VOIP Compatible Fax Machines

[Huntn]

Anyone doing this? If so, I'd be interested in what hardware your using and any special settings. I have Vonage at home. I spoke with their tech support this morning and was told to purchase a VOIP compatible machine. Know of any?

Years ago I had fax software that worked over my Mac and a tradional phone line. I'm wondering if software exists today that would work over VOIP?

Thanks!

 

[r0k]

Anyone doing this? If so, I'd be interested in what hardware your using and any special settings. I have Vonage at home. I spoke with their tech support this morning and was told to purchase a VOIP compatible machine. Know of any?

Years ago I had fax software that worked over my Mac and a tradional phone line. I'm wondering if software exists today that would work over VOIP?

Thanks!

I use Ooma VOIP and it works with my Brother 7440N all in one fax machine. I was able to send a fax (at least I think it sent). I wouldn't waste money on fax hardware unless it comes with some 78 rpm records and a buggy whip. There are online fax services that forward fax to email and allow you to send email to send a fax.

 

[Huntn]

I use Ooma VOIP and it works with my Brother 7440N all in one fax machine. I was able to send a fax (at least I think it sent). I wouldn't waste money on fax hardware unless it comes with some 78 rpm records and a buggy whip. There are online fax services that forward fax to email and allow you to send email to send a fax.

Hello Fax is one that I am currently using. I would just prefer to send my faxes without a sending fee. I have to believe they are working on VOIP ready fax machines, no?

 

[Huntn]

Interesting, at least to me... I called Vonage and asked about VOIP faxing. They said no problem just make sure your fax machine is VOIP compatible. Sounded easy. Then I went to Best Buy and asked them which one of your fax machines is VOIP compatible?

Long silence....

Duh...

"We don't know."

So it's not going to be so easy. What I mostly want to avoid is a situation where I buy a fax machine and then try to make it work over VOIP. I'd like to know in advance if it will work or not. I guess the next step is to talk to a manufacturer like HP and see if their tech support can shed some light on the issue.

 

[r0k]

Interesting, at least to me... I called Vonage and asked about VOIP faxing. They said no problem just make sure your fax machine is VOIP compatible. Sounded easy. Then I went to Best Buy and asked them which one of your fax machines is VOIP compatible?

Long silence....

Duh...

"We don't know."

So it's not going to be so easy. What I mostly want to avoid is a situation where I buy a fax machine and then try to make it work over VOIP. I'd like to know in advance if it will work or not. I guess the next step is to talk to a manufacturer like HP and see if their tech support can shed some light on the issue.

I think the issue is that VOIP doesn't exactly have a standard. Phones had a standard. It was all digital packet switched starting way back in the 1970's with ESS but there were standards as to what the cutoff frequencies were. Modern VOIP can be all over the map. I would imagine something dirt cheap like Magic Jack would have pretty low audio performance while my $250 Ooma box has excellent sound quality. Vonage sits somewhere in between but closer to Magic Jack.

I doubt if there really is any way to buy a VOIP compatible fax machine and have it still talk to the other millions of fax machines that use the standard frequency spectrum to send faxes. In the end, what you're looking for is a Fax compatible VOIP service not a VOIP compatible fax machine since there is no VOIP standard but there is a well understood standard for fax encoding over a telephone line.

I found documentation somewhere on Ooma's site or in the manual that talked about how to hook up a fax machine, hence I assume it's compatible. If you buy a VOIP appliance that comes in shrink wrap and it says nothing on the package, in the package or online about faxing then you can bet it is not compatible because if it was they would brag about it.

 

[Huntn]

I think the issue is that VOIP doesn't exactly have a standard. Phones had a standard. It was all digital packet switched starting way back in the 1970's with ESS but there were standards as to what the cutoff frequencies were. Modern VOIP can be all over the map. I would imagine something dirt cheap like Magic Jack would have pretty low audio performance while my $250 Ooma box has excellent sound quality. Vonage sits somewhere in between but closer to Magic Jack.

I doubt if there really is any way to buy a VOIP compatible fax machine and have it still talk to the other millions of fax machines that use the standard frequency spectrum to send faxes. In the end, what you're looking for is a Fax compatible VOIP service not a VOIP compatible fax machine since there is no VOIP standard but there is a well understood standard for fax encoding over a telephone line.

I found documentation somewhere on Ooma's site or in the manual that talked about how to hook up a fax machine, hence I assume it's compatible. If you buy a VOIP appliance that comes in shrink wrap and it says nothing on the package, in the package or online about faxing then you can bet it is not compatible because if it was they would brag about it.

Thanks for your insight. I found the following under the Vonage FAQ

See Question No.8

Yes. You can attach any brand of fax machine to your Vonage telephone adapter. Although you can use your main phone line to send faxes, it is highly recommended to have a dedicated fax line.

The following defines how to add a fax line or fix a problem with sending or receiving a fax.

NOTE: You can send and receive an occassional fax using your Vonage voice service. To do so, you must unplug the telephone cord used for your Vonage voice services from the port on Vonage adapter and then plug the cord of the fax machine into the same port.

Troubleshoot Fax Issues
If you are having difficulties sending or receiving faxes, refer to the user guide that you received with your fax machine to adjust the followings settings:

Disable Error Correction Mode (ECM).
Adjust baud rate to the lowest setting.
Set resolution to the lowest setting, which is usually Normal.
Disable color setting.
Turn off the Distinctive Ring setting on your fax machine.

Well, I might have to borrow a fax machine to try this.

 

[Tumbleweed666]

How is this a Mac question?

 

[GoCubsGo]

How is this a Mac question?

In a sea of pointless threads you're going to **** on the guy for asking a question related to VoIP and fax machines? Give me a break.


OP: I saw this on the Brother site:
http://www.brother-usa.com/support/voip/default.aspx#.UGmZLZjA_08