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Error and Maintenance Messages

As with any sophisticated office product, errors may occur and supply items may have to be replaced. If this happens, your machine identifies the error or required routine maintenance and shows the appropriate message. The most common error and maintenance messages are shown in the table.

You can correct most errors and perform routine maintenance yourself. If you need more tips, go to your model's FAQs & Troubleshooting page at support.brother.com.

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  • Related Information references are at the bottom of this page.
Error Message Cause Action

B&W Print Only

One or more of the colour ink cartridges have reached the end of their lives.

You can use the machine in monochrome mode for approximately four weeks depending on the number of pages you print.

While this message appears on the LCD, each operation works in the following way:

  • Printing

    If the media type is set to Plain Paper and you selected Greyscale in the printer driver, you can use the machine as a monochrome printer.

  • Copying

    If the paper type is set to Plain Paper, you can make copies in monochrome.

  • Faxing

    If the paper type is set to Plain Paper, the machine will receive and print the faxes in monochrome.

Replace the ink cartridges.

See Related Information: Replace the Ink Cartridges.

Although the Cause column lists options for using the machine after this error appears, you may not be able to use the machine if you unplug the machine or remove the ink cartridge.

BT Call Sign On

BT Call Sign is set to On. You cannot change the Receive Mode from Manual to another mode.

Set BT Call Sign to Off.

See Related Information: Enable the Machine to Work with BT Call Sign (with Your External Telephone only).

Cannot Clean ##

Cannot Initialise ##

Cannot Print ##

The machine has a mechanical problem.

-OR-

A foreign object, such as a paper clip or a piece of ripped paper, is in the machine.

Open the scanner cover and remove any foreign objects and paper scraps from inside the machine. If the error message continues, disconnect the machine from the power for several minutes, and then reconnect it.

You can try additional clear paper jam operations.

See Related Information: Remove Paper Scraps.

(If you cannot print documents and received faxes, transfer them to another fax machine or to your computer.)

See Related Information: Transfer Your Faxes or Fax Journal Report.

Cannot cut

The Roll paper cutter is repeatedly jammed in the machine. The cutter unit will soon reach the end of its life.

The cutter unit must be replaced soon. Contact Brother customer service or your local Brother dealer.

Cannot Detect

You installed a new ink cartridge too quickly and the machine did not detect it.

Take out the new ink cartridge and reinstall it slowly and firmly until it locks into place.

See Related Information: Replace the Ink Cartridges.

An ink cartridge is not installed correctly.

The wrong Brother model ink cartridge was installed.

Check the model numbers of the ink cartridges and install the correct ink cartridges.

Cannot Scan ##

The machine has a mechanical problem.

Disconnect the machine from the power for several minutes, and then reconnect it.

(If you cannot print documents and received faxes, transfer them to another fax machine or to your computer.)

See Related Information: Transfer Your Faxes or Fax Journal Report.

Comm.Error

Poor telephone line quality caused a communication error.

Send the fax again or connect the machine to another telephone line. If the problem continues, contact the telephone company and ask them to check your telephone line.

Connection Error

Other devices are trying to connect to the Wi-Fi Direct network at the same time.

Make sure there are no other devices trying to connect to the Wi-Fi Direct network, and then try to configure the Wi-Fi Direct settings again.

Connection Failed

The Brother machine and your mobile device cannot communicate during the Wi-Fi Direct network configuration.

  • Move the mobile device closer to your Brother machine.
  • Move your Brother machine and the mobile device to an obstruction-free area.
  • If you are using the PIN Method of WPS, make sure you have entered the correct PIN.

Cover is Open.

The scanner cover is not locked in the closed position.

Lift the scanner cover and then close it again.

Make sure the telephone line cord and interface cable (if used) have been guided correctly through the cable channel and out the back of the machine.

The ink cartridge cover is not locked in the closed position.

Firmly close the ink cartridge cover until it locks into place.

Jam Clear Cover B is not locked in the closed position.

Firmly close Jam Clear Cover B until it locks into place.

Make sure the cutter unit is installed correctly and the cutter unit lever is lowered to secure the cutter unit in place.

Cutter Jam ##

Roll paper cutter is jammed or cannot return to the home position.

Clear the cutter jam.

See Related Information: Cutter Jams.

Cutter Unit Not Detected

The cutter unit for Roll paper is not installed correctly in the machine.

While this message appears on the LCD, you can print only on Cut-sheet paper.

Follow the LCD instructions and make sure the cutter unit is installed correctly.

Data Remaining in Memory

Print data is left in the machine's memory.

Press image. The machine will cancel the job and clear it from the memory. Try to print again.

Disconnected

The other person or other person's fax machine stopped the call.

Try to send or receive again.

If calls are stopped repeatedly and you are using a VoIP (Voice over IP) system, try changing the Compatibility to Basic (for VoIP).

See Related Information: Telephone Line Interference/VoIP.

Document Jam/too Long

The document was not inserted or fed correctly, or the document scanned from the ADF was too long.

Remove the jammed document, and then press image. Set the document in the ADF correctly.

See Related Information: Load Documents in the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF).

See Related Information: Document Jams.

High Temperature

The room temperature is too high.

After cooling the room, allow the machine to cool down to room temperature. Try again when the machine has cooled down.

Hub is Unusable.

A hub or USB flash drive with hub has been connected to the USB direct interface.

Hubs, including a USB flash drive with a built-in hub, are not supported. Unplug the device from the USB direct interface.

Ink Absorber NearFull

The ink absorber box is nearly full.

The ink absorber box must be replaced soon. Contact Brother customer service or your local Brother dealer.

Ink Absorber Pad Full

The ink absorber box is full. These components are periodic maintenance items that may require replacement after a period of time to ensure optimum performance from your Brother machine. Because these components are periodic maintenance items, the replacement is not covered under the warranty. The need to replace these items and the time period before replacement is dependent on the number of purges and flushes required to clean the ink system. These boxes acquire amounts of ink during the different purging and flushing operations. The number of times a machine purges and flushes for cleaning varies depending on different situations. For example, frequently powering the machine on and off will cause numerous cleaning cycles since the machine automatically cleans upon power up.

The ink absorber box must be replaced. Contact Brother customer service or your local Brother Authorised Service Centre to have your machine serviced.

The machine cleans itself after:

  • You remove the power cord and plug it back in.
  • A paper jam has been cleared.

  • Sitting idle for more than 30 days (infrequent use).

  • Ink cartridges of the same colour have been replaced 12 times.

Ink Low

The ink level is low. If the sending machine has the ability to convert it, the colour fax will be printed at your machine as a monochrome fax.

Prepare a new ink cartridge. You can continue printing until the touchscreen displays Replace Ink.

See Related Information: Replace the Ink Cartridges.

  • You can still scan even if the ink is low or needs to be replaced.

Install Ink

An ink cartridge is not installed correctly.

Remove the ink cartridge and re-install it slowly and firmly until it locks into place.

See Related Information: Replace the Ink Cartridges.

Jam Front/Rear

Jam Front

Jam Rear

Jam MP Tray

Jam Front/MP Tray

Jam Tray2

Repeat Jam ##

Roll Paper Jam ##

The paper is jammed in the machine.

Gently remove the jammed paper.

See Related Information: Printer Jam or Paper Jam.

If there is a repeat paper jam, try another paper jam clear operation.

See Related Information: Remove Paper Scraps.

The paper guides are not set to the correct paper size.

Make sure the paper guides are set to the correct paper size.

The machine's paper support is not set correctly.

Make sure the paper support is fully inserted into the machine.

See Related Information: Paper is Jammed in the Front of the Machine or Roll Paper is Jammed Inside and at the Back of the Machine (Roll Paper Jam 03).

Paper dust has accumulated on the surface of the paper pick-up rollers.

Clean the paper pick-up rollers.

See Related Information: Clean the Paper Pick-up Rollers for Paper Tray #1 or Clean the Paper Pick-up Rollers for Paper Tray #2.

The feeding edge of the Roll paper is curled.

Flatten the feeding edge, and then reload the Roll paper in Tray #2.

Low Temperature

The room temperature is too low.

After warming the room, allow the machine to warm up to room temperature. Try again when the machine has warmed up.

Media is Full.

The USB flash drive you are using does not have enough free space to scan the document.

Delete unused files from your USB flash drive to free some space, and then try again.

No Caller ID

There is no incoming call history. You did not receive calls or you have not subscribed to the Caller ID service from your telephone company.

To use the Caller ID feature, contact your telephone company.

See Related Information: Caller ID.

No Device

When configuring the Wi-Fi Direct network, the Brother machine cannot find your mobile device.

  • Make sure your machine and mobile device are in the Wi-Fi Direct mode.
  • Move the mobile device closer to your Brother machine.
  • Move your Brother machine and the mobile device to an obstruction-free area.
  • If you are manually configuring the Wi-Fi Direct network, make sure you have entered the correct password.
  • If your mobile device has a configuration page for how to obtain an IP address, make sure the IP address of your mobile device has been configured via DHCP.

No File

The USB flash drive in the media drive does not contain a .JPG file.

Reinsert the correct USB flash drive in the slot.

No Paper Fed

The machine is out of paper or paper is not correctly loaded in the paper tray.

Do one of the following:

  • Refill the paper tray, and then follow the LCD instructions.
  • Remove and reload the paper, and then follow the LCD instructions.

See Related Information: Load Paper.

The paper was not inserted in the centre position of the MP tray.

Remove the paper and reinsert it in the centre of the MP tray, and then follow the LCD instructions.

See Related Information: Load Paper in the Multi-purpose Tray (MP Tray).

The Jam Clear Cover is not closed correctly.

Make sure the Jam Clear Cover is closed evenly at both ends.

See Related Information: Printer Jam or Paper Jam.

Paper dust has accumulated on the surface of the paper pick-up rollers.

Clean the paper pick-up rollers.

See Related Information: Clean the Paper Pick-up Rollers for Paper Tray #1 or Clean the Paper Pick-up Rollers for Paper Tray #2.

No Response

The connected USB device is unresponsive.

Unplug the device from the USB direct interface.

No Response/Busy

The number you dialled does not answer or is busy.

Verify the number and try again.

Not Enough Ink

There is not enough ink in one or more ink cartridges to print on Long paper or Roll paper.

You can still print A4 or Letter, or smaller size paper.

To print on long media, replace the ink cartridges with new ink cartridges.

See Related Information: Replace the Ink Cartridges.

Out of Fax Memory

The fax memory is full.

Do one of the following:

  • Clear the data from the memory. To gain extra memory, you can turn off Memory Receive.

    See Related Information: Turn Off Memory Receive.

  • Print the faxes that are in the memory.

    See Related Information: Print a Fax Stored in the Machine's Memory.

Out of Memory

The machine's memory is full.

If a fax-sending or copy operation is in progress:

  • Press image or Quit and wait until the other operations that are in progress finish, and then try again.
  • Press Partial Print to copy the pages scanned so far.
  • Clear the data stored in the memory. To gain extra memory, you can turn Memory Receive off.

    See Related Information: Turn Off Memory Receive.

  • Print the faxes stored in the memory.

    See Related Information: Print a Fax Stored in the Machine's Memory.

Paper Low Tray 1

Paper Low Tray 2

The paper tray is nearly empty.

Refill the paper in the paper tray indicated on the LCD.

Paper Size Mismatch

The paper size setting does not match the size of paper in the tray.

-OR-

The paper orientation is not correct for the paper size.

-OR-

You did not set the paper guides in the tray to the indicators for the paper size you are using.

  1. Check that the paper size you selected on the machine's display matches the size of the paper in the tray.

    See Related Information: Change the Paper Size and Paper Type.

  2. Make sure you loaded the paper in the correct orientation and set the paper guides at the indicators for your paper size.

    See Related Information: Load Paper.

  3. After you have checked the paper size and the paper orientation, follow the LCD instructions.

If you are printing from your computer, make sure the paper size you selected in the printer driver or in the application you use to print matches the size of paper in the tray.

See Related Information: Print Settings (Windows).

Paper Tray not detected

Paper Tray 1 not detected

Paper Tray 2 not detected

The paper tray is not completely inserted.

Slowly push the paper tray completely into the machine.

Paper or a foreign object has prevented the paper tray from being inserted correctly.

Pull the paper tray out of the machine, and remove the jammed paper or foreign object. If you cannot find or remove the jammed paper, see Related Information: Printer Jam or Paper Jam.

Repetitive No Paper Fed

The machine is out of paper or paper is not correctly loaded in the paper tray.

Do one of the following:

  • Refill the paper tray, and then follow the LCD instructions.
  • Remove and reload the paper, and then follow the LCD instructions.

See Related Information: Load Paper.

Paper dust has accumulated on the surface of the paper pick-up rollers.

Clean the paper pick-up rollers.

See Related Information: Clean the Paper Pick-up Rollers for Paper Tray #1 or Clean the Paper Pick-up Rollers for Paper Tray #2.

Repetitive Paper Jams

A foreign object, such as a paper clip or a piece of ripped paper, is in the machine.

Remove any foreign objects and paper scraps in the machine.

See Related Information: Remove Paper Scraps.

Replace Ink

One or more of the ink cartridges have reached the end of their lives. The machine will stop all print operations. While memory is available, monochrome faxes will be stored in the memory. If the sending machine has the ability to convert it, the colour fax will be stored in the memory as a monochrome fax.

Replace the ink cartridges.

See Related Information: Replace the Ink Cartridges.

  • You can still scan even if the ink is low or needs to be replaced.

When you are printing on long media, such as Long paper or Roll paper, one or more of the ink cartridges have reached the end of their lives.

Replace the ink cartridges with new ink cartridges of the same colour and continue printing. Note that the colour tone after the cartridge replacement may be different.

Replace the printer platen

The inside of the machine's printer platen is stained with ink.

The machine's printer platen must be replaced if you want to use the Borderless print feature. Contact Brother customer service or your local Brother dealer.

You can still print without using the Borderless print feature even if the machine's printer platen needs to be replaced.

Replace the printer platen soon

The inside of the machine's printer platen is getting stained with ink.

The machine's printer platen must be replaced soon to continue using the Borderless print feature. Contact Brother customer service or your local Brother dealer.

You can still print without using the Borderless print feature even if the machine's printer platen needs to be replaced.

Sending Error

Wrong Document Size Settings

The document size option does not match the size of your fax document.

Select the correct document size option, and then press Fax Start again.

The maximum number of devices are already connected using Wi-Fi Direct.

The maximum number of mobile devices are already connected to the Wi-Fi Direct network when the Brother machine is the Group Owner.

After the current connection between your Brother machine and another mobile device has shut down, try to configure the Wi-Fi Direct settings again. You can confirm the connection status by printing the Network Configuration Report.

See Related Information: Print the Network Configuration Report.

Touchscreen Init. Failed

The touchscreen was pressed before the power on initialisation was completed.

Make sure nothing is touching or resting on the touchscreen, especially when plugging the machine in.

Debris may be stuck between the lower part of the touchscreen and its frame.

Insert a piece of stiff paper between the lower part of the touchscreen and its frame and slide it back and forth to push out the debris.

Tray Settings

Tray 1 Settings

Tray 2 Settings

MP Tray Settings

This message is displayed when the setting to confirm the paper type and size is enabled.

To not display this confirmation message, change the setting to Off.

See Related Information: Change the Check Paper Setting.

Unusable Device

Disconnect device from front connector & turn machine off & then on

A broken device is connected to the USB direct interface.

Unplug the device from the USB direct interface. Turn the machine off and then on again.

Unusable Device

Please disconnect USB device.

A USB device or USB flash drive that is not supported has been connected to the USB direct interface.

Unplug the device from the USB direct interface.

Wrong Ink Cartridge

The ink cartridge model number is not compatible with your machine.

Verify whether the cartridge model number will work with your machine.

Wrong Ink Colour

An ink cartridge has been installed in the wrong position.

Check which ink cartridges are not matched by colour to their ink cartridge positions and move them to their correct positions.

Wrong Tray Settings

The machine's paper size settings and tray select settings do not match the size of paper in the tray you are using.

Follow the instructions on the touchscreen and try to print again.

Configure the paper size setting for the tray according to the LCD instructions.

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