What this means

When your app says it cannot find your device, your phone or tablet lacks a Wi-Fi network connection to the printer. The Brother iPrint&Scan app relies on local network discovery protocols. If those signals are blocked, the app acts blind to the machine sitting right in the room.

You might assume the printer is broken or the wireless setup is gone. That is rarely true. Small network barriers usually block the connection. Different Wi-Fi bands, active mobile data, or router settings like client isolation prevent the app from seeing the hardware.

Your printer is not offline for good. Sleep modes often drop wireless connection leases, and weak signals cause packet loss during discovery. A quick restart brings the network card back to life without needing a full reconfiguration.

Common causes

  • Printer and mobile device are connected to different Wi-Fi networks.
  • Printer is connected to the 5GHz band while the phone is on 2.4GHz or vice versa with AP isolation enabled.
  • Printer has gone into a deep sleep mode and dropped its IP connection.
  • Mobile device has Bluetooth or Wi-Fi temporarily glitched.
  • Router has client isolation or AP isolation enabled blocking device-to-device communication.
  • Printer has an outdated firmware version causing network handshake failures.
  • The printer's IP address has changed via DHCP lease expiration.

What to check first

  1. 1Ensure both the printer and the mobile device are powered on.
  2. 2Check that the printer shows a solid Wi-Fi indicator light.

Step-by-step fix

  1. 1

    Restart your mobile device

    Turn your phone or tablet completely off and back on to clear network cache.

  2. 2

    Restart your printer

    Turn the printer off, wait ten seconds, and turn it back on to reset its network card.

  3. 3

    Verify Wi-Fi network name

    Check the Wi-Fi settings on your phone and the printer control panel to ensure both are connected to the exact same network SSID.

  4. 4

    Disable mobile data

    Temporarily turn off cellular data on your phone to force it to use the local Wi-Fi network for printer communication.

  5. 5

    Move closer to the router

    Bring the printer and mobile device closer to the wireless router to rule out weak signal strength.

  6. 6

    Check for AP isolation on router

    Log into your router settings via a computer and ensure AP isolation or client isolation is disabled, as it blocks devices from talking to each other.

  7. 7

    Re-enter Wi-Fi setup on printer

    Use the printer control panel menu to run the wireless setup wizard and reconnect to your home network.

  8. 8

    Update the Brother app

    Go to your phone's app store and check for updates to the Brother iPrint&Scan or Mobile Connect app.

When to contact a professional

Contact your internet service provider or network administrator if your router uses enterprise security policies, VLANs, or isolation settings that block local device discovery. Never service internal router configurations unless you are authorized. If you need to turn off the machine during this process, disconnect power only via the standard power switch. Check your warranty if the printer internal Wi-Fi card fails to hold a network connection after a factory reset.