Brother printer shows error E7 - what can I do?

With my old Brother, the problem is usually the drum or the ribbon that's gotten stuck.

Try taking out the drum and checking if something's jammed in there - sometimes it also just helps to turn the printer completely off, wait 30 seconds, and turn it back on.

If that doesn't work, check the manual to see what error E7 means for your specific model, because it can vary depending on the printer. Worst case you need a new drum, but that's relatively cheap.

E7 is usually a paper jam or something mechanical, but before you start taking things apart, I'd go the easy route first: power down the printer completely, wait a minute, then start it back up - that sometimes clears out false error messages.

If that doesn't help, check the manual or the online guide from Brother for your specific model, because E7 can have different causes depending on the printer type (not always the drum or paper).

Taking out the drum and checking everything is the next step, but definitely look in the manual first to see what your device should do.

Have you already checked whether the error still occurs after a restart?

What a lot of people don't realize: the E7 can also come from the sensor that handles paper detection. If it's dirty or clogged with paper dust, the printer keeps thinking there's a paper jam even though there's nothing wrong. Try wiping the inside of the printer with a soft, dry cloth - especially around the sensors, which usually look like small black plastic pieces on the sides of the tray.

If that doesn't help and you're already in there anyway: definitely also check for paper scraps that might have gotten stuck in the rollers. Those things can be pretty hard to see if you're not shining light from the right angle. If nothing works after cleaning, then the only option left is to remove and reinstall the drum and ribbon like others have already mentioned - but I'd only do that if the simple stuff didn't work.