You lined up a document on your iPhone, tapped Print, and your Brother MFC-J1010DW is nowhere on the list, or it shows up and then refuses to actually print. AirPrint is supposed to be the easy path, with no driver and no app, so you just pick the printer and go. When it stalls, the cause is almost always a network mismatch, a sleeping machine, or a small software hiccup rather than a broken printer. The good news is that the MFC-J1010DW officially supports Apple AirPrint, so once the basics line up, wireless printing from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac usually springs back to life.
Work through the eight fixes below in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and finish with the official reset and support path, so you only escalate if the simple steps do not solve it.
Confirm both devices share the same Wi-Fi network
AirPrint only works when your Apple device and the printer sit on the same Wi-Fi network. Brother is direct about it, stating that to use AirPrint your mobile device must connect using Wi-Fi to the network that your Brother machine is connected to. Apple echoes the same rule and tells you to make sure your printer and device are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Before chasing software, also make sure the machine itself is ready. Confirm the printer is powered on, has paper loaded in the tray, and is joined to your network. A powered-down machine or an empty tray will not answer an AirPrint request.
Here is the catch specific to this model. The MFC-J1010DW's Wi-Fi radio is 802.11b/g/n (Infrastructure), which means it is a 2.4 GHz-only printer and cannot join a 5 GHz-only band. If your phone is on the 5 GHz half of a split network and the printer is on 2.4 GHz, they may not see each other. Join your phone to your router's 2.4 GHz network, or to a combined 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz SSID, so both ends are reachable.
Get your iPhone off cellular and onto Wi-Fi
AirPrint will not run over a mobile data connection, so a phone that has quietly dropped to cellular is a common reason the printer vanishes. Brother spells this out, noting that AirPrint cannot be used on a cellular data network connection and that your Apple mobile device must be connected to your wireless network.
Confirm the Wi-Fi icon is showing in your status bar, not the cellular signal bars. If you have Wi-Fi Assist enabled and your wireless signal is weak, your iPhone can slip back to cellular mid-task, which is enough to make the printer disappear from the list. Move closer to the router or temporarily disable cellular while you print.
Re-send the job and select the printer correctly
Sometimes the printer is fine and the print sheet simply was not pointed at it. Send the job again and confirm you are picking the right AirPrint printer at the moment of printing.
On an iPhone or iPad:
- 1.Open the app you want to print from.
- 2.Tap the Share or Actions button.
- 3.Scroll down and tap Print.
- 4.Tap "No Printer Selected" to choose your AirPrint printer.
- 5.Set the number of copies and pages.
- 6.Tap Print.
On a Mac, open the File menu, choose Print, click the Printer pop-up menu and select your machine, then click Print. This same flow works from Safari, so it applies to web pages as well as documents.
Rule out a guest network or two-router split
Even when both devices have Wi-Fi, they can still be on separate networks without you realizing it. Guest networks, range extenders, and mesh setups can place your phone and printer on different access points, and when they sit on different routers your Apple device may not be able to find the machine.
Reconnect both the printer and your Apple device to the same router and the same SSID. Avoid joining your phone to a guest network for printing, since guest networks frequently isolate devices from each other by design. Apple's same-network requirement exists for exactly this reason.
Re-add the printer on your Mac via AirPrint
If the problem is on a Mac, removing and re-adding the printer through AirPrint often clears a stale entry. The path depends on your macOS version.
On macOS 13 or later:
- 1.Open the Apple menu, then System Settings, then Printers & Scanners.
- 2.Click Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax.
- 3.Select your Brother machine.
- 4.Choose the model name from the Use pop-up menu.
- 5.Click Add.
On macOS 12 or earlier:
- 1.Open the Apple menu, then System Preferences, then Printers & Scanners.
- 2.Click the "+" below the Printers pane.
- 3.Select your Brother machine.
- 4.In the Use menu, choose the model name on macOS 12, or "AirPrint" on macOS 11 or earlier.
- 5.Click Add.
Once the printer is added back, open the File menu and choose Print again, then confirm your machine is selected in the Printer pop-up menu.
Clear an offline, paused, or jammed queue on Windows
If you also print to the MFC-J1010DW from a Windows 10 or 11 PC, a stuck print spooler can hold the machine in an offline or paused state that blocks new jobs. Sorting this out on Windows can free the printer for everyone, including your AirPrint devices.
Right-click the Brother machine icon and choose "See what's printing," then open the "Printer" menu:
- 1.If "Use Printer Offline" has a checkmark, click it to remove the checkmark.
- 2.If "Pause Printing" has a checkmark, click it to remove the checkmark.
- 3.To clear stuck jobs, choose "Cancel All Documents."
If any of these options are grayed out, click "Open As Administrator," enter the administrator password, and click "Yes," then repeat the steps.
Update the firmware and refresh the Windows driver
An out-of-date machine can fail to show up over AirPrint even when everything else is correct, so it is worth confirming the firmware is current. Update the firmware directly on the printer. Press Settings, select Machine Info., press OK, select Firmware Update, press OK, then follow the display. Brother Mobile Connect, the current Brother app for iOS, iPadOS, and Android, can also update the machine's firmware, though it is not required for AirPrint.
On Windows, refresh the driver too. Uninstall the Brother Drivers and Software, then download and install the Full Driver & Software Package from the model's Downloads page. A clean reinstall replaces any corrupted printer software that may be interfering with the connection.
Reset the network settings as a last resort, then contact support
If AirPrint still refuses to work, reset the printer's network configuration and reconnect from scratch. A network reset returns the print server to factory defaults, including the Password and IP Address, so you will need to rejoin your Wi-Fi afterward.
To reset the network on the MFC-J1010DW control panel:
- 1.Press Settings.
- 2.Select [Network] and press OK.
- 3.Select [Network Reset] and press OK.
- 4.Press OK for two seconds to confirm.
- 5.The machine restarts, then re-join your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network.
If that does not resolve it, the full Reset menu offers broader options. Press Settings, select [Initial Setup], press OK, select [Reset], press OK, select the reset option you want from Machine Reset, Network, Address Book & Fax, or All Settings, press OK, then press the confirm button for two seconds, and the machine restarts. Choosing All Settings returns the machine to factory defaults, which clears your stored settings, so reserve it for cases where targeted fixes have failed. If problems persist after a reset and reconnection, contact Brother support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Brother MFC-J1010DW support AirPrint?
Yes. The MFC-J1010DW officially supports Apple AirPrint, and Brother's Online User's Guide has a dedicated AirPrint section. AirPrint lets you wirelessly print photos, email, web pages, and documents from an iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Mac without installing a driver. On this model, AirPrint also lets you send faxes directly from a Mac and scan documents to a Mac.
Why does my printer disappear when I am on mobile data?
AirPrint cannot run over a cellular connection. Brother states that the feature cannot be used on a cellular data network connection and that your Apple mobile device must be connected to your wireless network. Make sure your iPhone shows the Wi-Fi icon, not the cellular bars, before you print.
Can the MFC-J1010DW connect to a 5 GHz Wi-Fi network?
No. The MFC-J1010DW's Wi-Fi is 802.11b/g/n (Infrastructure), which is 2.4 GHz only, so it cannot join a 5 GHz-only band. Connect both the printer and your Apple device to the router's 2.4 GHz network, or to a combined 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz SSID.
Do I need a Brother app to use AirPrint?
No. AirPrint is built into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, so it needs no app. Brother Mobile Connect is the current Brother app for iOS, iPadOS, and Android, and it can update the machine's firmware, but it is not required for AirPrint itself.
What does a network reset change on the printer?
A network reset returns the MFC-J1010DW's print server to factory defaults, including the Password and IP Address, and the machine restarts. After the reset you will need to rejoin your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network. Use the full Reset menu's All Settings option only if targeted fixes have not worked, since it returns the machine to factory defaults and clears your stored settings.
