How to Turn Off Fax on Brother Printer? (Complete Guide)

If you are using a multi-function device and want to know how to turn off fax on Brother printer, this guide will help you.

Fax is outdated technology, and there are many reasons to stop using it.

You can stop the fax function on your Brother multi-function printer by turning it off. You can quickly disable it by pushing the power button and going into the settings. Navigate to the various options and look for Disable Fax or Turn Off Fax. 

This will stop your printer from using fax its fax function.

Why Turn Off Fax on Brother Multi-Function Printer

If you don’t want to compromise your personal or business information, we recommend stopping using fax right away.

Here are some of the top reasons why turning off fax on your printer is the best thing you can do for yourself and your business.

1. Prevent Unwanted Faxes

When you turn off the fax, the first thing you stop is preventing unwanted messages. There are many ways where someone can send you a fax that’s not meant for you.

It’s the same on your end, too. Turning it off means you do not open the chance to send your personal details to the wrong recipient.

2. Fax is Not Secure

Fax is probably the most unsecure form of communication to send important and sensitive documents.

Faxes do not come with encryption, and anyone with sufficient knowledge and experience can intercept your documents and data.

3. Lots of Better Options

With the advent of the internet, there are lots of better options out there. Email is an excellent example, especially with its security and privacy features.

Some emails even come with encryption features, so no one will be able to read your message other than the intended recipient.

How to Turn Off Fax on Brother Printer – Complete Steps

If you wonder how to turn off fax only on Brother printer, the process is easier than you might expect.

Anyone can do it, even without technical experience, as long as you follow our guide.

Step #1: Turn Off Fax Function On Your Printer

Since you are using a Brother multifunction printer, there is a good chance that all of its features are turned on by default.

However, since fax is outdated technology that you will seldom use, we advise turning it off.

Most multi-function printers come with a fax-only mode that prioritizes faxes compared to its other features.

The good news is that Brother allows you to turn this off, so you do not have to deal with faxes coming your way.

Here are the steps you need to take to disable your Brother printer’s fax-only mode:

1. Press the Menu or Settings button on your printer.
2. Using the Up or Down Arrow Keys, navigate to Fax.
3. Hit the Enter button.
4. Scroll down using the Arrow Keys and look for Disable Fax or Turn Off Fax.
5. Press the Enter button and choose Yes or OK to confirm.

Note: This step will completely turn off the fax function of your printer.

If you still want to use it, you simply have to go back to the options and enable it again by choosing Enable Fax or Turn On Fax.

Step #2: Switch Your Printer Default Function

Brother multi-function printers come with a lot of features. You can even select a function where the printer can revert to every time you use it.

For example, you set your default function to fax. After you use the machine to print or scan, it will standby with the fax function on.

This is a great feature if you are expecting faxes throughout the day. However, since fax is rarely used today, we do not advise that you let your machine go to standby mode on fax mode.

Your Brother printer does come with mode keys allowing you to select its function. Setting it to print or scan automatically will also do the trick.

You can change the default function, and here are the steps to do it.

1. Press the Menu button.
2. Then go to General Setup and Mode Timer.
3. Use the Up or Down Arrow Keys and select Off.

Note: Doing these steps will allow your printer to stay in the last mode you used.

After you print, it will remain in print mode rather than return to fax mode. If you do not use its fax feature, this equates to turning it off since you will not switch it back.

Step #3: Disable Fax Receipt Through a Connected Computer

One of the ways that your Brother machine gets faxes is when it is connected to a computer.

There is also a way to disable your printer from receiving faxes that way. You will be able to do this if you cannot find the fax options on your printer’s menu.

Here are the ways to disable getting faxes on your Brother machine through a computer:

1. Go to your computer’s Control Panel.
2. Choose Programs and Turn Windows Features On or Off.
3. Click the + sign beside Print and Document Services.
4. Uncheck Windows Fax and Scan.
5. Click OK to confirm your changes.

Step #4: Turn Off Fax Storage

One of the ways to turn your fax function completely off is by disabling fax storage.

Your Brother machine can keep a history of all your faxes, and if you have used it for some time, some of your messages are still on there.

Turning off fax storage ensures that all your information is purged, and even if you stop using the fax function, no one can possibly see your previous messages.

This not only turns off your overall fax function but also improves your security and privacy.

Here are the steps to turn off fax storage on your Brother machine:

1. Press Menu and go to Fax.
2. Choose Remote Fax Option and go to Fwd/Page/Store.
3. Use the Up or Down Arrow to choose Off.
4. Press OK to confirm your selection.

Note: If you have faxes in your machine’s memory, when you set fax storage to off, it will ask you to erase all fax or not.

When you see this on your machine’s LCD screen, choose to Erase all Fax to remove all the data and turn off the fax storage features.

Step #5: Update Your Printer Drivers

If none of these steps allow you to turn the fax function off of your Brother machine, one of the possible issues is an outdated printer driver.

It may have been a while since you updated your printer drivers, and none of these settings are available yet.

To remedy this situation, it’s essential that you update your printer drivers to the latest version.

This will enable these settings and allow you to turn off the fax function on your multi-function printer completely.

Here’s how to update your printer drivers:

1. Open Control Panel on your computer that’s connected to your printer.
2. Go to Device Manager and click on Printers.
3. Right click on the Brother printer you are using.
4. Click on Update Driver Software.
5. Choose Search Automatically.

Note: As long as you are connected to the internet, your computer will search for the latest driver available for your printer.

It will download and install the driver so you can turn off the fax function on your machine.

Thus, disabling the fax on your Brother printer is easy. You can turn it off by going to the menu on your machine and looking for the Fax options. From there, you can find the menu item that says Disable Fax or Turn Off Fax. If you can’t find this, you can also try updating your printer’s drivers.

Read Next: How to Make Brother Printer Discoverable?

Last Thoughts

If you are still asking yourself how to turn off fax on Brother printer, all you need to do is follow the steps on this guide.

You will be able to zero in on completely turning off the fax feature rather than disabling it temporarily.

It’s important that you completely shut the fax feature off since it can leave your computer and network open to hackers and intruders.

Use other options such as encrypted messaging and emails to send documents that contain sensitive data and information.

You can also contact Brother customer support if you have tried all the steps, but your fax function still turns on. It may be a hardware fault that’s not allowing you to disable it completely.