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Brother MFC-9130CW printer won't turn on without unplugging it and plugging it back in again.

Brother MFC 9130CW
When the Brother MFC-9130CW printer is idle for some time, it won't turn on without unplugging it and plugging it back in again. The power button does not respond.

I read that if I unplug the printer, hold down the power button and plug in the power cord while still holding down the power button. 00 appears on the screen. After about 30 seconds, I released the power button. 01 appeared on the screen and then it completed its cycle and the printer is back up and running normal.

- It appears that there is a default setting if the printer is idle for five minutes or so, the screen goes blank and home button stays lit.

When the screen goes blank, I would tap on the screen and it would light up normally.

The only way I can test this to let the printer stay idle for an hour or so and see if it comes backup to normal.

I'm curious to know if anyone is familiar with this issue and what I did to troubleshoot, is the only option

rindi

I'm not familiar with this, but normally you should be able to log on to the printer via it's IP & a Web-Browser, like Firefox. Once there you should be able to set it up with all possible options, & there should also be logs you can look at etc. Details should be available via the Printer's Manual...

serialband

How long have you had that printer? The manual is copyright 2012 so it's at least a 10 year old product and even has drivers for server 2003. Maybe you just need to reinstall the last available firmware to see if that fixes anything. If not, I suspect hardware failure somewhere.

hdhondt

Updating or reinstalling firmware is very unlikely to fix this. The installed firmware obviously worked just fine, and firmware does not "wear out" with use.

What can change in a printer is the data stored in the printer's NVRAM (non-volatile memory). Clearing that will fix a large number of problems. Here's how to do it in your printer:

Press the Spanner icon.
Press All Settings.
Swipe up or down, or press a or b to display Initial Setup.
Press Initial Setup.
Swipe up or down, or press a or b to display Reset.
Press Reset.
Press Network, Address Book & Fax or All Settings to choose the reset function you want.
Do one of the following;
- - To reset the settings, press Yes
- - To exit without making changes, press No
You will be asked to reset the machine. Do one of the following;
To reset the machine press Yes for 2 seconds. The machine will begin the reset.
Reboot

This is from the printer's Basic User’s Guide. Note that a firmware upgrade does not reset NVRAM.

After this the printer will have lost all its settings. Most likely, the only thing you need to fix will be the IP address. Nearly all other settings are taken care of by the driver, which overrides printer settings.

kenfcamp

The issue could also be power related, how is this receiving power?

If plugged into a power strip or extension cord, try plugging directly into power

Have your tried a different outlet (on different side of room)?

Andreas Gieryic

ASKER

I have tried plugging it into straight into an AC outlet vs. the power strip
I will attempt the firmware upgrade

Andreas Gieryic

ASKER

I meant, I will try to follow hdhondt's recomendation.

The printer is no where near 10 years old. At most 5 years.

nobus

here they discuss it in 2013 - 9 years ago : Brother MFC-9130CW Review | PCMag

serialband

You may have gotten it around 5 years ago, but that model first came out 9-10 years ago.

Andreas Gieryic

ASKER

OK, I need to start concentrating how to resolve this issue if there is a resolution. I've done a hard reset and the client told me that it still happens. Apparently the printer needs to be idle longer than 45 minutes because that's how long I waited before giving up.

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kenfcamp

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nobus

can you test the printer in another room (= other AC) and connected to other PC?

Andreas Gieryic

ASKER

I'll look into it. I know the client stated that he does not have any power related issues in the house. I've already asked him to try to plug it into the AC outlet and not the battery backup unit surge protector side

hdhondt

It sounds as if the power supply shuts down completely after a while. If the factory reset did not fix that, then it may be a faulty power supply. As a replacement colour laser MFP (e.g. MFC-L3750CDW) costs several hundred dollars, a repair may still be worthwhile.

rindi

I can't agree with the above. Printers are so cheap these days, repairs are never sensible, particularly with old models. The manufacturers don't make their money from the printers, but rather from the toners, paper etc. The printers are practically thrown at the users for symbolic prices.

So rather than getting it repaired, get a new printer. I would suggest a Brother, as it seems those printers cost less in the long run, & the quality is good. But don't get any HP crap. They are the worst.

hdhondt

@rindi

Amen to "HP crap"!

rindi

Or "R.I.P"... :)

Andreas Gieryic

ASKER

All of the advice provided is good advice and I will keep all this in mind for future similar situations. I do have to make one comment. Printers are very expensive compared to two years ago. Specifically, the HP LaserJet MFP series printer's. I have a vendor who repairs and sells HP LaserJet printers. He stated that this was his best year ever because the HP factory has somewhat shut down due to Covid. As far as brother printer's, I do agree that they are good laser printers. I will revisit and perhaps purchasing a brother MFP laser printer

Andreas Gieryic

ASKER

The printer works fine. For now, every time the end user needs to print or scan, I'll just unplug it plug it back in and it'll work fine until the printer is idle again for several hours. Thanks again for everyone's input

nobus

so you did not test it on another pc, as i asked?

Andreas Gieryic

ASKER

nobus, testing the printer on another computer is not an option. This printer is quite large and heavy. I did however disconnect it from the PC via USB and it has the same effect. I could try putting it on the network via ethernet.

nobus

you can also bring in a laptop to test it with

Andreas Gieryic

ASKER

nobus, true. The user does have a laptop. I could setup the laptop not to sleep overnight and see what happens. thanks