
Steps to take:
- Start the Brother ControlCenter2 (Mac) or ControlCenter4 (Windows).
- On the Scan tab, click.
- Validate that the “Scan to File” and “Scan to Email” options are set up appropriately.
- Instead of using the printer interface, try scanning again straight from the program.
- Try uninstalling and reinstalling the program from Brother’s official website if it isn’t functioning.
5. Make the appropriate scanner the default.
Your system may occasionally fail to identify your Brother printer as the default scanner (if available), particularly when several devices are connected.
On Windows:
- To access Devices and Printers in Windows, open the Control Panel.
- If the option is available, right-click on the Brother printer icon and pick Set as default.
- Try scanning once more with the Brother ControlCenter or Windows Fax and Scan, which are built-in programs.
6. Modify the antivirus or firewall settings
The network connectivity of your scanner may be blocked by firewall or antivirus software, particularly if you’re attempting to scan over a network or Wi-Fi.
Recommended actions:
- Turn off your firewall and antivirus software for a while.
- Try scanning once more.
- In your firewall settings, add your Brother printer as an exemption if it functions.
- After testing, be careful to turn on your firewall or antivirus program again.
7. Complete the Brother Printer Setup
Your printer can scan incorrectly or not at all if it was not set up correctly at first installation. Enabling both printing and scanning is ensured by a full Brother printer configuration.
How to do it:
- Unplug your computer and printer.
- Visit Brother’s website to get the complete driver and software bundle.
- When asked to do so during the installation, reconnect the printer.
- Test the scanning and printing features.
- When the brother printer can print but not scan, this new configuration frequently fixes the problem.
8. Resolve Brother Printer Issues with Email Scanning
Check your SMTP settings in the online interface or software utility of your Brother printer if it isn’t scanning to email.
Steps:
- Enter your printer’s IP address in a browser to access its online interface.
- Navigate to the email or scan settings.
- Depending on your email provider, provide the relevant SMTP server, port, and authentication information.
- Retest after saving the adjustments.
- Ensure that the scan-to-email feature is supported by your printer. Not every model does.
9. Resolve Brother Printer Issues with File Scanning
A destination folder problem may be the cause of Brother Printer Not Scanning the file.
Try this:
- Launch the Brother ControlCenter application.
- Check the path to the target folder under Scan > Scan to File.
- Verify that writing to that folder is permitted for your user account.
- Another option is to make a brand-new, fully accessible folder and designate it as the default scan location.
Final thoughts
It may be really annoying when your Brother Printer Not Scanning, especially if you know that your device is still able to print without any issues. These methods ought to assist you in fixing any connection issues, driver issues, or misconfigurations.
Verify that the scanner is configured appropriately, that your device is allied appropriately, and that your drivers are up to current.
Keep in mind that even dependable equipment occasionally requires minor upkeep and troubleshooting.
FAQs
Why is my Brother printer not scanning to my computer?
Connection problems, out-of-date drivers, improper settings, or firewall interference can all prevent your Brother printer from scanning. Validate that the printer is set up appropriately and that the scanner driver is installed.
Why can’t I scan from my Brother printer to my Mac?
Missing drivers, improper permissions, or mismatched applications are frequently the cause of scanning problems on Macs. Validate that the printer is connected appropriately and that Brother iPrint&Scan or ControlCenter2 is installed.
Why is my Brother scanner not detected by Windows 10/11?
If your Brother scanner isn’t configured as default, the drivers are out of current, or your network or USB connections are erratic, Windows might not recognize it. Verify device settings and update drivers.
How can I fix a Brother printer that scans but does not save files?
Verify the target folder location, file permissions, and ControlCenter settings if your scans aren’t saving. Make that your account has write access to the chosen folder and that it exists.