Are you unable to share the Brother Printer on a network? The first solution for this issue is to disable any third-party firewall or anti-virus software installed on your computer. Once your work is done, you are advised to enable the anti-virus again to secure your computer from vulnerable attacks. If the error is not on users’ computers, you need to consider the setup of a shared network printer on the host PC. So, do check the steps below to set up a shared network printer in Windows 7, 8 and 10.

Unable to Share the Brother Printer Network

The setup process can be classified broadly into two steps:

    1. Connecting Printer to Network

 

    1. Connecting other computers to the Printer

 

Connecting Brother Printer to Network

This can be done in 3 ways:

Connecting Brother printer to network directly

Most of the printers have built-in Wi-Fi, Ethernet or both. You can use the instruction manual to directly connect with either Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Some printers also have an easy ‘connect’ button to set up the Wi-Fi. After connecting the printer directly to the network, you can move to step 2.

Sharing Brother Printer connected to a PC using Homegroup
  • Make sure that the printer is connected properly to the computer.
  • Click Start, type ‘home group’ in the search box and click on the control panel app
      • If the screen that follows shows you are sharing a printer, you are done.

     

      • If the PC to which the printer is connected is already a part of the homegroup and you are not sharing the printer, click the ‘Change what you’re sharing with the homegroup’ link. Select the ‘Shared’ option from the Printer & Devices’ dropdown. Click ‘Next’ and close the ‘home group’ options. Move to step 2.

     

      • If a homegroup is already created but the printer PC is not a member, click on the ‘Join Now’ button on the screen that appears. Click ‘Next’ on the screen that follows. Again click ‘Next’ after making sure that ‘Printer & Devices’ is set to ‘Shared.’ Type the homegroup password and click ‘Next.’ Click ‘Finish’ on the final screen and move on to step 2.

     

    • If there is no homegroup on the network, you will see the ‘Create a homegroup’ button. Click it. Click ‘Next.’ Printers & Drivers should be set on ‘Shared.’ Click ‘Next.’ A password will be shown, note it down and click ‘Finish.’
Sharing Brother Printer connected to a PC without Homegroup
    • Click Start, type ‘devices and printers’ and click on the result.

 

    • Right-click on the printer you want to share over the network. Select ‘Printer Properties’ from the drop-down.

 

    • Click on the ‘Sharing’ tab.

 

    • Click on the box in front of ‘Share this printer’ option.

 

    • When settings are done, click ‘OK.’

 

Connecting other computers to the Brother Printer

If the printer is connected to the PC and the PC is sharing the printer as part of a Homegroup, use the steps mentioned in Step 1. Windows will automatically connect to the printer if the PCs are part of the same homegroup.

If the printer is connected to a PC which is not the part of a homegroup, follow the steps:

    • Click on Start and type ‘devices and printers’ in the search box.

 

    • Click on ‘Device & Printers’ that appear in the results.

 

    • Click ‘Add a printer’ link.

 

    • Select the printer you want to install.

 

    • The installation process will begin. You will be asked to provide a printer name.

 

    • You are done.

 

If you get any issue, contact Brother Printer Customer care toll-free number for assistance.

Unable to Share the Brother Printer on a Network

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