Printing Online Message Stuck on Display – Brother 4100e, 4750 Fax

July 23, 2016

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Printing Online Message Stuck on Display – Brother 4100e, 4100, and 4750 Fax

I ran across a Brother 4100e the other day that constantly said printing online on the display. While I’ve only seen this error happen about 10 times in the last 10 years I thought I would take the time to write about. I know from reading other forums and web pages that if I see an error on a machine a few times over the years thousands of other technicians and end users have encountered the same problem. In this article I will discuss what the printing online message stuck on the control panels display means and how you can go about trying to resolve the issue without replacing any parts.

The printing online message stuck on the display is usually the result of corrupt data being sent through the phone line or computer and the machine gets stuck trying to figure out what to do with the information now. Poor line quality can also cause this issue, the transmission being suddenly stopped, or too much information to quickly are all possible causes for the error. There are other issue that can cause this error but these are the main ones I see. While it might be hard to figure out exactly what caused the error the problem that we are left with is corrupt data stuck in the machines memory and not a lot of options on how to get rid of it.

Troubleshooting the printing online Message on a Brother 4100e, 4100, and 4750 Fax

First thing to try in clearing the printing online message on the Brother 4100e, 4100, and 4750 fax machine is to cancel any print or fax job sent or stuck in the machines memory by either canceling it through the control panel or deleting the job in the print properties on your computer.

Second is to unplug all the cables plugged into the back of the machine : power, printer, fax, and second cassette tray if installed. Then let the machine sit 30 to 60 minutes. This allows the machine to cool down and let the capacitors on the boards to discharge. Sometimes this procedure will clear out any error states that get stuck in the machines memory. After you have let your Brother fax machine sit for an amount of time just plug the power cable back in and see if the machine goes to a ready state. If you fax goes back to a ready state then plug in the other cables one at a time and test them after you plug each of them in to see if the problem happens again. If you have the second cassette tray I would plug that in first and you will need to unplug the machine before you re attach the cable. Unfortunately unplugging it tends not to work on these machines because they are fax machines they have a battery installed inside the machine to make sure if the fax machine is unplugged for an extended amount of time it doesn’t loose its settings and numbers stored in speed and auto dial.

The third and final thing to try in clearing the printing online message stuck on the display is to reset the machines memory in Maintenance Mode.

Maintenance Mode on the Brother 4100e, 4100, and 4750 Fax to clear the online printing message

To get into service mode press the (Menu, *, 2, 8, 6, 4) buttons in that order. If done correctly the display will read MAINTENANCE. This sounds easier than done. In order to put the machine in this mode those buttons have to be all pressed in a certain amount of time. Like around 5 seconds. Failure to do so will not get you into the mode. I usually tell people to get a beat in their head and then press the buttons. One of the main complaints I get from customers is what the control panel says when they press the buttons. I don’t care what the control panel says as you press the buttons and neither should you. Never watch the control panel as you press the buttons just press them in that order in time and the display should read MAINTENANCE with the lights blinking. It might take you several times to succeed but be patient and you will get there.

Once the display says Maintenance on the display we can try to reset the machine. First thing to try is to simply press the 9 button twice (9,9). This will restart the machine and exit out of maintenance mode. Often clears errors like the 76, 77, and 78 machine error. Worth a shot but I’ve never seen it fix the printing online message error. Second reset to try after reentering into maintenance mode is (9,1) This clears out part of the machines memory like user settings. The display should read initialize parameter. Afterwords I believe you have to press 9,9 again to restart the machine. I doubt those two reset will work but if they do then that’s less work we will have to do when reconfiguring the machine. The third reset to try in eliminating the printing online message is the 0,1 reset. this procedure resets the machine back to factory default. All user settings, speed dial, and station ID are reset. Most the time the menus still work with the online printing message on the display so now is the time to go into the various parts of the machine a right down any settings you will need to reprogram back into the machine after restoring it to factory default. Pretty much besides the internal page counts this machine will be reset like you took it out of the box. In all but one case this has always worked for me. The exception was the one and only time I had to replace the mainboard.

Conclusion about the printing online message stuck on the display with Brother 4100e, 4100, and 4750 Fax machines.

I’ve listed off several things to try to resolve the printing online message. However, th 0,1 reset code is the Brother 4100e, 4100, and 4750 fax machine will probably be about the only real solution for your problem. Hopefully though this method of resetting the memory will work and you will get your machine back up in running the way it should be without unwanted repair cost.