Brother MFC-L2730DW Touchscreen Black, Power Light On, Firmware Re-Patch Not Working

[thegazelle]

Hi there, I have a Brother MFC-L2730DW, purchased in 2021/2022 brand new, for which a recent firmware update failed, as the power was interrupted.

In scouring over the internet, it looks like the issue I am experiencing - touchscreen blank/black, and power LED light on green (but the power button doesn't work) indicates very well that the firmware update was interrupted. However, the remedy proposed by Brother seems to be try the firmware update again. This has not worked. Here's some particulars, including detailed symptoms and what I have tried.

SYMPTOMS / INDICATIONS:

-Black LED touchscreen, green light LED light solidly lit
-plugged directly into the wall outlet - light immediately comes on
-printer does not make any sound / chime
-printer does not move any parts mechanically
-when connected via USB the Brother utilities tool detects the printer 2730DW, but its status is "offline"

ACTIONS:

-The good news, if there is any, is when I connect a USB cable from my computer to the printer, and run the Brother firmware update tool, it detects the printer correctly as a 2730DW
-yes, I do have the correct firmware update file for the 2730DW.
-When I try to run the firmware update again (using the tool) after selecting the printer, it gives me a status bar which reaches 100%, with the only option being CONTINUE (which allows one to select the same or a different printer) or DONE (which closes the screen). No difference in the behaviour or appearance/function on the printer
-the firmware update tool DOES NOT ask me for the password (which is strange as by default, any firmware updates for Brother products, and I've owned quite a few, ask for that password). It did ask me initially but not on subsequent attempts
-I have tried some other internet solutions like holding down the power button before plugging the cable into the wall, no dice
-I have tried removing the tray before powering up the printer
-no other physical buttons on the printer responds (I have tried different combinations)
-I am unable to update it via ethernet as the ethernet port was never enabled (it was using wireless)
-toner/drum have been removed while trying to firmware update it again.

I would appreciate any other avenues of troubleshooting or thoughts on how I can fix this. Brother indicates that this is a failed firmware update result, but according to them the remedy is just to update it again, which of course I am unable to, even though the firmware update tool detects the printer.

Thank you very much for any assistance or insight.

[tsbservice]

Re: Brother MFC-L2730DW Touchscreen Black, Power Light On, Firmware Re-Patch Not Work

Brother firmware update tool which we use never asked for device password nor letting you to point/choose firmware file.
We did it hundreds of times as we are certified by Brother partner/service.
In your case I would take new main PCB.

[thegazelle]

Re: Brother MFC-L2730DW Touchscreen Black, Power Light On, Firmware Re-Patch Not Work

Brother firmware update tool which we use never asked for device password nor letting you to point/choose firmware file.
We did it hundreds of times as we are certified by Brother partner/service.
In your case I would take new main PCB.

Thanks for the reply.

There is no point to firmware file - it does the update automatically...but it does ask for my password - my MFC5900DW and my 2390DW did that, but then proceeded to update the firmware, no problem. Not sure if the Canadian models are any different, or maybe there's something in my software or OS or something that is prompting that...I don't know...but I'll take your word for it. Regardless, the re-updating of the firmware is not working on my printer...I wonder whether it has something to do with the "offline" state that the printer is reporting, even though it is detectable.

I am leaning towards PCB too - pretty cost prohibitive, but I like the printer, so maybe I can find a used one somewhere.

I guess the saving grace is that unlike others who have reported that the computer no longer detects what kind of printer the bricked target ended up becoming, my computer still recognizes it at as a 2730DW, both in device manager and in the Brother utilities/admin tool. If it didn't, then I would assume all was lost. I won't look at procuring a replacement PCB until I exhaust all avenues of possible fixes, including some I have seen on the internet with a Windows XP machine and some other programs, though the complication is to locate the proper firmware. Not sure I want to go that route exactly.

I was going to go on the Brother site forums, but that seems to be only for developers as all the subforums are SDK and O/S platform related and it looks like it is requiring registration of company name, address, etc. Not like a standard end-user/consumer technical support forum.

Thanks.

[driving lots of miles]

Re: Brother MFC-L2730DW Touchscreen Black, Power Light On, Firmware Re-Patch Not Work

We had a 9310 that had the power interrupted during the update and we ended up replacing the Main PCB

[thegazelle]

Re: Brother MFC-L2730DW Touchscreen Black, Power Light On, Firmware Re-Patch Not Work

We had a 9310 that had the power interrupted during the update and we ended up replacing the Main PCB

Just curious what that ran, cost wise and where were you able to source the replacement PCB?

[driving lots of miles]

Re: Brother MFC-L2730DW Touchscreen Black, Power Light On, Firmware Re-Patch Not Work

Just curious what that ran, cost wise and where were you able to source the replacement PCB?

We had another non working machine we pulled the board out of.

[thegazelle]

Re: Brother MFC-L2730DW Touchscreen Black, Power Light On, Firmware Re-Patch Not Work

We had another non working machine we pulled the board out of.

I suppose you don't have anymore non working machines that would have working logic boards that you'd be willing to sell, would you? I am looking and looks like what really ships to Canada are ones from AliExpress, which I know are all in China...hopefully they work...would prefer to buy from someone in North America who has a working board from a printer that had other issues.

[dalewb74]

Re: Brother MFC-L2730DW Touchscreen Black, Power Light On, Firmware Re-Patch Not Work

have you used the BRAdmin Pro? i don't know if it would fix your issue. but since you want to try everything possible before replacing parts, it might be worth a shot.

[thegazelle]

Re: Brother MFC-L2730DW Touchscreen Black, Power Light On, Firmware Re-Patch Not Work

have you used the BRAdmin Pro? i don't know if it would fix your issue. but since you want to try everything possible before replacing parts, it might be worth a shot.

Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't used it but will look into it.

In the meantime, I found a fairly reputable local computer and electronics repair shop - while they are not Brother authorized (since apparently there are none in Canada according to what Brother told me this morning in their email reply) - this shop does repairs for projectors, printers and computers...they said they would be willing to look at it for free, since it is a positive that the computer still recognizes the printer for the right model rather than an unknown device. They said they have tools they can try to access the software on the board to force a firmware reset update. But alas I received word that they were not successful and they said the only solution left would be to replace the logic board. I found some online but they are pretty pricy.

What's interesting is I was able to find another 2730DW (not sure if that's a good thing or a sign that this model may be problematic) which is about 2 hours away which has a problem...but the screen works, and it's cheap, so I am going on Friday to pick it up and assuming the logic board is somewhat usable, I will swap it out with mine and see what happens. The serial number won't match, but no matter.