Windows 11: Problems with Brother printers

The list of known problems with Windows 11 is getting longer and longer. In addition, there are also problems that have been documented by manufacturers of other products – Brother is now one of these manufacturers.

Printers do not work on USB port

An article published by the manufacturer shortly before the release of Windows 11 lists around 100 models that are only partially compatible with the operating system: If they are connected via the USB port, the PC does not recognize them or they do not work despite recognition. Furthermore, it should be impossible to change device settings via Windows 11. Furthermore, Brother’s utilities cannot find the printer under Windows 11 and are thus useless.

The problem does not appear in Microsoft’s documentation – although the company’s developers should actually be aware of it. This has also been the case with problems with devices from AMD in the past, and thus once again raises the question of the reliability of publishing known problems in Windows 11.

No short-term solution in sight

Meanwhile, there should be no hope for a timely solution to the problem. Brother recommends that all affected users switch to another connection method until the problem is resolved. In many cases, it is possible to connect the printer to the PC via the network. In this case, no problems occur.

It is not foreseeable when Microsoft will ensure that the USB connection will also work without problems again. The cause of the problem is also unknown. Since no changes were made to the drivers with the update to Windows 11, the background is nebulous. Relevant media suspect a connection to the PrintNightmare security vulnerability fix.