Brother Printer Keeps Going Offline — Permanent Fix for Windows & Mac (2026)

A Brother printer keeps going offline because Windows loses track of its IP address, the WSD port becomes unstable, the printer’s sleep mode cuts the network connection, or the Brother iPrint&Scan app loses sync with Windows. All four causes are fixable with settings changes — no new hardware needed. This guide covers every permanent fix for Windows 10, Windows 11 and Mac.

Why does my Brother printer keep going offline?

The recurring nature of this problem is what makes it so frustrating. It comes back because the root cause hasn’t been addressed — only the symptom. Restarting fixes it temporarily, but the same thing happens tomorrow.

Here are the five reasons a Brother printer keeps going offline, in order of how often I see them:

1. Dynamic IP address — your router assigns the Brother printer a new IP address every time it restarts. Windows is still pointing to the old one. The printer is on and connected, but Windows can’t find it at the changed address.
2. WSD port instability — Windows creates a WSD (Web Services for Devices) port automatically when you set up a network printer. WSD is convenient but notoriously unstable. It loses track of the Brother printer’s address and drops the connection, often after a router restart or Windows update.
3. Brother printer sleep mode — Brother printers have an aggressive sleep mode that cuts the network interface to save power. When the printer wakes up, it sometimes rejoins the network on a different IP, and Windows loses the connection.
4. Brother iPrint&Scan conflict — on Windows 11 especially, the Brother iPrint&Scan app can conflict with the Windows printer management system and report an incorrect offline status even when the printer is working fine.
5. “Use Printer Offline” mode — silently enabled by Windows, often after a Windows update. The printer is fine. Windows is just told not to talk to it.

The permanent fix depends on which of these is your actual cause. The steps below address all of them.

How do I stop my Brother printer from going offline permanently?

The permanent fix has two parts: switching from a WSD port to a TCP/IP port, and assigning the Brother printer a static IP address. Together, these two changes eliminate the two most common recurring causes in a single go. Everything else in this guide is for specific situations on top of that foundation.

Step 1 — Uncheck “Use Printer Offline” (quick check first)

This takes 60 seconds and fixes the issue outright if Windows silently enabled it.

On Windows 11:

1. Go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners
2. Click your Brother printer → Open print queue
3. Click Printer in the top menu bar
4. If Use Printer Offline is checked — click it to uncheck it
5. Also uncheck Pause Printing if it’s ticked

On Windows 10:

1. Go to Settings → Devices → Printers & scanners
2. Click your Brother printer → Open queue
3. Click Printer in the menu → uncheck Use Printer Offline

If that fixes it but it comes back after the next restart, the root cause is the IP address or WSD port. Move to Step 2.

Step 2 — Find your Brother printer’s current IP address

You need the printer’s IP address before switching ports. There are two ways to get it:

From the printer itself:

• On most Brother models: press Menu → Network → WLAN → TCP/IP → IP Address
• Or print a network configuration page: Menu → Print Reports → Network Config

From Brother iPrint&Scan:

• Open the app → your printer should show its IP address in the details panel

Write the IP address down — it will look something like 192.168.1.105. You’ll need it in Step 3.

Step 3 — Switch from WSD port to TCP/IP port

This is the single most effective fix for a Brother printer that keeps going offline. The WSD port is the root cause of most recurring offline issues on WiFi-connected Brother printers.

1. Press Windows + R → type control printers → press Enter
2. Right-click your Brother printer → select Printer properties
3. Click the Ports tab
4. Look at the currently selected port — if it starts with “WSD-“, that’s the problem
5. Click Add Port
6. Select Standard TCP/IP Port → click New Port
7. Enter the IP address you found in Step 2
8. Follow the wizard to completion
9. Back on the Ports tab, make sure your new TCP/IP port is selected (checked)
10. Uncheck the WSD port
11. Click Apply → OK

Test print immediately. The Brother printer should now connect via TCP/IP, which is stable and doesn’t rely on WSD auto-discovery.

But there’s one more step — without it, the issue will come back when the printer gets a new IP address.

Step 4 — Assign a static IP to your Brother printer

Switching to TCP/IP only works permanently if the Brother printer always has the same IP address. Right now your router assigns it a random address each time it restarts. You need to lock it in.

You do this through your router’s admin panel:

1. Open a browser and go to your router’s admin page. Usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 — it’s printed on the router label if you haven’t changed it.
2. Log in with your router credentials
3. Find the section called DHCP Reservation, Address Reservation, or Static DHCP — the label varies by router brand (Netgear, TP-Link, Xfinity, etc.)
4. Find your Brother printer in the connected devices list — it will show as “Brother” with a MAC address
5. Click Reserve or Add Reservation
6. Save the settings

Your router will now always give the Brother printer the same IP address. The TCP/IP port you set in Step 3 will always find the printer at that address. This combination permanently ends the recurring offline issue in the vast majority of cases.

Step 5 — Fix Brother printer sleep mode disconnection

If your Brother printer goes offline after sitting idle for 30 minutes or more, sleep mode is cutting the network connection. Here’s how to adjust it.

On the printer’s control panel:

1. Press Menu
2. Navigate to General Setup → Ecology → Sleep Time
3. Change the sleep time to 10 minutes or higher — don’t set it to the minimum
4. Press OK to save

And in Windows, disable the USB selective suspend if you’re using a USB connection:

1. Press Windows + S → search Power & sleep settings → Additional power settings
2. Click Change plan settings → Change advanced power settings
3. Expand USB settings → USB selective suspend setting
4. Set to Disabled
5. Click Apply

For WiFi-connected Brother printers, also check the printer’s WLAN settings and make sure WLAN Auto Recovery is enabled — this tells the printer to reconnect to WiFi automatically if the connection drops during sleep.

Step 6 — Update or reinstall Brother iPrint&Scan

On Windows 11, the Brother iPrint&Scan app is a common source of false offline status reports. An outdated version can conflict with Windows 11’s printer management and keep showing the printer as offline even when it’s working.

1. Open Microsoft Store → search Brother iPrint&Scan → update if an update is available
2. If updating doesn’t fix it: uninstall iPrint&Scan completely via Settings → Apps
3. Go to support.brother.com → search your model number → download the latest Full Driver & Software Package for your Windows version
4. Run the installer — it includes the latest iPrint&Scan version built specifically for your model

Don’t use a generic iPrint&Scan download. Brother model-specific driver packages include firmware settings that the standalone app doesn’t have.

Step 7 — Reinstall the Brother printer driver

If Steps 1–6 haven’t permanently fixed the recurring offline issue, the driver itself needs a clean reinstall.

1. Go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners
2. Select your Brother printer → Remove device
3. Press Windows + X → Device Manager → expand Print queues
4. Right-click any remaining Brother entry → Uninstall device → check Delete the driver software if available
5. Restart your computer
6. Go to support.brother.com → search your exact model number
7. Download the Full Driver & Software Package for your OS version
8. Run the installer → choose Wireless Network Connection
9. After installation, immediately go back and apply Steps 3 and 4 to set TCP/IP port and static IP

The driver reinstall resets everything. The TCP/IP port and static IP steps lock in the stable connection going forward.

How do I fix Brother printer keeps going offline on Mac?

The Mac fix is different from Windows. macOS uses the CUPS print system and doesn’t use WSD ports — so the fix path involves resetting the CUPS queue and reassigning the printer.

1. Click Apple menu → System Settings → Printers & Scanners
2. Select your Brother printer → click the minus (–) button to remove it
3. Right-click in the printer list area → Reset printing system → confirm. This removes all printers.
4. Click plus (+) → your Brother printer should appear if it’s on the same WiFi network → select it → Add

If the printer doesn’t appear:

• On the printer’s control panel, go to Network → WLAN → Wireless Setup Wizard and reconnect to your WiFi network
• Then re-add it on Mac

For persistent offline issues on Mac after a macOS update, download the Brother driver for Mac directly from support.brother.com. The Brother-provided Mac driver includes a network monitoring component that maintains the connection more reliably than the generic driver macOS installs by default.

For Mac users with the recurring offline problem: also check System Settings → Printers & Scanners → select your Brother printer → confirm the address shown is the correct IP. If it shows a different IP than the printer’s current one, delete and re-add the printer after applying the static IP fix through your router.

Brother printer keeps going offline after Windows update — specific fix

Windows updates are a very common trigger for recurring Brother offline issues. An update can reset your TCP/IP port back to WSD, replace the Brother driver with a generic version, or enable “Use Printer Offline” silently.

If your Brother printer started going offline after a Windows update, this is the order to follow:

1. Step 1 first — check Use Printer Offline (updates enable this)
2. Check your port settings — the update may have reset to WSD — Step 3
3. Reinstall the Brother driver from support.brother.com — Step 7

Since January 2026, Microsoft changed how printer drivers are distributed via Windows Update. Many Brother models now receive a generic IPP class driver through Windows Update instead of the Brother-specific one. If your driver was replaced, your Brother-specific features (including network status monitoring) won’t work correctly, which manifests as recurring offline status.

Quick fix comparison — temporary vs permanent