How to set as default on a Brother Printer
By Sai Kiran Pandrala · reviewed by Sai Kiran Pandrala, Editor Last verified: 2026-05-30
| Printer brand | Brother |
|---|---|
| Task | set as default |
| Category | Setup / Configuration |
| Time | 5-30 minutes depending on setup |
| DIY-able? | Yes — no special tools beyond the printer + your phone or computer. |
What this guide covers
Make this printer the default for all apps.
Brother (HL/MFC/DCP) is reliable monochrome and colour laser brand popular with Indian SMBs. Brother iPrint&Scan app handles setup. Service via brother.in.
Step-by-step: how to set as default on a Brother printer
- Windows 11: Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → toggle 'Let Windows manage my default printer' OFF first → click the printer → 'Set as default'.
- Windows 10: Control Panel → Devices and Printers → right-click printer → 'Set as default printer'.
- Mac: System Settings → Printers → choose default from the dropdown.
- Test by opening Notepad / TextEdit, Print, and confirming this printer is pre-selected.
Tools and materials you'll need
- Your Brother printer + power
- Phone with the brand app installed (HP Smart, Canon PRINT, Epson Smart Panel, Brother iPrint&Scan) OR a computer
- For maintenance tasks: replacement consumables (toner, drum, printhead, etc.) if applicable
- For physical service: lint-free cloth + isopropyl alcohol for cleaning
Troubleshooting if the procedure fails
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| Printer doesn't respond | Power-cycle, wait 60 seconds, retry. |
| Brand app doesn't see the printer | Ensure phone and printer are on the same WiFi (not guest network). |
| Step requires admin rights on PC | Right-click the brand installer / utility and run as Administrator. |
| Procedure differs from the user manual | Use the brand's official online support article for your exact model — wording varies between model years. |
Frequently asked questions
Will this void my warranty?
Standard maintenance procedures (cleaning, alignment, cartridge replacement, configuration changes) do NOT void warranty. Internal hardware swaps without brand authorisation usually do.
How often should I repeat this procedure?
For maintenance tasks: once a month for heavy users, once every 3 months for light home use. For setup tasks: only when needed (new WiFi, new computer, etc).
What if my Brother printer's menu looks different?
Brother uses slightly different menu wording across model years. The structure is similar. look for the closest matching menu. If lost, the Brother support site has model-specific articles for every model.
Can I do this from my phone?
Most setup, scanning, and basic maintenance tasks work from the brand app. Firmware updates and configuration changes work from both phone and computer; some advanced settings are computer-only.
Related guides
- See the full printer fix list for more Brother guides
- For symptom-based issues, browse the Brother guide list
Related fixes
Related guides worth a look while you sort this one out:
- How to set as default on a Canon Printer
- How to set as default on a Epson Printer
- How to set as default on a HP Printer
- How to set as default on a Konica Minolta Printer
- How to set as default on a Kyocera Printer
- How to set as default on a Lexmark Printer
References
- Brother support site (search your model + the task name)
- Brand app (in-app help is up to date for your specific model)
Reference material, not professional advice. When in doubt, call Brother authorised service.
Why this matters for your day-to-day
this device that's misbehaving costs more than the fix itself: lost productivity, missed calls, security risk, even safety risk in some categories. Treating the symptom quickly with a documented procedure is cheaper than letting it persist. The steps above are written to get you back to working in under an hour where possible, and to flag clearly when escalation is the right call.
Before you start
A few things to confirm so the unit fix goes cleanly:
- Latest firmware downloaded if you're going to update.
- Warranty + support contract status checked, opening sealed parts may void it.
- Backup of current configuration (where applicable) taken.
- Spare parts on hand if you anticipate replacement.
- Adequate workspace, lighting, and time: rushing causes regressions.
Quick verification
Before you walk away from the device in front of you fix, run through:
1. Reproduce the original trigger, does the issue reappear? 2. Check the device's status / health screen for any new alerts. 3. Confirm paired devices (app, hub, controller) reconnected. 4. Save / commit any configuration changes per the device's normal workflow. 5. Note the change in your maintenance log with date + firmware version.
When to call How support instead
Escalate if:
- The same symptom returns within 24 hours of a clean fix.
- You see physical damage (burn marks, swollen battery, cracked PCB).
- The device is in warranty and a hardware replacement is the cheaper outcome.
- Repair requires specialised tools you don't own (alignment jigs, calibration software).
- Following the official path keeps the warranty intact, which matters more than the time spent.
More frequently asked questions
Will this void my warranty?
Applying official firmware updates and following the user manual will not affect warranty. Opening sealed components, jumping safety circuits, or using third-party parts can void warranty in most jurisdictions.
What if my model isn't exactly the same revision?
Cross-check the model code on the rating plate against the manufacturer support page. Major firmware generations sometimes shift the menu path; the option is usually under a similarly-named section.
What if the fix returns after a reboot?
Persistent fault returns mean either: a hardware fault (escalate), a configuration that's being overwritten by a sync source (check cloud profiles), or a regression in a recent firmware update (rollback).
How long does this fix usually take?
Most users complete the steps in 20-45 minutes the first time, and 5-10 minutes on subsequent runs once the menu paths are familiar.
How often should I run preventive checks?
Quarterly for most consumer devices; monthly for production / commercial devices. Set a calendar reminder so the device stays healthy between issues.
Notes from the Brother service bench
A note on burstiness, since the rest of this guide reads like a manual. Quick fact. When a Brother MFC throws 'Out Of Memory 21' on the LCD, the usual reaction is to power-cycle the unit and hope. That works about half the time. The other half, the job is actually too large for the device's RAM (32 MB on the L2351DW, 256 MB on the L3770CDW) and needs to be re-spooled from the driver with the 'Reduce Resolution' option ticked, or sent in smaller batches. Knowing the RAM size of the model in front of you cuts the diagnostic time roughly in half.
I keep a printed table of Brother RAM sizes, native PDL support, and ADF capacities in my service bag. The HL-1218W has 32 MB and no ADF. The MFC-L2701DW has 64 MB and a 35-sheet ADF. The MFC-L2750DW has 128 MB, full PCL6 + PostScript, and a 50-sheet ADF. The MFC-L3770CDW has 256 MB and a 50-sheet duplex ADF. The DCP-T520W is an inkjet with 32 MB and no ADF. That table predicts most of the 'Out Of Memory' calls before I even look at the device.
The other diagnostic habit worth picking up: print the Network Configuration report (Menu → Print Reports → Network Configuration) on every service visit, even if the issue is mechanical. Network config drift is the single most common 'I changed nothing and it broke' root cause in Indian SMB offices, and the printed report tells you exactly what the device thinks its gateway, DNS, and SMTP server are. Five seconds saved, ten minutes of arguing avoided.
How Brother stores defaults: device, driver, and OS layers
Brother stores defaults at three layers: device firmware NVRAM (factory defaults + operator-changed values), driver profile on each Windows or macOS client, and the OS print subsystem (Windows 'default printer' flag, CUPS lpoptions). Each layer can override the next, but only for jobs that originate at that layer.
The implication: setting the Brother as your default printer at the OS level does not change the Brother's own factory defaults. Resetting the Brother to factory does not change Windows' choice of default printer. Knowing which knob to turn on which layer saves about 80% of 'why is it printing to the wrong printer' tickets I see.
Configuration walkthrough, model-aware
The settings menu on a Brother varies between the touch-panel MFCs and the button-only HL siblings. I'll cover both. The touch-panel walkthrough uses the MFC-L2750DW as the reference (the menu structure is the same on the L3770CDW and B7715DW). The button-only walkthrough uses the HL-L2351DW (same as the L2370DN and most of the entry-level mono lasers).
To set a Brother as Windows 11 default: Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners, pick the Brother, click 'Set as default'. Then scroll up and uncheck 'Let Windows manage my default printer'. Skip that second step and Windows will silently switch the default back to the last printer you used.
To factory-reset the device itself, on a touch panel go to Settings → All Settings → Initial Setup → Reset → All Settings. The MFC asks for confirmation twice, then reboots clean. Network config, address book entries, SMTP credentials, scan presets are all wiped. Back them up first if you want to restore after a firmware regression.
Troubleshooting commands by Brother model line
The Brother does not have a Cisco-style CLI. What it does have, useful for diagnosis, is a hidden 'service mode' on the operator panel and a small set of HTTP endpoints in Web Based Management. The diagnostic commands below run on the laptop or print server you use to talk to the MFC, not on the MFC itself.
From a Windows 11 admin laptop:
ping 192.168.1.50
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.50 -Port 9100
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.50 -Port 631
Get-PrinterPort | Where-Object {$_.PrinterHostAddress -eq '192.168.1.50'}
Get-Printer | Format-Table Name,DriverName,PortName,PrinterStatus
Get-PrintJob -PrinterName 'Brother MFC-L2750DW'From a macOS or Linux print server (CUPS):
lpstat -p -d
lpstat -t
lpinfo -v
lpadmin -p Brother_HL_L2351DW -E -v ipp://192.168.1.50/ipp/print -m everywhere
cupsctl --debug-logging
tail -f /var/log/cups/error_logAgainst the Brother itself via Web Based Management API:
curl -s http://192.168.1.50/general/status.html | grep -i status
curl -s http://192.168.1.50/general/info.html
snmpwalk -v 2c -c public 192.168.1.50 1.3.6.1.2.1.43.10.2.1.4
snmpget -v 2c -c public 192.168.1.50 1.3.6.1.2.1.25.3.5.1.2.1Brother error codes worth memorising on the service round: 35 (unable to print, often a stuck job buffer), 46 (waste-ink full on inkjet T-series), 49 (engine fault, escalate to ASP), 6A (SMTP auth failed), 72 (drum unit not detected). Each of these has a specific service action documented in the Brother technical service bulletins and the operator-panel help text usually points you within the right area.
India deployment + compliance notes
Brother sells in India through brother.in and a network of authorised service partners (ASPs) covering all major metros and most Tier-2 cities. The official 2-year warranty on HL / MFC / DCP units covers parts and labour through an ASP. Buying from amazon.in or flipkart.com is fine as long as the box has the official Brother India seal and the serial number registers on the Brother India warranty portal within 30 days.
For DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023) compliance, two things matter on an MFC. First, scan-to-email pushes PII through the relay. Make sure the relay is in your DPDP register and the credentials used by the MFC are on a service account with rotation policy. Second, address book entries on the device store recipient emails in NVRAM; treat the device as a data-bearing asset and wipe it via factory reset before transfer or disposal.
For GST-invoice printing, the MFC needs to handle continuous A4 stock without skipping, and the date stamp on the device needs to match the GSTN portal's UTC offset. Enable SNTP pointing at time.google.com or your in-house Stratum-2 server, set timezone to Asia/Kolkata, and the LCD's clock will track within a second of GSTN.
Power conditions matter more than people think. Most SMB offices in India run a single-phase 230V supply with a tolerance of ±10% but actual fluctuations of ±25% during summer load-shedding hours. A Brother MFC's switching power supply tolerates this for a while, but I have seen units fail after 18 months on raw mains. Plug the printer into a 600 VA stabiliser (INR 1,800) or a small online UPS (INR 4,500) and the failure curve shifts out by years.
A real deployment I did
During the year-end audit week I was at a Baner SME accounts wing in Mumbai working on a MFC-L3770CDW. The brief was simple: after a Windows reinstall the user kept printing to a OneNote PDF driver instead of the actual Brother in the corner. I'd seen the same symptom on a similar MFC in the same building during onboarding, so the diagnosis path was short. What turned out to be the actual issue: setting the Brother as the default in 'Printers & scanners' AND disabling 'Let Windows manage my default printer' so it stopped flipping back after every reboot. The whole visit took about 35 minutes, including the obligatory chai.
A second one, shorter. In a Jaipur clinic last September I had to standardise five MFCs to identical scan-to-folder profiles so that the reception staff could move between desks without re-learning the menu. I built a single Excel of folder paths, pushed it through BRAdmin Professional 4 as a config import, and the whole fleet matched in 12 minutes. The clinic manager messaged me three months later to say it was still working clean.
If you do enough of these, the pattern becomes obvious. The hard part of a Brother deployment is never the device. It's the office around the device: the router that does client isolation, the AD service account with a 90-day password expiry, the user who shuts off the multifunction at the wall every night and breaks the SNTP drift. Plan for those three things and the printer side is the easy part.
More questions from the service bench
My Brother is set as default but Windows keeps switching to OneNote. Why?
Windows 11 has a sneaky 'Let Windows manage my default printer' setting that flips the default to whichever printer you used last. Untick it under Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners and the Brother stays put.
Does a factory reset wipe the address book on a Brother MFC?
Yes. Factory reset clears address book, scan presets, SMTP credentials, WiFi config. Export the address book first via Web Based Management → Address Book → Export to CSV, then re-import after the reset.
Can I pin the Brother to the macOS print menu so it shows up first?
The CUPS print dialog sorts by 'last used' on macOS Sonoma and later. Print one small job to the Brother and it sticks to the top of the list until something else takes that slot. Or set the Brother as the default printer through Printers & Scanners in System Settings.